Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some issues that are important to myself, as MLA and to my constituency of Baffin South and for the people of Cape Dorset, Kimmirut and Sanikiluaq. First, I would like to say that I have enjoyed the time I have spent as the MLA for Baffin South and I look
forward to the coming year and the future dealing with the challenges that we have today.
I will highlight, as I have said, some of the main issues that have been brought to me from my constituents, which I would like to talk about. Foremost is on Nunavut, the building of a new territory of a homeland of the Inuit of Canada and of those non-Inuit, our friends who have chosen to move to Nunavut over the years and call Nunavut their home.
April 1, 1999, is an important date, one that we have waited for many years. Looking at the division calendar that we have in the Assembly, I am reminded that we have 398 days left before that day arrives. Nunavut brings with it many challenges, but also many opportunities and hopes. The hopes for a better life, more jobs, training and empowerment of people that over the last few years have been learning to govern themselves in today's world.
There are many challenges, many things to do. My overall assessment is we are challenged by time. As times passes as we get closer to April, it will become more and more difficult to make sure we do all the things we want to do. On April 1, 1999, we will celebrate and welcome a new territory but it is up to us, the NWT Legislature and the Government of the NWT, the federal government and NTI to rise to the challenge of making sure April 1, 1999, as our Premier always says, is a time to celebrate.
Mr. Speaker, some issues that are important to my constituency, foremost is the cost of living. Just the day-to-day survival of providing food on the table is something that is closest to people's hearts and related to that is the area of jobs, social assistance, housing, et cetera. In all my constituency meetings, constituency phone-in shows which I hold at every opportunity, every several months in my three communities, the issue of the high cost of living and the lack of money is one that is brought up most of often. It is important to note that my constituency does not talk about it, in just the way of complaining that everything is too expensive, they do get into the discussion of what to do about it, such as the effect that social assistance has, important as it is, what the effect of social assistance has had on the people - the dependency factor, the inadequacy factor, et cetera. Social assistance is one area of great importance and interest to my constituency and to myself.
The other issue, related to the cost of living and money on the table, is something I will be talking to the Minister of RWED about and the recent issue of carving sales in my constituency. The carving industry is the most important in my constituency providing over $3 million in revenue to the three communities and in providing Canada the ability to boast to the rest of the world that we have world-class art work. I am proud to say much of that art work comes from the communities and people I represent.
There have been concerns over the last few months and years over the market for carvings, the fact there has been declining sales and prices. We are trying to work on solutions for that, Mr. Speaker. We have been working with the Co-ops, buyers and carvers in trying to come up with solutions for increasing the market for carvings. I am pleased to say that we are planning for a major conference in April with representatives from three communities within my constituency and with representatives from the government, who recognize that it is important for the economy of the communities. I look forward in April, to sit down with all of those people to come up with solutions. It is an important one, Mr. Speaker.
The issue of housing, if I could make a quick mention of it. I speak of it quite often, not only in my capacity of Minister but also as a resident. NWT housing is naturally a big concern. Over the years there has been great strides in improving the quality of housing, however, we still run into the problem of adequacy in terms of numbers and size of houses. As I have said many times in the House, although we have a very big problem, we are trying to deal with it right now. Unless we come up with innovative solutions, more than what we are doing now, we will be faced with even bigger problems down the road. I spent a fair amount of time here and in Ottawa recently reminding those who have influence of this. I will do that here again today. We do need to have an action plan and a strategy to deal with that, but at the same time I recognize that more than anything, it takes resources or money.
Mr. Speaker, in the area of youth, this is another issue that is very important as a political issue in my constituency, not only because of the fact the youth in all three communities have taken steps to get organized to work towards solutions they face, but also the fact things like the law, low self-esteem, school and issues which parents and the population in general are very concerned with. My constituency is also very concerned about this.
I wish to indicate that we are very thankful to Mr. Dent, who recently assisted the Cape Dorset youth committee in coming up with a solution with a need for a drop-in centre by giving some assistance for the purchase of an old building for a gathering place for the youth. I congratulate the youth committee for writing the letters and making the phone calls and convincing me to convince Mr. Dent that this was a worthwhile project. We are very thankful of that.
Also, in the area of youth facilities, the lack of an area in Kimmirut is an issue which has been around for many years. There was one promised to the community more than ten years ago and put on the planning books, but it never materialized and in successive planing budgets there has been a Kimmirut Arena on the books, but for one reason or another because of other priorities, et cetera, that has been delayed again and again. I am pleased to say, Mr. Speaker, in this coming fiscal year, there is some certainty to the fact that an arena will be built for Kimmirut. There is $100,000 in the budget for planning, et cetera, for the arena. I do fully expect the year after that the capital dollars from the Government of Nunavut will be there. This is such an important area.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted to also mention very quickly an issue that is important in Kimmirut and particularly Sanikiluaq, and that is the area of airline safety. In the recent past, there have been several airplane crashes in the Sanikiluaq area, and the community is quite concerned about aircraft safety. We have taken steps to work with Minister Antoine in ensuring that all inspections and maintenance of all the airlines that service those communities are done. We are putting together, with the help of the Government of the NWT and the Government of Canada, some information that I hope will assure that community that all is being done. Also, on the same issue, again in my home community of Kimmirut, airline safety is a big concern. This has to do with the lack of a suitable airport or airstrip for the community which has also been an issue for many, many years. I would like to thank Mr. Antoine for travelling with me and the Government of Canada Transport officials this fall to meet with the community to tour the area. Again, I am pleased to say, what I believe we have is a commitment to work further in finding a solution which will sometime soon find us building a new airstrip for the community of Kimmirut. We certainly do not have a finished product by any means, but we have taken some important steps in that area.
Mr. Speaker, just a couple of other points. Despite the pain and difficulties in making budget cuts, I am very proud to be a part of a group that has ensured we limit, to a great degree, the level of debt we will pass on to our children. From what I saw two years ago, it appeared that if we did not do anything, we would be leaving our children, in a matter of a few years, with hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. We as a group have decided to do something about it. We will not be debt-free, but we will be close. Despite the difficulty in dealing with budget cuts, I am very proud we have been able to be a part of that.
In the area of Inuit employment, this is one which is important to my constituency, particularly in Cape Dorset which will be the site of a sub regional office for the Government of Nunavut, where the Nunavut Construction Corporation has started to build housing units and apartments for the Government of Nunavut workers. There is much anticipation that the Government of Nunavut will employ as many Inuit as possible, and this is where the Inuit Employment Plan and training are so important. I am glad to see the hamlet of Cape Dorset is working with the Department of Education and other groups to ensure that all of the opportunities are taken up and that we do not loose out on this big opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, there are many other issues that I would like to speak about, which I will, in the coming months. I would like to make mention, very briefly, of the note that was an issue. I must admit it has taken up a lot of my mind over the last little while. It is an issue that I wish would quite soon go away, but I would like to tell the House that I have and I will take steps to ensure my innocence is proven. Just to tell the House I plan to take other steps to make sure this issue is dealt with in another form outside this Assembly. I do want to apologize to Mr. Ootes. Yesterday, when I made my off the cuff statement, in reading it over again, I seemed to imply that Mr. Ootes was in on some parasitic organization that was working on this. I did not mean that. I did not mean any disrespect to the Member. I have apologized to the Member in person, and I hope that will suffice and clear up the air for him and for his constituency.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much. I wish you all a good spring. Tomorrow is my last day in the House as I am travelling on Saturday to other places. I would like to wish all of you a very good spring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause