Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am lucky I already got applause. I have not said a word. Maybe they are telling me something. Mr. Speaker, this budget is quite significant for a number of reasons. It is the first budget of this Assembly that does not have to deal with deficit reduction and, of course, it is our last and only budget that we are going to do together as a combined Assembly looking after the entire interests of the Northwest Territories as we now know it. I was very happy to see that there are many good things in this budget. There is, for example, one of the big ticket items of proposed new money for infrastructure that could amount to as much as $240 or $250 million generated mainly through the P3 initiative and the money for housing. My one concern about this particular area and that amount of new money, of course, with the imminent division, I believe, 332 days away, is the ongoing concern about balance and fairness and equity between east and west as we look at dividing the pie. No, Mr. Speaker, very clearly, we are moving from a negative restraint mode to more of a positive development mode. This has to be done in a very careful, thought-out way. As the MLA for Thebacha, I am interested in this budget as a way to set the ground work for further strategic direction that is necessary in the west leading up to division and beyond. Now that we are looking at development, rather than reductions, it is going to

be critical for us to support the private sector and harness the creativity and ideas that are there. Very clearly, it is going to be up to the communities, to business and to the regions to identify the areas of strength and build on them. We cannot just focus on the budget that is before us. That has been, I think, one of our unfortunate shortcomings over the years is that we tended to look mainly at the short term and not at the longer and midterm.

Mr. Speaker, for the west the long view is critical, especially when you consider the development that is now before us. Having said that though, we cannot forget the needs of those departments and agencies covered under the social envelope where we have been holding the line or cutting. It is time for us to start looking at ways to reinvest in those critical areas. One of the ones, of course, that comes to mind is education. We have to find ways to start putting money back in, from kindergarten up to university. In the west we are faced with a problem that can be seen as a positive one, and that is going to be that we are not going to have enough trained people to fill the jobs that we are going to have and that we now have. While it may be sort of positive, and it is much better to have this problem than having no jobs, it still is a problem nonetheless, and it is going to have to be addressed. Here we talk definitively that we are not looking just at the short term in this particular budget. We are talking about the ground work for the next 20 to 30 years. It is going to be critical to provide resources to education, to do the planning, to meet those needs.

An example that I would like to use is the fact that over the years we have phased out or downed our investment in vocational programs and high schools. Now as we try to gear up for all the jobs and development, there is a shortage of trained journeymen and technicians, and the school system is no longer able to be the starting point to feed into those professions and into the colleges and apprenticeships. Clearly strategic planning is going to be needed in this area which leads, of course, to the need to continue to invest in the college system and the whole area of mine training where we have hundreds of jobs coming up and open that require tickets, diplomas and degrees. It is going to be up to us, as I have indicated earlier, to build on our strengths. For Fort Smith, Mr. Speaker, this means the college, tourism, the renewable resource sector and the energy and service sectors. It will be up to other communities and regions to identify their strengths and build on them.

The issue of community empowerment and community control of programs is going to come up as part of this budget process. To my mind, Mr. Speaker, while there may be rough spots on this road as we move towards empowerment and community control, we have to always remember that we are moving from decades of centralized control and decision making by people in Yellowknife and, prior to that, in Ottawa. We cannot expect communities and regions to overnight be able to pick up the ball without occasional stumbles. We cannot ask people, in two years, to reverse a mindset that has been built for generations.

I would just like to comment briefly as well on the P3 initiative which I see as very positive and with tremendous potential, providing we have the proper checks and balances in place to ensure it is sustainable, affordable and, of course, politically tamper-proof. The capital planning process, as part of this, will have to be adjusted to continue to meet the legitimate needs of communities and governments. We have made significant changes in how we do capital, in the past, recently, where we have changed the FAA and things we are now proposing with the P3 initiative.

For Fort Smith, Mr. Speaker, this will be an opportunity for us to look at projects that, up to this point, were down the list on the government capital priority list. It will enable us to look for ways to make them doable in the next few years. In addition to the renovations at the PW Kaeser High School, Mr. Speaker, which is already on the books, there are three projects that come to mind with potential under the P3 initiative. There is a delayed renovation to Trail Cross, which is a child care facility. There is the accommodation for married students at the college, which I believe, is also an issue with my colleague in Inuvik, and there is going to be potential, down the road, for replacement of the renewable resources offices and infrastructure in Fort Smith.

