Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Good morning. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Goo Arlooktoo will be absent from the House today to attend a meeting with the Minister of Justice and Minister of DIAND in Ottawa. As well, the Honourable Charles Dent will be absent from the House for today, tomorrow and Wednesday to attend the Ministers of Education Meeting in Toronto and to meet with the Minister of DIAND in Ottawa. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi will be absent from the House today and part of tomorrow to represent the GNWT at the Memorial Service for a long-time northerner, GNWT employee and former mayor of Norman Wells, Max Melnyk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, each year in the Northwest Territories, tragedy strikes as a direct result of fires. In many cases such fires are set by children. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the NWT Fire Service recognize the urgency of this problem and have worked cooperatively to develop a comprehensive, community-based strategy. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform Members about the NWT Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Program. This program will help communities understand the problem of juvenile fire setting and provide an approach that can be used to identify, assess and educate children on fire safety.

Mr. Speaker, this program will also provide communities with a process to assess children and refer problem firesetters to the appropriate mental health professionals. It also includes followup with the children, which helps the communities and the department evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make appropriate adjustments.

The main resource used in this program is the Juvenile Firesetters Intervention Manual. The manual was first used in a pilot training project held in Yellowknife last November, co-sponsored by the office of the Fire Marshal, the NWT Fire Chiefs Association and the Yellowknife Fire Department; training was provided to community fire departments, the Yellowknife Public School Board and representatives from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the Department of Health and Social Services. Regional Assistant Fire Marshals will be implementing the program directly to community organizations in the next few months.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Program compliments two other initiatives. The existing Learn Not To Burn Education Program and a new prevention program called Risk Watch. Risk Watch will provide children with a unique opportunity to learn about injury prevention in the areas such as motor vehicles, fire and burn, poisoning, firearm injury, water safety, as well as choking and suffocation. This comprehensive program can be taught as a stand alone unit by community groups or incorporated into school programs. Risk Watch helps children acquire the skills and knowledge they need to recognize and avoid risks and develop a safety sense.

Mr. Speaker, I am confident that these initiatives will provide the tools, information and a network of support to help communities address the problem of fire play and firesetting. I also believe that through these programs we will help northerners protect themselves, their families, their friends and their communities from harm. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise with a concern that affects us all. We live in a time when all our communities are suffering from high unemployment, increasing demands on our social programs, ever increasing youth crime and violence. The pressures on youth today are staggering. In most cases of crime, alcohol was involved. When asked why youth are in trouble, the answer usually is boredom. With boredom, peer pressure takes on more importance which can lead to making bad decisions, like starting to drink. In the NWT we have all of these problems in all our communities. We also have one of the highest consumption rates of alcohol on a per capita basis than most in the rest of Canada. To add to this, we also have one of the lowest ages to legally drink in Canada. Is it no wonder that we have all the problems that we now face? Mr. Speaker, we can change the legal drinking age and later today I will ask the Minister responsible for the Liquor Control Board his views on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give results on the 105-mile world championship race in The Pas, Manitoba. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately this race was halted after two days because of bad temperatures. It was not because the temperatures were too harsh. It was because the temperatures had warmed up and there was considerable slush on the course which froze in the evening. It was considered dangerous conditions. After two days, the race was halted. I would like to give a summary of the Northwest Territories entrants. After two days, the final results are: in second place was Frank Kelly from Yellowknife, in fourth place was Richard Beck from Yellowknife, in fifth place was Grant Beck from Yellowknife, in seventh place was Raymond Beck from Hay River; in eighth place was Arthur Beck from Hay River; in tenth place was Heather Beck from Yellowknife, in 12th place was Joe Hickes from Baker Lake, in 13th place was Danny Beck from Hay River and 15th place was Henry Landry from Kakisa. There were a few people who did not finish, Sam Perrino from Yellowknife as well as Ernie Campbell from Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I am sure everybody in the Legislature here joins me in congratulating everyone who competed in this particular race. We wish them all the best in their southern tour. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, the mental and physical health of a community is important. Since October of 1997, the community of Broughton Island has been without the services of a social worker. Mr. Speaker, there are social workers available, but the high cost of housing in Broughton Island deters them from coming. When the rent is almost as much as your salary, there is little reason to come. Housing in smaller, remote communities need to be more affordable. They need to be more affordable to attract essential staff to our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure, today, to take this opportunity to tell Members of this Assembly about the successes that have been achieved by the Kivalliq Partners in Development. Kivalliq Partners in Development was formed to deliver the region's economic and development programs and services in a coordinated and cooperative arrangement that draws on the strengths of these three partner organizations: one, Sakku Investments Incorporated, the business arm of the Kivalliq Inuit Association; two, the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and three, Community Futures, a Government of the Northwest Territories funded organization mandated to provide small business loans to regional businesses to promote

economic growth through the creation of employment.

