Thank you, Mr. Roland. Good afternoon. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Todd.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have an emergency statement to make.

Mr. Speaker, the Union of Northern Workers and the government have had mediated talks for the past few months in regard to pay equity. Unfortunately, the mediator has decided to end the talks with the common consent of all parties.

Mr. Speaker, while this news is disappointing and the differences between the two parties remain substantial, I would hope that it provides an opportunity for reflection and realism as we embark on collective bargaining negotiations, scheduled from February 2nd through February 6th. In these negotiations, a wide variety of issues will be addressed, including pay equity, both from a retroactive and a prospective approach with the implementation of a new job evaluation system.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in last week's budget speech, this government, with the help and support of our residents, has been able to achieve a balanced budget and lay the groundwork for economic progress and growth. This is a major accomplishment for which we should all be proud, but even though our future is bright, our fiscal situation is still fragile.

Mr. Speaker, this government believes firmly and unequivocally in the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. I have expressed this position on behalf of the government on many occasions. The issue of pay equity has been with us for ten years and the residents of the Northwest Territories have a reasonable expectation that we will come to a successful resolution.

In our view this can be done through negotiations. As Minister of Finance, I have continually stated our commitment to a negotiated settlement that is fair to all concerned, that is affordable and that creates for the future a new job evaluation system which is bias free.

I call upon the UNW to join with me in a common endeavour to protect jobs, ensure service levels are not further reduced and commit ourselves to respond to the concerns and needs of the people of the north. As you all are aware, we in the north live in an environment whose priorities are unique. In this context and in our choices, both government and employees must be realistic and responsible. Thank you.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr. Ng.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the past two years, there have been many questions raised in this House on breast cancer. Today I would like to provide an overview of the extensive work we are doing to address this problem.

In addition to the funding already in place, Cabinet recently approved a Strategic Investment Fund for boards. This funding could be used to implement critical public health programs, including breast cancer screening. Successful screening is based on regular breast self-examination, annual clinical examination and screening mammography for key age groups. Information and teaching on breast self-examination and clinical breast examination is part of the well-women

health programming across the north. A module dealing with this has been part of the Advanced Nursing Skills Program for the past decade.

In 1995, the Department of Health and Social Services issued a set of interim guidelines to help health boards and medical clinics to focus screening services. The guidelines identify ways to improve access for women in the key risk group - ages 50 to 65 for which mammography screening is shown to have the greatest benefit. During the past year, the NWT Working Group on Breast Cancer reviewed and revised these guidelines. The department distributed these guidelines to all boards in December, 1997. Each board will identify issues, related costs and specific actions that need to be examined to ensure that all NWT residents have access to quality breast cancer screening services. The department will provide support to each board in their efforts to establish a cancer screening service best suited to its geographic and cultural situation.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Mr. Speaker, last September I represented this government at a conference of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Consumer Affairs. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has the following consumer affairs responsibilities: consumer protection, lottery licensing, real estate licensing and business licensing.

Mr. Speaker, I am quite concerned about the many problems facing northern consumers. Mail and telemarketing fraud is increasing and finding its way into our homes. These crimes are targeted to our elders and many others who do not understand the wording of contracts. In the north, we have always prided ourselves on friendliness and openness. Sadly, our friendliness can be abused and replaced with the experience of being cheated, which is the business of some of these telemarketers.

In 1994, our government signed an agreement on internal trade with other jurisdictions. Many initiatives resulted from this agreement, one of which was the creation of a National Consumer Measures Committee, which oversees the development and implementation of programs in various consumer related areas. The Government of the Northwest Territories is a member of this committee and we continue to contribute and work with our partners in areas of consumer protection. Mr. Speaker through the sharing of resources we have developed the CANSHARE system. This is a computer data base that allows tracking of telemarketing complaints between jurisdictions. It also provides a way to quickly notify jurisdictions of problem areas by issuing consumer alerts to consumer protection agencies across Canada. This is a significant advantage for a small jurisdiction like ours. We simply would never have sufficient resources to track down and identify all of the scam artists who are operating in the NWT because most of them operate from southern provinces. With CANSHARE we will be able to access and use the data bases of other provinces to help track and identify these illegal operators. As a result, we will provide better consumer protection advice to northerners.

