Before we start, I wish to inform the House that I have received the following message from Her Honour the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, the passage of Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1998/1999, during the sixth session of the 13th Legislative Assembly.

This is signed by Helen Maksagak, Commissioner. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand before the House today as the Acting Premier of the Government of the Northwest Territories -- a position just days ago that I did not expect to find myself in. However, it is a position I assume with a great sense of humility and responsibility. We are, until March 31, 1999, MLAs and Ministers for all of the Northwest Territories. We must not lose sight of this collective duty as we confront the difficult tasks that await us in the days ahead. Whatever our position, whatever our title, we are all here to serve the people of our communities.

Mr. Speaker, we have a heavy agenda to deliver over the course of the next few weeks. We have an obligation to ensure we do so in a fair, mature and responsible fashion. Before we can address the complex political issues that must be resolved, we have an extremely busy legislative schedule. There are about 20 different bills that need to be debated and passed. There is a lot of work that must be done and done quickly. We have to roll up our sleeves and get at it.

Mr. Speaker, at the top of our priority list for the eastern Arctic is legislation such as the Division Measures Act and other bills which will:

*permit contracting back under new service arrangements;

*provide for transitional arrangements for both the Workers' Compensation Board and the NWT Power Corporation that will allow them to operate in both territories;

*enable professional organizations to operate in both jurisdictions; and,

*allow for the orderly transition to two new governments.

We must ensure all these critical pieces of legislation are put in place to get two new governments on a good footing. At the same time, we must set the stage for the creation of a new Western Territorial Government. We will continue to actively pursue the agenda for the new Northwest Territories. There are a number of urgent items on the agenda including:

*the ongoing negotiation of land claims and self-government agreements, as well as outstanding governance issues related to the ongoing relationship between public and Aboriginal governments;

*a new economic strategy;

*establishing a more equitable fiscal arrangement with Ottawa that will allow us to gain a greater share of resource revenues as well as an increase in the tax window so we can generate more own-source revenues: and

*ongoing efforts to ensure the federal government finally delivers on its long- standing unfulfilled promise to allow northerners to take control of northern resources.

These are the keys to building a strong foundation from which the new Northwest Territories can grow and prosper.

Mr. Speaker, we also have a responsibility to select a new Premier - a leader who will be able to carry out the vision for the north that we have developed together during this mandate. Now is the time for leadership. Because our business is the business of governing. It is about ensuring consistency and providing certainty that the people of the NWT will continue to be served by a strong and stable government. It is about delivering the social and economic programs and services that the people of our communities rely on. It is about instilling confidence in the local territorial and national business community that the NWT is a good place to invest. A good place to create jobs and generate economic growth. It is about

demonstrating to Ottawa that we are a mature and responsible government that can take setbacks in stride. This is a Legislature that can deal quickly and effectively with problems when they arise. A Legislature that will continue to move forward in preparing the new north for the new millennium. Mr. Speaker, these are the things that matter to our communities.

The people of the Northwest Territories fully expect us to honour our commitment to serve their needs and interests. It is a pledge I fully intend to fulfil during my temporary tenure as Acting Premier, and when I return to my ongoing duties as Deputy Premier and as MLA until the end of our term. Serving the people of the NWT is both an honour and a privilege - a privilege that can be taken away as quickly as it is granted.

Mr. Speaker, we face perhaps the most challenging and emotionally charged issue this House has ever had to address. That is to achieve an equitable and ethical resolution of the conflict issue. I want to make it clear to my honourable colleagues that we are obliged to set aside any personal prejudices. Despite all that has been said and reported on, we have a duty to develop a course of action that is both fair and balanced. I am calling on all of my colleagues to approach this work with an open heart and an open mind. It is critical that we not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings until all voices and all perspectives have been heard. The people of the Northwest Territories are counting on us to do the right thing. We must not let them down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Ministers' statements, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a need to set the public record straight and get the facts before this House on the matter of contracting with former GNWT employees. This is not a new issue nor is it just a northern issue. However, it has become a recurring topic in this Legislature and in the media since government went through its major downsizing initiatives of the past few years. There are now many more former GNWT staff out in the private sector trying to make a living in an economy dominated by government contracting and spending.

