Good morning. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay special tribute to the employees of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and in particular, those employees who have long service with this department.

It is important to recognize the contribution that long service employees make in the north. We recognize their value and how they play such an important part in the lives of every citizen. Their dedication and commitment to their work and to serving the people of the NWT is truly appreciated.

The department will be presenting Long Service Awards at a special gathering later this afternoon to the following MACA staff:

- Bev Drozda and Linda Weselowski for 20 years of service with the department

- Debbie Decker, Ilona Legler and Ron Tecsy for 15 years service

- Susan Craig, Susan Sheck, Nancy Marchiori, Buddy Williams and Myles Sartor for ten years service.

- In addition, there are two employees from the South Slave - Deh Cho region who have 15 years of service. They are, Gladys Bourke and Ron Hardisty.

Thank you all for your valued contributions and continued hard work.

I hope that today's presentation marks a memorable highlight of your public service careers with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr. Dent.

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

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to inform the Members of the House and my riding that today will be my last day in the House. I had hoped to remain until the last day as February 27th, was supposed to be the final day. I had made prior commitments to attend the opening of the hockey arena in Hall Beach. During our Ordinary Members Caucus I made a motion to adjourn the House and return in the middle of March. It was defeated. My reason for the motion was that I felt that we are getting frustrated with the lack of progress and many questions being asked in the House which do not affect many of the people we represent. This morning, I heard through CBC radio that the public is no longer interested in hearing anymore on the unsigned note that has been discussed. The people in my riding feel there are more important issues that we have to deal with.

Mr. Speaker, if the session was to continue beyond March 3rd, I would have considered returning but that does not make economic sense considering the high cost of my travel. Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, I hope you will give me the opportunity to second the motion to conclude today's session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

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

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have sat in this House for over two-years and have taken for granted that the other Members would slam the city of Yellowknife at every opportunity. In actual fact, Mr. Speaker, complaining about Yellowknife and the decisions made in Yellowknife has been one of the favourite activities in the north ever since the federal government announced that the capital would move to Yellowknife. We are used to it.

However, Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a song on my lips and joy in my heart. Why am I in such a good mood, my colleagues might ask? I am in a good mood because during question period on Tuesday, I actually listened to my honourable colleague from Rankin Inlet defend the decision to provide the City of Yellowknife with an extra $400,000 to market ...

--Applause.

so that it can take advantage of future economic opportunities for Yellowknife and for all of the Northwest Territories. When you represent a riding in Yellowknife, you get used to the status quo and the government not being able to spend at the same rate as other communities. Even the communities of Detah and Ndilo represented by my friend, Mr. Erasmus, and Rae-Edzo, represented by my friend, Mr. Rabesca, are not capital funded the same as other communities in the north because of their unfortunate close proximity to Yellowknife.

I can stand and quote from the ten-year capital report, I could use numbers and percentages to prove my point, but I would probably bore you all to tears. I could say that I do not understand why my colleagues Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Picco were complaining when I look at the level of funding in the communities in their ridings. However, Mr. Speaker, I do understand they have to ask their questions and represent their constituents and get in the occasional round of the north's favourite game, complaining about Yellowknife.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I would again like to remind my colleagues that Yellowknife has taken more of its fair share of the cuts and will be impacted negatively more by division than any other community in the Western Territory. The diamond mines and the $400,000 will help the city market and take advantage of that opportunity. Do not begrudge us a small piece of the pie.

To my honourable colleague, Mr. Todd, thank you for coming to your senses, thank you for realizing that the Northwest Territories includes Yellowknife and thank you for defending my city's right to a prosperous economic future. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I say, good government, good government.

--Applause.

Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on March 8th, women in Iqaluit will be getting together to celebrate International Women's Day. Mr. Speaker, International Women's Day will have as their focus the theme of women honouring women. The afternoon of March 8th will feature guest speakers and an opportunity for Iqaluit women to get together to talk about common concerns.

Mr. Speaker, all proceeds will be donated to the Qimaavik Women's Shelter and I would like to thank the organizers, Eliza Kingdon, Wende Halonen, Marie Fortier and Ellen Bennett. I would also like to thank the sponsors, DJ Sensations, Arctic Creations, the Bank of Montreal and the Frobisher Inn, for hosting this important event. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will forego my prepared text and respond to Mr. Henry's earlier statement. Mr. Speaker, just for the record, when myself, Mr. Picco and I believe, Mr. Krutko, spoke of the $400,000 that was allocated or donated to the city of Yellowknife, I think we made it clear that we were not complaining about the donation, we were questioning how the smaller communities could also access that type of money.

The other issue which was brought up was the fact that we were asking what process was used, where did the money come from, who authorized it and where does it sit in the budget. I think that is the issue, the process. That is what we were talking about. We certainly were not complaining about Yellowknife getting $400,000. Thank you.

--Applause.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a conference going on in Yellowknife over the next few days to discuss the plight of the Peary caribou. Representatives from the federal government, the territorial government, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, the Inuvialuit and Impact Hunters and Trappers Association, are meeting to share experiences and knowledge on the conservation of the Peary caribou. If we lose the Peary caribou in the north and the only ones left are the breeding ones in the south, I am worried that reintroducing them to the high Arctic at a later date, would not work and would require a high degree of support to make sure the caribou survive.

Mr. Speaker, if we are going to have to feed them when they are reintroduced to the Arctic, why can we not do it now? The people of the Arctic Islands, have very few employment opportunities. In my mind, it makes more sense to bring food to the caribou rather than bring the caribou to the food. We can provide employment in feeding the caribou.

Mr. Speaker, Peary caribou living in Calgary would create employment and economic development through tourism. I would like to strongly urge the government to also try and save the Peary caribou in the wild so that Peary caribou stay wild so that if they ever do reintroduce Peary caribou from the south, there would be at least Peary caribou around to them how to forage for food. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to hear the Minister of Housing's Minister's statement on February 23, 1998. It is always good to hear that our lower income earners will not have to pay the mandated 30 percent of their income. This a very high rate for residents and can be a deterrent to find employment.

With this mind, I will ask the Minister if he would consider lowering the rent scale for the entire NWT from the high of 30 percent of income to the lowest level on the rent scale. By doing this, it will make all tenants equal and fair across the board. Our lower income earners across the north need incentives for wanting to go back to work and this may be a good way of doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.