Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I spoke of the request that was put forward of the community of Arviat regarding the harvest as required to provide caribou for the elders and the less fortunate. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform the House the harvest has been approved and a similar harvest will also take place in Baker Lake. Mr. Speaker, this announcement is very important news for the elders and the less fortunate of Arviat and Baker Lake, as the people rely heavily on caribou and on such a caribou harvest.

With the high price of food in Arviat and Baker Lake, this is an essential part of their diet for the people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, the air terminal at Broughton Island is an ATCO trailer. Mr. Speaker, Broughton Island, a community with a population of 486 would like a proper airport building, not a trailer. The airport terminal building is scheduled to be replaced in the 2001-02 fiscal year. Unfortunately, the community cannot wait that long. There are important immediate needs to be addressed.

A new airport is needed to meet higher building and safety code requirements, accommodate an ever-increasing number of passengers and reduce operation and maintenance costs such as utilities. It would have a longer lifespan than the current trailer. Overall efficiency would also be improved. Replacing the current air terminal building now, will result in operations and maintenance savings and other benefits being realized earlier.

Mr. Speaker, we have to acknowledge the long-term potential of Broughton Island and to look at the big picture. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the recruitment and retention plan the Minister of Health and Social Services had mentioned earlier. Mr. Speaker, last week I asked questions regarding this recruitment and retention plan. As the Minister had indicated, this plan is to address the immediate difficulties in recruitment of social workers, nurses and physicians as well as to develop people and organizations needed to move our services into the next century.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the department for undertaking this initiative and working with its partners. I know that we must respect the independence of our health boards, however, we cannot afford inconsistent interpretation and perhaps, haphazard implementation of the planning that has gone into this report. Therefore, I would urge the Minister and the department to bring the board chairs and the chief executive officers into a central location to review and discuss the report.

Mr. Speaker, the department must also be prepared to travel to board meetings to hold workshops and discuss the report. This would help identify things that can be implemented territorially. It might help to identify cost savings and common concerns.

Mr. Speaker, I reiterate that we must allow the boards to maintain their independence, however, this government must assure our residents that they can have consistent health care across the territories. Getting the board chairs and the chief executive officers to a central location to go over the recruitment and retention plan would help assist us to achieve this consistency. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the course of the last couple of years, my colleagues and I have made statements and asked questions regarding the improved high speed communications throughout the Northwest Territories. Also, last year we were informed that the famous green book that listed all the government personnel with their respective phone numbers is not being published. This would save the government money and we now have the Internet to take its place. To me, this is great as long as the residents can utilize this tool. However, we are still not to that state yet.

Mr. Speaker, on our web site, the GNWT directory lists all personnel with e-mail addresses, phone numbers and in some cases fax numbers, which is theoretically better and easier to use than the green book was ever thought of to be. Unfortunately, this great tool still cannot find staff who is working with this government. The reason being, this page has never been updated. I know of staff who relocated a year ago, who have made numerous requests to change this record and are still listed in the old area instead of where they work now. Mr. Speaker, do we have this web page, if we cannot let our residents use it for what it is intended to. This page must be updated on a regular basis or else scrap this page entirely. Our staff is important as well as our residents. They should be able to communicate without problems like not finding the right phone numbers. The directory is supposed to tell which department and how to get in touch with people, not where they were. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a return to a written question yesterday, the Minister for Education identified that and I quote from the return: "There is no doubt that the department would like to provide additional funding to our schools, to enable them to purchase more resources, texts and materials." This week, published in a full page ad, the NWTTA and education stakeholders submitted a similar plea. We have raised the concern of schools operating without proper resources within this House. We have asked for more allocations to help alleviate the shortage of staff, yet the same response is that we have no monetary or fiscal resources to help and identify the agreed need. We have heard morale is low in our schools. Educators have to do more with less.

Today, I received a letter from the chair of the Apex Education Counsel, Eva Michael. Ms. Michael states that, children come to school eager to learn, to share and to grow up as citizens of the world. Too often though, our children are burdened by problems too numerous to elaborate. Teachers spend too much time maintaining a semblance of discipline rather than in guiding our children. These problems affect our children's learning. These problems have a negative effect on the morale of school staff. Mr. Speaker, a progressive school encourages learning within a sensitive and caring family oriented atmosphere. A reasonable and manageable class size, fosters learning in a school. Ms. Michael is sending a letter and she states, "we petition the Government of the Northwest Territories to provide our children with adequate resources to achieve their potential. Children are our future and do we deny them that future."

Mr. Speaker, later today I will be asking the Minister of Education, some questions on this matter. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our kids are our future. Education is the key. Mr. Speaker, we have all heard these terms many times within in this House. Yet, the current education system does not have the resources to address and deal with the issues of special needs within our school system. Mr. Speaker, I do recognize they are making every effort, however, we are losing too many of our future generations between the cracks of our education system.

The Department of Education in coordination with the Department of Health and Social Services have recognized a need for future support for students within our school system when dealing with those who have special needs. It has been determined we have additional students with special needs given our high incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects in the north. Mr. Speaker, there has been a psychiatric assessment team from Stanton Regional Hospital established to meet with school administration and staff who are dealing with the special needs students. We have speech and language services within our school system. We have accommodated school environments for students with physical handicaps. The department has initiated early childhood education programs.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on, but the simple fact is, our education system is still not able to address the educational needs of all students within our system. These new programs are good, Mr. Speaker, but many students are not reached soon enough within our education systems to receive the timely help and the support they need.

Every child has a right to an education. Educators across the territories are trying their best to identify and meet these special needs but without the proper financial support, our schools cannot accomplish the mandate of the Department of Education. We all know class sizes are increasing, resources are decreasing and the quality of our education is getting stretched. Are we prepared to accept this, Mr. Speaker? The answer has to be no. We have heard our Minister state in this House. There is no more money. Mr. Speaker, we must not accept this. We must fight for our future generations, especially when they cannot fight for themselves. We have an obligation to create future generations who need to have the education and skills to become independent citizens.

Education is the key. Our kids are the future. Mr. Speaker, these catch phrases have no meaning if we do not act now to support and enhance our education system. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Yellowknife South is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? Mr. Henry, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you, colleagues. Students, parents, educators and this government all have their role to play, but we cannot succeed if we lack the basic resource, and that Mr. Speaker, is money. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Thomas Kudloo from Baker Lake, chairman of the Nunavut Water Board. Thomas is here somewhere. Thank you.

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