Mr. Speaker, the current government guideline governing contracting with former employees has been in place since December, 1986. It is contained in the Human Resource Manual Section 003 titled Ethics - Conflict of Interest - Outside Employment, Clause 14, under guidelines which read:

For one year from the date their employment ceases, senior officers may not own, operate, control or be employed by any business enterprise within the community in which they were employed and in which they may be in a position to unduly exploit knowledge they gained while employed by the Government of the Northwest Territories.

This is the guideline that governs contracting with former senior officers. It also governs other situations such as subsequent employment within a specific community. An employee may apply to the Chairman of the Financial Management Board to be exempted from any or all provisions of this section.

The guideline attempts to find a balance between the collective and individual rights and the need to encourage movement of talented people between public and private sector employment. As a collective, the public must be protected from situations where former employees may have an unfair market advantage in bidding on government work or where government policy restrains competition or trade. As an individual, the former employee has a right to not be unfairly restricted in his or her ability to make a living.

The approach taken in the guideline is to set criteria that guard against former employees gaining an unfair market advantage in securing government contracts. Unfair market advantage in this case can only arise from undue exploitation of knowledge gained while employed. It is assumed this refers to confidential information or knowledge, as public information or knowledge can be exploited by anyone and thus by definition could not be unduly exploited by a former employee. The guideline is premised on several assumptions about what gives rise to unfair advantage.

The first assumption is that only senior officers have access to enough confidential information or knowledge during their employment to have the potential to have an unfair market advantage. This exempts hundreds of former employees who have been laid off or have resigned in the past few years who have not been senior officers. However, approximately 250 current staff meet the definition of a senior officer. Three years ago there were over 330, so there is the potential for many former employees to be subject to this first criterion.

The second assumption is that confidential information or knowledge has a relatively short shelf life. Given the openness with which government operates and the rapid pace with which the environment and government operations change, it is unlikely that confidential information or knowledge carries a market advantage value for more than one year. As a result, the guideline sets a second criterion by specifying a one year time limit on its application.

The third assumption the guideline makes is that confidential information or knowledge is only of value and only gives rise to an unfair advantage if that information directly pertains to the government work in question. For example, knowing the government's internal plans for meeting public housing needs is not going to give rise to an unfair advantage if the government work being contracted is to study potential environmental liabilities. This is the basis for the third criterion, which prohibits undue exploitation of confidential knowledge gained.

Mr. Speaker, it is also important to distinguish between the use of confidential information or knowledge to gain market advantage versus the release or disclosure of confidential information generally. All employees must take an oath of secrecy concerning the release or disclosure of confidential information. The secrecy oath continues to apply to all former employees whether or not they are covered by the guideline governing contracting former employees. For example, no one wants former employees releasing or using confidential medical information under any circumstances.

Mr. Speaker, our guideline that governs contracting with former employees is similar to that in other jurisdictions. The practices of other jurisdictions range from no restrictions in Alberta because they prioritize encouraging movement of people between the public and private sectors, to one year cooling-off periods that apply to a very narrow group of employees in Manitoba.

The GNWT guideline balances collective and individual rights and interests and takes a pragmatic approach to this issue. It is structured to prevent former employees from successfully suing the government for unfairly restricting their ability to earn a living. It is intended to give guidance to government staff who are tendering and entering into contracts. It informs both current and former employees what the government believes their rights and obligations are after they have ceased to be employees.