Mr. Speaker, we have also been collaborating with our federal and provincial partners in drafting a Joint Enforcement Agreement which allows jurisdictions to share information and resources while enforcing our consumer protection laws. I cannot stress the fact that the best line of defence against mail and telemarketing fraud is public awareness. Media campaigns dealing with loan brokers and telemarketers, along with a consumer handbook, are new initiatives underway in our fight against consumer fraud.

We are partners in a National Consumer Awareness Campaign. Closer to home, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is developing new partnerships with other territorial agencies and organizations to combat these activities.

Today I am pleased to announce that such a partnership has been established. My department, along with members of the RCMP, the NWT Association of Municipalities, the Yellowknife Seniors Association, the NWT Seniors Association and the NWT Chamber of Commerce have formed a task force to develop and implement a Consumer Scam Awareness Campaign. Through this partnership, we hope to protect the interests of all our northern consumers. I look forward to providing more details on this awareness campaign in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Thompson. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Steen.

The Member for Nunakput is seeking unanimous consent to complete his statement. Are there any nays? Mr. Steen, you have unanimous consent.

Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the Christmas holidays, I had the opportunity to tour the Kugaardjuq School. I had the opportunity to have a discussion with the principal at that school, and he indicated to me, and I was there when I say the interior of the building had a serious need for space. There is already over-crowding, within the Kugaardjuq School in Pelly Bay. We do not have the proper space facilities to do many programs in the community that are delivered within the policy of this government. They are using the shop for Agetamik programs. They are using the kitchen for the library, on top of that the senior one class is having their regular classes in the ecology centre in that community. Normally, it should be done in the school. We are expecting 25 more kindergarteners to be recruited this coming year. On top of that, there may be other preschoolers that may need a space in the classroom. I think we have a serious problem, and this serious problem, Mr. Speaker, deserves serious consideration by this government. At the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Education a question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Members' statements. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Members' statements, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members' statements, Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to send my condolences to the Qarpik family in Pangnirtung. Leelee, the son of Joanasie and Ida Qarpik, died tragically last Friday, as a result of a skidooing accident in Pangnirtung. Mr. Speaker, the municipality of Pangnirtung is a small close knit community. Leelee Qarpik will be missed. Again, I would like to send my prayers and condolences to the Qarpik family. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Enuaraq. Members' statements, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Members' statements. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the course of this Assembly, myself along with a number of my colleagues have expressed our concerns over the lack of Internet service for the important knowledge that is not available within a number of our smaller communities. Today we live in an age where, if located south of the border or in Yellowknife, a person can sit on a beach, take a walk around town or be in a car. You can still be contacted by the outside world. With today's technology you can even be on-line with the Internet doing the task I mentioned; but still in the communities a person does not have the pleasure of cellular phones. I have a cellular phone to ensure that I keep in contact with my constituents. However, as soon as I go outside the 35-kilometre radius of Yellowknife, I lose my signal and I cannot communicate until I am back in this area. In Rae-Edzo, the largest Dene community of the Northwest Territories, we cannot communicate by cellular phones. The reason for this, I understand, is because NorthwesTel does not feel it necessary to install the needed equipment. We are no different than any other community. We all want the ability to communicate with our neighbours and the world, just like the rest of the world can. The worst of it is a safety factor. It has been proven countless times that people with a cellular phone can react to emergency calls faster than the people without. Every year we have a number of accidents on our highway. If you are outside the 35 kilometre range of Yellowknife, it takes at least 30 or 40 minutes of life saving time to get in touch with the RCMP or ambulance services. I hope by bringing this forward, NorthwesTel can see the need to move towards the 21st century. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, previously in this House, I have raised the concern of family planning. This past summer in Pangnirtung, the Baffin leaders passed a motion to the effect that we would address the topic at our next meeting, later this year. This subject, by its very nature, is very sensitive and should be addressed with much care. My concern, Mr. Speaker, is that the government has no family planning or awareness programs. Again, this is left to the discretion of individual boards of health to implement. I do not think that this is acceptable.

