Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to speak to the issue of questioning in this House. As Ordinary MLAs, it is our job to provide a counter to the Cabinet and to support the government in its job as it directs government business. Politicians quickly think twice when a tough issue presents itself. For example, abortion or capital punishment. The same sex benefits vote caused such a situation in this Assembly earlier. We are elected to take a stand. The public does not want Members to back away from something because it is a controversial. In this House we have seen that with questions on the Keewatin health care, the Aurora Fund or the Lahm Ridge tower issues.

The whole idea of a Legislative Assembly or democracy is the right of free speech and the ability as an elected Member to ask questions. Many times questions have been answered in committee, but those meetings are not open to the public and thus it is accepted that a question put to the government on a particular topic may be to allow the public the opportunity to hear the answer for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I have been criticized in the past by some of my colleagues for asking too many questions. I have been told that the things I have said outside this House could be construed as libellous. Mr. Speaker, I have been told that things published in the paper, although not directly attributed to me, could have been slanderous. I have been told that certain Internet forum writers could be me and the statements made by those writing might be a case of defamation.

Mr. Speaker, for the past couple of months, I have questioned many of the things I might have said. Mr. Speaker, I have thought twice about asking certain questions in this House because it might upset or cause me problems. Mr. Speaker, in speaking to one of my colleagues and my friends back home, they informed me that I was experiencing a case of libel chill. Mr. Speaker, it could prove fatal. Mr. Speaker, I have tried to be honest in my questions. I have tried to offer constructive criticism and will continue to raise questions and represent my community to the best of my abilities. Mr. Speaker, libel chill may be fatal, but not representing my constituents or the people of the Northwest Territories by asking questions and helping keep government accountable is also fatal. That, Mr. Speaker, is not acceptable. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to make a Member's statement. In my constituency of Arctic Bay, there should be a community hall. There is a community hall that was built in 1985. It also is a place where the school children gather. We have never had a community centre in Arctic Bay. We did have one but it was closed down because it was never renovated. The population of Arctic Bay is getting larger and the community centre is not large enough to accommodate them. I want to let the Ministers know that we would like to have a community hall in Arctic Bay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the recruitment and retention of medical staff in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I spoke about the state of the medical services in the NWT and the fact that we had met with the NWT Medical Association who had indicated that our greatest resource is our staff. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time the medical association has brought this up. They had sent us a lengthy document last year in which they indicated how difficult it was to recruit and retain doctors.

Also, the nursing association recently sent us a letter and they attached a survey they had done with their nurses. In it they indicate that nurses are dedicated professionals who try to do a good job and are committed to their work and patients. The cost of living, the isolation, the long working hours, the stress and the housing situation are the main reasons why nurses refuse to relocate in the north. Experienced nurses choose to stay in the south where they are able to live a normal life. Better pay and benefits would go a long way to getting better nurses who want to stay and be part of the community. Nurses need to be kept up to date to be marketable or just to be competent at their present workplace. Providing ongoing educational opportunities and a proper orientation would go a long way in retaining nurses.

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is very important as these professionals are indicating that we need to be able to recruit and retain staff. Changing medical staff means inconsistent medical services. This affects the general public's confidence in our health system. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will be asking the appropriate Minister questions in this area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Groenewegen, the honourable Member for Hay River, on February 4, 1998.

The agreement to the Lahm Ridge Tower lease extension was not conditional upon the sale of the building to the new owners. The lease extension negotiations were concluded in August, 1997. Thank you.

Returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to recognize Michael Miltenberger. Thank you.

--Applause

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Ms. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Stephen Mapsalak, mayor of Repulse Bay; Paul Sammurtok, SAO of Chesterfield Inlet; and Sheldon Dorey, SAO of Repulse Bay. Thank you.

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

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Ms. Thompson.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for asking the question. The SAOs and the hamlet councils are training at this time. I think there are about 12 or 14 who are almost finished with their training in the Baffin region. They are from various communities. I just recently went over there to give them their certificates. They have ongoing training as well to get their certification from Municipal and Community Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, supplementary to the same Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs in regard to community empowerment, it is in regard to training as well. I think the by-law officers should have to take some ongoing training because the job they do is very important especially in communities where there are no RCMP or when the community police have to go out of town, they take over the job of the RCMP. Are the by-law officers trained as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Ms. Thompson.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the smaller communities we have a lack of RCMP constables and the by-law officers have a hard job in the community doing the job of the RCMP. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs works with the RCMP to train the by-law officers in each community. They train them to do some jobs that the RCMP officers do. I am not quite sure how many there are right now taking the training, but they do take training. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary in the area of Community Empowerment Program progress, Mr. Speaker, the honourable Minister talks about the community having the ability to operate within the empowerment program. I believe and I think all of us believe that having support from a region in the area of administration to ensure that there is a monitoring program, to ensure that communities comply with the administration requirement, will we, even after we have the empowerment, have the help from the region at the community level? Thank you.