The number of former employees active in the private sector probably reaches into the thousands. Even the hundreds of those defined as senior officers and thus covered by this guideline are too many to allow one organization or individual to police every contract entered into by the government. However, the job of my department and myself is to ensure that a reasonable guideline is in place, that it is widely published and that situations that are called to our attention are reviewed. Each contracting authority is responsible to know the rules set out by the guideline and to abide by them.

Mr. Speaker, although I would always caution on reacting to poorly researched media editorials, I do note that the editorial in the November 30th News/ North raised government contracts with a specific former employee, Mr. Roland Bailey. I believe the government should correct the misleading information and the editorial presented. I will request staff to complete a survey of the practices of other jurisdictions, to research the case law that is relevant and to assess whether any changes to our approach is appropriate. When this review is complete, I will communicate it to the Members of this House. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. I would like to welcome back the Member from Nunakput. I understand Mr. Steen just came back from the hospital. I also would like to welcome back Mr. Evaloarjuk, who was also in the hospital.

--Applause

The Member for Kivallivik has requested that I recognize his Pages that are with us today. I want to apologize if I do not say your name right. All these names are aboriginal names. I might have a problem pronouncing them, but here goes. John Niakrok, Adrian Pameolik, Brian Suwaksioak and Gloria Arnayuinak. Welcome to the Assembly.

--Applause

I hope I said your names correctly. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to leave my prepared statement and respond to the Minister of Finance's statement on contracting of former senior managers. First of all, Mr. Speaker, I was one of the people who raised this issue many times in this Assembly and I make no apology for it.

Let us review some of Mr. Todd's statements. He infers that, for example, as deputy minister of Health, an individual would not be privy to information, direction or policy for education or public works. That is bizarre. All senior deputy ministers or assistant deputy ministers meet at senior deputy ministers' meetings and are privy to the direction, policy and focus of this government. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, there is a policy in place and the government did not follow it. Later today, I will ask the Minister about his statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Krutko.

Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to address what has been on everyone's mind for the past few days, the Conflict of Interest Inquiry. As the result of this inquiry, the residents of the Northwest Territories have understandably become more cynical about their public institutions. If people cannot trust their Members to do the right thing, soon Members will find that their decisions will have less and less legitimacy.

These recent conflicts of interest have taken attention, time and energy away from other important issues. This may potentially incur more than over $1 million in final costs to the taxpayer. On a sidebar, Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the final costs will be split east and west?

I hope the remaining and new Members of Cabinet will continue to conduct themselves with integrity. I do not dispute that this inquiry was necessary, but this money could have been better spent on more important priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have a prepared statement today, however, I just want to make a statement to give my appreciation and thanks to Mr. Speaker and my colleagues for welcoming me back into this House. I would like to extend my appreciation to my family as well, who supported me morally. Although they were not able to be with me physically, they have always given me their support. Also, my constituents of Pond Inlet and Hall Beach. I appreciate their sincere appreciation of me being back here in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

--Applause

Thank you. Member's statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Member's statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, similar to Mr. Miltenberger, I too had the opportunity to attend the Meet the North conference in Edmonton this past weekend. It was hosted by Edmonton's mayor, Bill Smith, and organized by his office. Mr. Speaker, the conference had many booths and speakers from all over the north. From the north I mean the NWT, the Yukon, northern Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Of course, the NWT was well represented, there were many speakers and booths from the NWT, such as private individuals like designers, Berna Beaulieu and Karen Wright-Fraser. There were also many companies like the Power Corporation, Deton'Cho Corporation and the Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the City of Edmonton. Obviously there was a lot of time and energy which went into organizing this conference. I also would like to applaud all the people who made presentations and put up booths for a job well done. Thank you.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform Members of this House and the general public of the very significant and successful event which took place in our capital city this past weekend. I refer, Mr. Speaker, to the first Stanton Regional Hospital Foundation Telethon and hopefully that would be the first of many more to come. The event was held at St. Patrick High School and raised over $136,000 to go towards the purchase of equipment which will provide better health care services to all residents of the Northwest Territories.

Most of us, Mr. Speaker, got the opportunity to view the telethon from the front of our television screen and it was a fantastic opportunity for Members of my community and for others visiting my community to actually see what goes on behind the scenes. I would like to congratulate the organizers for a very well- organized and successful event. The organizing committee consisted of co-chairs Loretta Foley and Jerome Babyn from my community. There were approximately over 200 volunteers who participated in the event. I would also like to congratulate the public who came out to support the event and most of all the individuals, groups and organizations who contributed funds to the purchase of this equipment.

Mr. Speaker, the Foundation is now much closer to its goal of raising over $2 million for the purchase of equipment which will provide better health care services to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as yourself, I would also like to recognize the four Pages who are present here today in the Assembly from Arviat. Mr. Speaker, they will probably be the future leaders of Nunavut no doubt. Mr. Speaker, Gloria Arnayuinak, John Niakrok, Brian Suwaksiork and Adrienne Pameolik, are probably the first Pages to be here in this Assembly in ten years or more. They will probably be the last group of Pages from Nunavut that will serve in this Assembly. Maybe the last few, Mr. Speaker, I am aware that there may be another group coming in next week.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the teachers at Qitiqliq school for helping the students prepare for the visit to the Assembly, First Air and Calm Air for providing travel arrangements for the students to come here, Cheryl Voytilla, a staff member here who helped the students get ready today along with Tony Whitford. Thank you.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A week ago today the report of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner was tabled in this House. Mr. Speaker, February of last year is when the complaint was laid against myself as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Since February of last year, I have been advised by my legal counsel that I was not allowed to talk to the press or the public and publicly defend myself as a person. I took that advice and I thought it was proper, as well, that I should not do that. Today is a new day for myself. Now, I can stand up and defend myself.

The conflict report will be moved into committee of the whole today, that is my understanding. There is a process and I thank the Members for that process, that I can stand up in this House and speak for 90 minutes to raise my concerns of the whole process from start to finish. I plan on doing that then. I want to let my constituents know to listen on Friday, possibly come and listen because I will be here and I will be speaking my piece for the first time in just about a year, I will be able to stand up and publicly speak what I think and feel of the process.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage the members of the public, as well as all Members of the Legislative Assembly, to read the report. Not just the summary, not just the conclusion, read the report from start to finish and come to your own conclusion, but please do not come to your own conclusion until you hear me speak for 90 minutes on Friday. That is the only opportunity I have had and will have to defend myself. I look forward to working with you, debating the report on the conflict of interest and I look forward to Friday. Thank you.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak on an event that happened in Fort Simpson on November 14th. Mr. Speaker, some time ago through this Legislative Assembly process there was a certain community hall that there was a lot of controversy in this House about. Finally on November 14th we completed it and had an official opening in Fort Simpson.

Even though it is a long struggle working with the Members in this House, I would like to thank all the Members for finally seeing what we are trying to do in Fort Simpson and allowing us to continue building a facility that is going to be enjoyed and utilized by the citizens in Fort Simpson as a community. Finally, we have a space large enough that we can put a lot of people in there collectively and the elders and people who are handicapped that will have access to a place in Fort Simpson where we all could get together and gather like in so many other communities in the north. With that, I would like to thank the Legislative Assembly for that. Thank you.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Henry on November 5, 1998 with respect to the Formula Financing Agreement - Impact of Population Decline.

Under the new Northwest Territories/Canada Formula Financing Agreement, the gross expenditure base - a measure of the Northwest Territories' spending needs - is escalated each year by the three-year moving average of the growth in provincial local government spending across Canada, multiplied by the three-year moving average of growth in the western NWT population compared with that of Canada.

The population adjustment factor, as this last term is referred to, reflects the fact that if territorial population is growing at a faster rate than that of Canada, spending needs are also growing, and therefore, funding under the grant increases. However, if territorial population grows more slowly than that of Canada, or even declines, the grant will grow more slowly or in some cases even decline.

This link between population and funding levels is a standard feature of federal/provincial fiscal arrangements. Provincial governments also experience a decline in federal transfers if their populations decrease. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce Norman Prevost, the mayor of Fort Simpson, he is in the gallery. Mr. Speaker, Fort Simpson, is I guess rightfully, the Liidlikue in my own language. Mr. Prevost is returning from Edmonton where he also attended the Meet the North Conference. He is one of the many representatives from the north at this conference and he is one of the main reasons why we finally completed the community hall in Fort Simpson. I would like to ask the Speaker to welcome Mr. Prevost to this chamber.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I also would like to introduce to you Mr. Robert Villeneuve, who has been my constituency assistant in my Nahendeh office in Fort Simpson. He is here at the capital of the Northwest Territories to familiarize himself with the Government of the Northwest Territories and its department, the Legislative Assembly. Please, Mr. Speaker, through you, I would like to welcome them to this chamber. Thank you.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my constituency members in the gallery. There are 23 students from grade 11 and 12 from Chief Jimmy Bruneau High School of Rae-Edzo, along with their supervisors and teaching volunteers, Odile Haesselin and Jerry Moran, teachers, and Frankie Cansell, the bus driver. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a couple of constituents from Yellowknife North. The first is Mr. Mike Walcer, he is a long-time northerner. To give you an idea of how long he has been here, I can remember him from when I was a little kid so that is quite a while. He is also the owner and operator of the Green Thumb business.

Also, I would like to recognize Doreen Baptiste. Doreen is an instructor at the Yellowknife campus of Aurora College and she has also just finished the calendar for 1999, which has a lot of important dates from the history of the NWT on it. Thank you.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome to the gallery, Mr. John Quirke, the Clerk of the new Nunavut Legislative Assembly and a resident of Iqaluit. Mr. Dave McCann, who is a well-known best selling Canadian author of the NWT Cargo Cult book and owner of the Treeline Cafe, the best place to get a vegetarian breakfast here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome a very good friend of Preston Manning's, and he is known to be a little further right than Attila the Hun, Mr. Dave McCann, a Yellowknife businessman. Thank you.

--Applause

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mrs. Groenewegen.

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

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

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. To the rest of the people who have not been mentioned in the gallery, welcome to the Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do not have an up-to-date office plan now since we have decided not to go with the sale of the Laing building. The department is still developing a revised office plan at this point in time. We do not have a plan at this time yet. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this decision which was made recently, I have shared this information with the honourable Members during the committee hearing last week. At that time I did indicate with my staff, that since the changes, we are revising the plan and as a result of the two bids that came in that were unsatisfactory, we had to relook at the plan and readjust our plan of action and we are working on a new revised plan at the time. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you. It was difficult to anticipate the result of the request for a proposal at the time that it was issued, Mr. Speaker, because the appraised value was substantially higher than the two bids that came in. At that point in time with the appraised value, we thought that if we

could get something close to that it would be satisfactory. As a result of the request for proposal that did not happen. As a result we had to relook at the situation after the request for proposal process was complete and evaluation done by the department and it was recommended that we have to relook at the plan of action.