So, I am very pleased overall with the direction of the budget, but we have to keep in mind that this is a short-term exercise. Though it is very important for the west and, of course, for Thebacha, that planning for the future and division, which will soon be upon us, has to be a critical component coming out of this exercise, we have to look at planning beyond division.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Fort Smith, in the last two years, have done their part in the deficit reduction program in helping put our financial house in order. We are very eager to move on to a more positive, pro-active future that this budget and division will bring us. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 22nd, a third budget of this Assembly was presented by the Honourable John Todd. This budget brings long overdue good news to the residents of Inuvik and the north as a whole. Mr. Speaker, I look at this budget not as the planning of one year's expenditures, but as an accumulation of two years of reductions felt by everyone, everyone in the community I represent, as well as the north. On many occasions in this House, we have heard of the hardships endured by many of the residents of the north. We have heard of the concerns of parents, teachers, health care workers and businesses who all have struggled to make it through the economic down turn. We know of many who have had to make do with less. I am sure we all know of someone who has either lost a job or closed the doors of their business. It is not to say that we did not know that the reductions were necessary to ensure the future of the north would be somewhat secure. This has not made it any easier to accept the changes that have occurred as a result of the deficit that

was growing at an unacceptable rate. If unchanged, we would be paying interest on the debt, and we would have ended up using operating dollars to pay down that debt. As a government, we must ensure that we do all that we can to not repeat what the 13th Assembly has had to do. We must work to ensure that no other government has to focus on reductions.

Mr. Speaker, the third budget of the 13th Assembly is definitely one of good news. I, for one, know that I can go back home to my community in Inuvik and finally be a bearer of good news. I can say that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that it is not a train coming to run them off the tracks. This is not to say that overnight, things will change. But instead, we now have a foundation that we can build on. Mr Speaker, we heard Mr. Todd in his budget speech speak on the issues of a stronger economy, of the Northwest Territories Investment Tax Credit Program and the continued support for the Northern Employment Strategy. On the resource side, we heard the government commit to try and achieve a fair share of royalties from the nonrenewable resources that leave the north. On the public infrastructure side, this government has committed to addressing the needs of the people when it comes to housing, hospitals, health centres and, yes, new roads.

Through changes in how we fund projects, for example, a new way of doing business comes with the introduction in the north of Public/Private Partnerships, as well as the introduction of the Accelerated Home Ownership Program Delivery. On the family side of things, we have heard of a new Northwest Territories Child Benefit and enhancement of the Income Support Food Allowance. Mr. Speaker, these are all great initiatives, and time will be the test in looking at the direction this government has chosen. As we go through this budget, we must ensure that the changes we make and the new initiatives we undertake add up to sustainable, affordable and accountable growth.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a long journey to get to where we find ourselves today, and by no means, is it over. There is much that still needs to be done. As I said earlier, I see this budget as a foundation that we can use to rebuild from. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will take this opportunity to put forward my overall impression of the last budget of this Assembly. First and foremost, I would like to congratulate the Finance Minister and Cabinet as a whole for presenting once again a balanced budget.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see there will be more funds available for the children of the NWT in this budget. However, I am not convinced that expanding on the Federal Child Tax Credit initiative is the best way to proceed if we want to assure the needy children in our communities benefit directly. I believe the challenging part of this program will be, how to ensure the increased revenue actually reaches the children we are trying to help. Perhaps, we should be considering funding programs that assist people collectively, rather than individually. Mr. Speaker, care must be taken to ensure we are not just increasing pocket money for bingo games and other addictive gambling games. We must also make some effort to ensure these dollars will be spent on high protein and vitamin rich foods, rather than on fast foods and junk food. Consideration must be given to the fact that kids have no control whatsoever on how their parents spend their child tax credit funds. Unfortunately, there will be cases whereby this increased funding will end up with a bootlegger or in a dope peddler's pockets rather than the children's stomachs. How to address this problem, I do not think anyone has the full answer. Some people have suggested the savings the government realizes through the federal tax credit increase should be applied to existing school lunches and bussing programs. Needy children would then be assured of a proper breakfast to start the school day. Perhaps lunches could be served in school as well. Mr. Speaker, it has been proven beyond a doubt that feeding children in the schools in the mornings improves classroom attendance and student performance dramatically. Perhaps, we should create employment for those women who were trained as cooks through Arctic College over the past two years by hiring them as cooks and cooks' helpers for the school lunch program. A steady supply of country foods could be made available to local schools by obtaining the services of local hunters and trappers through ECE's Income Support Programs.

Mr. Speaker, others suggest that some of this funding should have been made available to municipalities to supply bus services to students, at least during the long, cold winter months. Mr. Speaker, I, for one, favour these proposals because I know there are many children who go to school hungry and cold. No doubt the argument will be put forward that we are trying to concentrate on assisting low income families, rather than on the public at large. Mr. Speaker, regardless of income levels, NWT children should be assisted on an equal basis. This government should not discourage those people who work, by once again, subsidizing only those who are unemployed. Mr. Speaker, others have suggested that if we really wanted to help all children on an equal basis, we should make this extra funding available to our health and education boards to assure these boards have sufficient funds to pay decent salaries and benefits, and subsequently, attract qualified teachers, nurses and doctors. These too, I believe, are very worthwhile suggestions and this government would be wise to consider them.

Mr. Speaker, still others propose we use surplus funding to reinstate full RCMP services in the small outlying communities such as Sachs Harbour, Holman, and Paulatuk. Concern has been expressed that crime, in particular crime involving fire arms, has increased considerably in the small communities since the reduction in police services. The community constable program is commendable. However, these community constables should be seen as supporting and not as a substitute for fully qualified RCMP officers.

Mr. Speaker, the second part of the Budget Address I wish to comment on concerns the Public/Private Partnerships proposal, or the P3. Mr. Speaker, I support the P3 proposal and agree this initiative would serve to address the reduction in much needed capital works. I note the Finance Minister stated capital funding was reduced from $200 million to $140 million over the past two years. This may be true. However, I notice capital spending by previous Assemblies was, in fact, up to $400 million a year. In fact, these Assemblies had a special budget session just to deal with capital expenditures.

Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has had to reduce capital expenditures in order to meet the forced growth in the social envelope. I believe the P3 financial proposal would help to bring existing capital expenditures closer to historical levels. Mr. Speaker, the P3 should not be considered as a totally new way of financing capital infrastructure. In fact, as far back as the early 1980's, the hamlet of Tuk financed the water pipeline system to fill the reservoir on an annual basis through a form of Public/Private Partnership. A local contractor proposed to the hamlet to purchase, build and maintain the pipeline system and fill the reservoir on an annual basis with the hamlet lease purchasing the facilities over a ten-year period. The hamlet council agreed to the proposal and now owns and maintains these facilities. As another example, in 1990, the Hamlet of Paulatuk contracted the local community corporation to supply them with a residential staff unit to house their imported staff. The hamlet was able to lease/purchase this unit from the community corporation over a five-year period.

Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, the major difference between existing contracting policies and the P3 financial proposal would be, in some cases, the successful contractor would own outright the public facilities in question. This would mean the contractor would be fully responsible for all O and M on the facility, including security of the building and grounds, as well as insurance. The government would only lease the facilities. I see this as being very beneficial to this government as the public in general seems to have more respect for privately owned buildings than they do for publicly owned.

--Applause

For instance, public school buildings in some communities are covered with unsightly graffiti. If a school building is financed through the P3 proposal, it would be the responsibility of the owner to ensure these buildings are kept in good appearance.

Mr. Speaker, I also see the P3 financing proposal as a golden opportunity for aboriginal land claims groups to invest their respective claims funds in the construction of public infrastructure within their respective region. Again, this is not something new. As we all know, the birthright groups in Nunavut have been contracted to construct and maintain public infrastructure for the new government. I understand the arrangement is working to the satisfaction of the parties concerned, although there is some concern raised as to the amount of business opportunities left for the small aboriginal business person. This concern could be addressed, however, by assuring the birthright or land claims groups subcontract as much of the overall work as possible to these smaller businesses and allow everyone a certain amount of profitability.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Inuvialuit in my riding are very keen to take the opportunity to invest in public infrastructure, and I encourage my honourable colleagues to support the P3 financing proposal brought forward by the Finance Minister in his budget speech. No doubt, as with any new initiative, a certain amount of fine tuning will be required as we go along, but in general, Mr. Speaker, I certainly support the P3 proposal.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, 220-13(5) Tuk/Inuvik All-Weather Highway: Alternatives for Funding, and Construction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, January 28th, I will move the following motion. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, that Tabled Document 19-13(5) entitled Guidelines for Implementing Public/Private Partnerships be moved into committee of the whole for consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS, the Minister of Finance has presented the 1998-1999 Budget of the Government of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS the Minister of Finance has given his Budget Address;

AND WHEREAS the Budget Address is a significant document that requires detailed consideration by the Legislative Assembly;

NOW THEREFORE, I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Iqaluit, that Tabled Document 15-13(5) entitled, Budget Address be moved into committee of the whole for discussion.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to change the seconder of the motion to the Member for Yellowknife South.

I would like to call the committee to order. For consideration of the committee of the whole, we have Bill 8, Appropriation Act, 1998-1999; Committee Report 02-13(5); Committee Report 03-13(5); Committee Report 04-13(5); Committee Report 05-13(5) and Tabled Document 15-13(5), Budget Address. Mr. Ootes, could I get some direction how to proceed?

Yes, I suggest that we consider Tabled Document 15-13(5), Budget Address.