The Kivalliq Partners have a vision that each Kivalliq community will develop an experienced labour force and build the business infrastructure needed to create a growing economy, one which provides communities and residents opportunities to become more self-sufficient and self-reliant. Through a teamwork approach, which reduces duplication of effort and streamlines services in a cost-effective manner, the Kivalliq Partners provide one-stop shopping for all clients of the Keewatin region who seek economic development services and programs.

Mr. Speaker, the many achievements of the Kivalliq Partners in Development are too numerous to list in detail, but I will touch on some of the highlights:

In 1996-97, the value of projects distributed throughout the seven communities in the region totalled $5,201,567;

Local decision-making committees in the communities approved 30 percent of the total projects;

Ninety-eight percent of all approved projects were to majority-owned Inuit businesses;

The average amount of an approved application was $16,943, with a total of 307 applications approved, reflecting the Partners' commitment to small businesses in smaller communities;

These investments in business projects resulted in the creation of 4,880 weeks of employment for Kivalliq residents, with $1.952 million paid out in wages;

The Kivalliq Partners estimate a five percent reduction in the regional unemployment rate as a result of investments made in economic development, and

The Kivalliq Grants to Small Businesses provided assistance to over 132 residents with their projects, while the Kivalliq Training Program sponsored 370 local residents in skills' development, education, training and labour force developments.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you. Member for Keewatin Central is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do I have any nays? Mr. Todd, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I do not say this often. Mr. Speaker, a goal-orientated partnership which achieves such positive results can only flourish through the dedication and commitment of a team of hard working individuals. I would like to pay tribute to a few of these people whose efforts have contributed to the success of Kivalliq Partners: the board of directors, including Mr. Joe Kaludjak, president, and Mr. Yvo Airut, vice- president; Mr. Graeme Dargo, a good friend of mine, who has made a tireless contribution to economic development in the Keewatin region and who is to be congratulated on his recent promotion to the position of assistant deputy minister with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. MACA is, indeed, fortunate to be gaining such a talented and dedicated employee;

Mr. Ron Roach who replaces Mr. Dargo as superintendent of RWED in Rankin Inlet and who, I have every confidence, has the skill and abilities to carry on the good work which is now underway and last, but not least, Mr. Richard Connelly, managing director of Kivalliq Partners and for all of his talented and hard working staff.

Mr. Speaker, Kivalliq Partners in Development is an outstanding example of the growth that can be reached and the improvements that can be made to client services when government strives to work cooperatively with public agencies in the delivery of programs and services. I am extremely pleased this morning to be able to share this success story with Members of the Assembly today. Thank you.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the week of February 10th to 13th, an important community economic development conference was held in Iqaluit. The conference was called Parnaijiit, which roughly translates into people who prepare. The conference focused on community economic development and training for practitioners in the field. The conference was sponsored by Kakivak Association and the Baffin RWED office.

Mr. Speaker, the conference brought together over 60 delegates from across Nunavut. The delegates participated in workshops, panel discussions. We heard from guest speakers and had an opportunity to network with other professionals in the field.

The principal goal of the conference was to look at training and ongoing support for community economic development officers in Nunavut. The Standing Committee on Education for CANDO also participated. They introduced their National Certified Economic Developer Program. Attending the meeting, the CANDO participants also exchanged information and opinions with Nunavut community economic development workers and educators. James Paton of the Government of the Northwest Territories' RWED Baffin office, and a resident of Iqaluit, was selected to sit on the National CANDO Board.

Mr. Speaker, from all accounts, the conference was very successful. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers from Kakivak and RWED for facilitating a very professional and informative conference. Plans are underway to follow up with the Parnaijiit conference in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Roland.