Looking at the numbers over the next ten years, it was deemed that the best value for money was to retain the Arthur Laing building and utilize it. After all, Mr. Speaker, we are still in the stage where we are very strapped for cash and it would have been more expensive to sell the Laing building for the price that it would have come in at the same time as trying to get more office spaces in the private sector market. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member mentioned a number of $3.8 million, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this figure has not been approved by the FMB yet. It is an estimated value of what the department had come up with and it is still in part of the revised office plan. It has not come for a decision before the FMB yet. This is not approved yet, so it is still in the planning stages. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to Mr. Arlooktoo, the Acting Premier of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, we have just concluded a conflict of interest commission. It has been noted in the press that there is probably a figure of legal costs of under $1 million. My question to the Premier is, is there an update on that figure at the present time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, this is not under your responsibility, but perhaps you might want to respond? Mr. Arlooktoo.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. You are completely right, the cost for the conflict inquiry, because it was done under the auspices of the Legislative Assembly, is a responsibility of the Management Services Board. I can generally pass on, from just my knowledge, that the actual invoices, I believe, will be for the conflict of interest hearing a little over $1 million. We are, at this point in time, trying to tally up the costs to government for the work that the government did on behalf of the Conflict of Interest Commission, in terms of requests for information, et cetera, and we do not yet have a complete total. As an estimate and as a round figure, those we expect to be an additional $1 million or close to that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Acting Premier for that information. I certainly do understand, Mr. Speaker, it is not part of his responsibility, but as there is no one else within the government that we can ask these questions of, I choose to ask them of the Deputy Premier.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of the public who are outraged at the costs we have spent to date on this particular action. I would like the Acting Premier to give assurances to this House and to the Members of the public of the Northwest Territories that, indeed, the costs of this inquiry are finished, that the clocks of the lawyers have been turned off, other than the lawyers who are defending an action that may be brought to the courts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I have to remind the Member that the Member cannot make an assurance on behalf of the Assembly. He can only make assurance on behalf of the government. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, you are correct. On the government side what we are trying to do is, review the process and review the areas that were referred to in the conflict of interest report and see where immediately that the government can make changes or improvements on. That is work that is going on, but we are doing it in a way that will try to ensure that we do not influence in any way the proceedings that will be coming up here in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I was looking for from the Premier was assurances that the legal costs for the Conflict of Interest Inquiry that took place are concluded. I understand that the Management and Services

Board provides these funds to Members but the Minister is the only one I can ask, regarding that cost. It is a cost to government. There is not anyone I can ask directly on these costs on the Management and Services Board. As the leader of the government, I would ask for assurances to tell me, and this House, that indeed those costs have been spent and that there is are no additional costs going to be incurred by a member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I will remind the Member from Yellowknife South, I will rule the question out of order and this is why. A question must not be addressed to the Speaker. Information relating to a matter under the Speaker's jurisdiction must be obtained privately. The question is ruled out of order. Do you still have a supplementary, Mr. Henry? Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me, first of all, say that what I was trying to do earlier was to bring clarity to the rules, to be specific in the policies of this government. I alluded only to Mr. Bailey because he seems to be the only person who seems to be getting public attention these days, for a variety of reasons. I am not aware of any other tribunal, or whether it is even necessary.

What I was trying to explain in a pragmatic way is the policies of the government, how they are policed in terms of individual contractual departments and the criteria, if you want, that is set for public servants who leave office and want to come back and work for this government. There is a fine line here between collective rights and individual rights. That is all I was trying to provide clarity on. If my honourable colleague is asking, is there an independent tribunal that he can go to if he is concerned, like an ombudsman, et cetera, I am not aware of one. Thank you.

Questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Todd.

Not that I am aware of, Mr. Speaker, but I will look into it.

Oral questions. Mr. Todd, did you take it as notice or what?

No, Mr. Speaker. I had better not do that, I want to give my honourable colleague the right to finish his supplementaries. I am not aware of any other mechanism to address the concerns that have been addressed by my colleague, Mr. Krutko.

Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think what is important is, again I wish my honourable colleague would really take the time if he will permit me to read my address. Mr. Bailey did not, did not infringe upon any conflict within relationship to the criteria set for the Aurora Fund as he alludes to. The Aurora Fund appointment was done by a board of directors outside of government, government and non-government, and Mr. Bailey, as far as I am aware, and I have double-checked this because I know this an important issue with everybody, did not breach the government guidelines. That is my point I was trying to make in my comments earlier. Repeat, did not.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Todd.