In the Nunavut region as mentioned by the Baffin leaders, we have and are experiencing a baby boom. Most people are being born to younger mothers and this has increased pressure on the social envelope. The government should implement a territorial-wide family planning awareness campaign and provide extra resources to communities and boards of health to address this need. Mr. Speaker, it is a sensitive issue and a serious one. The GNWT should take the lead in this area and demonstrate by way of a plan of action that it takes the matter seriously. Our health care professionals have repeatedly mentioned the increased birth rates and what it means down the road. I will not get into statistics, like a birth rate of 23.4 per thousand. That is the highest in the western world, but it illustrates the depth of the concern. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will ask the Minister of Health questions on this matter.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On January 22nd, CBC Radio interviewed Mr. David Cohen, a third generation expert on diamonds. I listened with interest as Mr. Cohen endorsed the viability of the north and the diamond industry and, more importantly, northerners providing the necessary services for diamond valuation and sorting. Mr. Cohen indicated how well-suited many northern and aboriginal people would be to the various positions, given natural artistic abilities, as well as how this industry could be well-suited to seasonal work. Mr. Cohen has gone on record indicating his lobbying efforts for secondary diamond industries in the north. I would hope that Mr. Cohen's expertise, his statements and findings are consistent with the objectives with the Department of RWED relating to diamond valuation and sorting in the north. I hope the Minister will give consideration to adding Mr. Cohen's name onto the list of consultants assisting his department. Mr. Cohen's comments will, I hope, add credibility to what Members of this House have been saying for many months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I had the privilege and honour along with some of the other Members from this House, both from the west and from the east, to attend a ceremony here in the Great Hall to honour the graduates from the Aurora College Northern Nursing Program, Class of 1997. The graduates received their pins in advance of the actual graduation ceremonies because many of them will not be able to attend graduation. At this ceremony I was proud to see one of the graduates was a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Mary Jane Tsetta. She is one of the first members of the Yellowknives First Nation to achieve this.

Mary Jane is a wife and a mother of one son. She and her family live in Yellowknife. She has been totally committed to her studies. She, as an example, had to first take upgrading and then the nursing program which was a total of three and a half years. Also during her studies, she unfortunately lost her father and one of her brothers, but she continued in her commitment. I am pleased to announce also that she will be starting a job at Stanton Hospital very soon. Mary Jane is a non-drinker. She supports wellness and she is certainly a source of inspiration and good role model for her friends, her family and the rest of her people. I am sure we all wish her congratulations on a job well done and good luck in the new job. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Picco on January 22nd, with respect to transparency in Public/Private Partnerships. In response to Mr. Picco's question with regard to transparency in Public/Private Partnerships, I want to assure my colleagues once again, the government is committed to transparency as we proceed with implementation. That Members of this Assembly will have full opportunity to participate in finalizing the proposals as members of standing committees.

As promised, I am pleased to announce I am tabling the policy document, guidelines for implementing Public/Private Partnerships later today. Financing capital projects through partnership initiatives means the government will be able to accommodate more community priorities faster within existing spending limits. I have asked each Minister with responsibility for infrastructure to review his or her department's capital forecasts and to provide me with recommendations for priority projects that we would add to the 1998-99 capital plan, if additional funding were available.

This review will take into consideration the input that Mr. Morin received from the communities last summer in response to his request for the priority of capital requirements. The list of additional priorities will be reviewed to identify those that have the greatest potential for payback either in the social or economic terms.

When combined with the products already included in the 1998-99 capital plan, we will have a list of some $240 million worth of projects. We will review all of these projects to determine which would be most appropriate to apply P3 approaches.