I will try and do it from memory but, you know, given that everybody wants to go down to the fine line these days, but I will do it from memory. I believe I was there. I believe some of the deputies were there who sit on this board because that is the mechanism on which we put it in place. I believe the other three members, the outside members, were there. The only person who was not there was Mr. Kakfwi, who at that time was probably not appointed. I want to qualify it by saying that I will check the minutes and the records so we have got it clear, et cetera. I want to reiterate again, he never broke any guidelines as set out in the criteria by the GNWT. I am sorry, but he did not.

Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just following up on Mr. Todd's earlier statement on contracting of former employees. Mr. Todd, in response to Mr. Krutko's questions, stated that there was no contradiction of the policy. I am wondering why did Mr. Todd not be forced to follow the policy with regard to Mr. Bailey. That is why we have policies in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

I thought I had kind of answered it in my statement. There was no requirement to enforce any policy because Mr. Bailey met the criteria and the guidelines set by the GNWT. It is fact. I cannot say it any more than that and that is the reason why I spoke to it today.

Again, just to remind the Members with regard to questions about members or people who are not in the House, contain an inference or impute motives or cast aspirations upon any persons; but I would also like to remind the Minister that by mentioning an individual, he has, he did open, so we cannot protect the person since he did make that mention of an individual. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following up on Mr. Todd's statement on the contracting of employees, on page 80 of the tabled document, the Conflict of Interest report by Ms. Crawford, she states that Minister Todd, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Financial Management Board, testified that he did not know it was his responsibility to enforce that policy, nor did he know what was being done about enforcement. Yet, Mr. Speaker, I will quote from Hansard, February 23, 1998, Mr. Picco speaking here, "I would like to suggest that the people should not be able to opt out of the policy by running to the Chairman of the Financial Management Board." I wonder, Mr. Speaker, could Mr. Todd finally set this record straight? Does he indeed understand the policy and does he enforce it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

If I did not understand it before, I sure as heck now understand it, Mr. Speaker. I think what is important here is what I tried to say in my comments. This policy affects close to 250-300 people. Each contracting authority is responsible for the rules set up with the guidelines and to abide by them. They have to bring to my attention, if they feel that somebody is not obeying the rules and the regulations and the guidelines that are set. That has not been done and the point I was trying to make with Mr. Bailey and I apologize to him if I brought his name forward again today, is to try and point out that he, in fact, did meet all the guidelines and policies of the government. That is all, nothing else.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was nice but he did not answer my question. My question was, did Mr. Todd, because of what he had said at the conflict of interest report, that he did not know it was his responsibility to enforce the policy and he did not know what he was doing about it, that

was my question. So I will repeat it, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question was indeed, does Mr. Todd understand the policy and does he enforce it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, Mr. Todd. Two questions.

I understand the policy. If I inadvertently during the hearing said I did not, it was narrow on my part. I understand the policy. I understand my responsibilities and that is what I was trying to explain today in terms of my comment to the House.

Oral Questions. Mr. Roland.

The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the pleasure of informing delegates of this exciting new program and wanted to clarify also that the program was introduced to Members through a letter, an announcement the previous week, that I distributed to all Members.

This program is partly in response to a request by Cabinet to the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and all other departments in trying to identify areas where we can stimulate the northern economy and to ensure that the workers we have in the communities stay here in the north and are able to buy homes here.

The secondary part which is just as important, I believe, is the fact that it has been proven that for every existing home that is sold, the economic spinoff is great and that it will, in the end, improve, in general, the economy of the Northwest Territories and provide ownership once and for all for a good number of our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe I would mention first the similarities, the main one being that these are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that the government will give to our residents. Under the EDAP program, however, we will finance up to 70 percent of the cost of a new or existing home, and to a maximum, I believe, up to $130,000. These grants, under the new Minimum Down Payment Assistance Program or MDAP, to a maximum of $10,000 for western Arctic residents and $15,000 for the residents of Nunavut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

The Acting Premier, Mr. Arlooktoo.