We will also do extensive cost benefit analysis on each project and determine what level of overall investment will be affordable. I will be seeking the input of Members of this Assembly during this review process, through the standing committees.

In response to Mr. Picco's question, I will table the final list of P3 initiatives for 1998-99 in this Assembly, along with any changes to the current capital proposals that may require approval of the Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you. Returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. Jeff Colburne, a local reporter with the Yellowknifer. I would like to point out that Jeff left Yellowknife prior to Christmas as a single man and returned married, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the other half of me, my wife, Elisapee and beside her is Sarah Kooneeliusie, originally from Broughton Island, now living in Yellowknife. Thank you.

--Applause

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

The Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government has decided to shelve the privatization of the petroleum products division. However, we still have to do some work. At division time, we have to look at the petroleum

products division after division because at the present time, there is cross-subsidization between the east and west, and following division that will no longer be the case. We will have to continue to do further work and look at how these changes are going to affect this division. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the study that was done for the government in looking into the privatization of petroleum products contains a lot of information that is relevant to looking at the future plans of this division. Although we have shelved the initiative which privatizes this division, we are going to be having all these reports and recommendations that were coming out of these reports be available to the next governments for both east and the west, so they will look at this privatization after this government is finished. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the last request for proposal that was issued, the successful consultant firm was the firm of Mr. Bailey and Associates. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Bailey and Associates firm was the successful winner of this competition for request for proposal and the cost of the study was $223,000. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question, Mr. Speaker, is to the honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. As I stated in my statement, we have a serious problem providing adequate space for the students in Pelly Bay. The original design for the addition was much larger, but was scaled down, according to my understanding, because of the total cost involved. To the contrary Mr. Speaker, there had been an increasing number of students and potential students to attend school in Pelly Bay. Mr. Speaker, we talk about a brighter future. We talk about in this government, education working society, but we have not planned properly. We also know that we have a very high birth rate in the territory. Will the Minister of Education

communicate with the Kitikmeot District Education Council and the community education council to address the problem determined by the community to be a serious problem.

Thank you. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a supplementary to the same Minister. In the process of communicating will the Minister start communicating with the Kitikmeot District Education Council and Public Works. Will the Minister also instruct his officials to consult with the community education council, in this case, where I got the information from? Thank you.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. Several times in this House over the past couple of months, there have been questions and comments raised concerning a change in the Public Service Act. Can the Minister inform this House, will he entertain the proposal on the changes presented by the UNW or the NWTTA to the PSA Act? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have had several discussions with the president of the NWTTA, Ms. Pat Thomas, with respect to some of the changes that she and her ship would like to see within the act. I did write to all Members early in December indicating that we are in intense negotiations right now with the UNW, with respect to pay equity and with respect to a new collective agreement. I also said in that letter that once we finalize and come to an agreement on those issues that I was prepared to meet with both Ms. Thomas and Ms. Simpson to see if, in fact, there was some compromise that could be reached and some changes that this government could live with and could be achieved in the act that Mr. Picco speaks about. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago we heard from the Minister an emergency statement regarding the breakdown in talks on pay equity. So

Mr. Todd.

Well, like most negotiations, occasionally, they break down. Mr. Speaker, I am fairly confident we will still come to an arrangement, and I am certainly pushing for it, by the end of March on those issues, one that is both negotiated and affordable. Once we have done that, we will get on to constructive dialogue between the two organized labour organizations and attempt to look at some of the changes they want to make. Assuming we can live with them and we are satisfied with them, I would be prepared to bring them forward to my Cabinet colleagues and this House for the change. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, indeed that is good news. Based on that timeline, if everything is settled by March 31st, would the Minister look at proceeding with that type of implementation by May? The reason for my questions, Mr. Speaker, is that, indeed, any act or law on the books of the Government of the Northwest Territories would be grandfathered into Nunavut and this is a concern that the legislation be brought forward, so I wonder what timeline would he be looking at?

Mr. Todd

I have indicated a willingness, and will say again for the last time, a willingness to come to the table both in writing and orally to the president of the NWTTA. I will do that once we have concluded the difficult pay equity issue that we are currently in, and I will be talking to that later next week. I have made a commitment here publicly and in writing and I am prepared to do that. I am not going to set timelines here when these things have to be negotiated. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question will be directed to the Minister of RWED, the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi. Mr. Speaker, for the past several years there have been polar bear studies conducted in the eastern Arctic, especially in the Baffin region. We, the people from Nunavut or the Baffin region, benefit from those polar bear studies. My question to the honourable Minister is, does his department plan to do more polar bear studies in the eastern Arctic, especially in the Baffin communities. Thank you.

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this Lahm Ridge Tower is not a public building. It is not owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories. It never has been. It has been privately owned, and in fact the owners were Lahm Ridge Investment Ltd. and they have sold their asset to another company.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the question in regard to the Lahm Ridge Tower lease is that it was a ten-year lease, and that lease had expired a couple of years ago. The department had not exercised the extension provision to the lease but had committed on a month-to-month basis. In late July, the then owner of Lahm Ridge Investment Ltd. asked the regional superintendent for a ten-year lease extension consistent with the lease terms that they were operating under. The landlord had proposed some fairly good reductions in the operation and maintenance cost, which was estimated to be about half a million dollars over an eight year period and they have agreed to upgrade and renovate some of the heating and ventilation system. The regional superintendent then, according to the lease, had agreed to an extension that was limited to eight years. So, under the provisions of the lease arrangements with Lahm Ridge Investment Ltd., this was under the regional superintendent to go ahead and make some further arrangements for extending the life of the lease because of the favourable financial arrangement they were able to reach. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you. I will table the relevant information with regard to this lease arrangement. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, yes, Mr. Speaker. There is some Yellowknife office space planned that the Cabinet just approved. It is going to be information that will be going to the Ordinary Members in their standing committees. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. In reference to Keewatin health care, Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that as of today there have been no meetings or discussions that have taken place regarding the negotiations with the Northern Medical Unit in Winnipeg to provide interim medical services to the Keewatin people. Can the Minister confirm whether this is the case, and if it is, why it has taken so long to arrange these meetings? Thank you.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I cannot confirm if it is or is not the case. As I advised the honourable Member last week, I believe I said the management team had gotten on the ground early last week and had to evaluate the situation, I guess, to find out exactly what the status was. I said that the human resource issue was one of the priorities and the provision of services would follow shortly after that. So I cannot say right now what the delay is in starting negotiations, but I will check into the matter and report back. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr Speaker, can the Minister give us an update as to what changes or what additional medical services have been provided since the crisis or the near collapse of our medical services in the Keewatin? What changes have taken place since the issue was raised some ten days ago? Thank you.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot report today on what changes have taken place. As I had indicated, I have not had the chance to get a report back from the team that was in Rankin Inlet. I can commit to getting that report today from them. I know the first thing they had to do, as I

indicated, was an assessment of what or was not happening and what had to be done in terms of steps of action to put things in place, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just assume that a lot of this work had been done with the report that the Minister asked for a number of months ago. I am sure that the Minister can appreciate that there are many nervous people in the Keewatin regarding their health care. I would ask the Minister if he could give us a date when we could expect to get his report as to the status of health care in the Keewatin, the number of doctors, nurses and so on, and when he can deliver this report to the House?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I indicated I would get the report from the department today, and I will provide the status as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Mr. Speaker, I think what I am asking for is fairly straightforward. The Minister has already indicated that he is aware of how critical the situation is in the Keewatin and the fear that exists within the Keewatin people. I am asking the Minister for a date as to when the people of Keewatin can hear results of the report and what has been accomplished to date. Thank you.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I said I would try to do it as soon as possible. I will commit to trying to do it before the end of this week. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.