Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, as the first annual NWT Apprenticeship Week draws to a close, I am pleased to announce the designation of a new trade and three new occupations in the Northwest Territories. The Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Board met in November to review requests made by representatives of the construction business and the tourism industry to have trades and occupations recognized under our Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Act. The board has recognized the new trade of insulator (heat and frost), and at the request of the apprenticeship board, I have recommended that a trade designation order be published. Insulators will now be able to be certified in the Northwest Territories. Occupational certification is a formal recognition of skills. While similar to apprenticeship, occupational certification could be seen as the "younger brother " to apprenticeship. On-the-job and technical training are in the control of industry, rather than government.

As the Members know, this Apprenticeship Week is the first ever held in the Northwest Territories, and earlier, I noted another first with the creation of the Construction Trades for Women Program. Following that theme, it is fitting we finish off the week's activities with the announcement of another first for both the Northwest Territories and, in fact, Canada, that is, the designation of three new occupations under the Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Board for certification: furrier, hunting guide and fishing guide. All three are being designated under the Apprenticeship Act in Canada for the first time.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Apprenticeship Week activities in communities throughout the Northwest Territories, and once again recognize the thousands of men and women who work as apprentices and journeypersons across the north. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I first became a Member of this Legislative Assembly one of the hardest things to get used to was recognition and acceptance of the fact that I entered a profession that is held in generally low esteem by the people. In fact, I saw a poll not too long ago where we rank even lower than lawyers in terms of public perception, and unfortunately just marginally ahead of child molesters. Mr. Speaker, that is unfortunate because it colours the perception of people and their perception of everything we do regardless of how good it is. I came through the door intent on representing my constituents and the people of the Northwest Territories to the best of my ability. That is still my intention. I believe, that is the intention of every Member in the House here today. We have to strive every day to prove to the people that in fact we have their best interests at heart. In this House I have heard this Assembly characterized as a banana republic. Once again, I believe that is an unfortunate perception. I believe history will show that this Assembly is probably the best and has done the most of any of the 12 Assemblies before us.

Mr. Speaker, we inherited an Assembly that was for all intents and purposes in political grid lock where there was political scandal on almost a weekly basis, where there was a revolving door to Cabinet. We restructured the Assembly to be much more functional and open. We inherited a deficit and a territorial government that was hurtling towards bankruptcy. We also inherited a huge backlog of legislative agenda of undone business and a road to division that was significantly behind schedule. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to be part of this Assembly. We have balanced the budget. We have restructured government to make it more efficient and accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement and I apologize for speaking to the Chair sitting down.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has balanced the budget. We have restructured government. We have taken care of a huge legislative backlog, though there is still much ahead of us. We will get to division. We cannot forget the good things we have done because sometimes on a day-to-day basis, we get caught up in our affairs that are before us and forget that we have accomplished a lot. We all have a job to do, Mr. Speaker. We have set an agenda for ourselves and when issues come up, this job requires some people to ask questions, some people to answer questions, like the Lahm Ridge Tower. It is our responsibility as an Assembly to deal with that issue in a professional, impersonal way. This is business. We cannot lose track of the fact, Mr. Speaker, that it is only an issue before us. We still have a very big agenda ahead of us and lots of work to do in the short life that remains before this 13th Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the last time I checked, I do have guts and I do have a backbone. I have the right to raise issues on behalf of my constituency in this House, and if the issues end up in the newspapers, so be it. Mr. Speaker, I put my name forth to represent the people in the Mackenzie Delta in relation to issues and, hopefully, to improve the lives of the people of the Mackenzie Delta. I speak not only for the Mackenzie Delta, but for the people in the north. To help make life better for the people in the north, issues have to be discussed, questions have to be raised and comments made in relation to the Lahm Ridge Tower, the whole area of health problems in the north, funding for education and the area that concerns a lot of us, the cancer problems we see in our communities. Regardless if it is a water issue or an education issue, I hoped that it would make a difference. I stand up in this House and ask questions to the different Ministers. A lot of times I get answers I do not feel comfortable with, so I ask more questions. Mr. Speaker, we were elected to not only represent the ridings of the people we represent but the north in general. Programs are delivered by this government for everyone, not for one riding, for one health board or basically for one particular group of people. We have to seriously ask ourselves, who does this government represent? Does it represent the people of the Northwest Territories? Does it represent big industry? Does it work solely on the emphasis that they have to protect their little portfolios in relation to the different departments they are responsible for? I believe that it has come time where we have to say to ourselves, who do we represent?

--Applause

Mr. Speaker, thank you. I am just in the midst of preparing my statement, but I will have to wing the end of it. Mr. Speaker, one more time for the record. I am going to try to explain to the House what my motives are. Mr. Speaker, I campaigned in Hay River on the motto of energy and action. People who did not even like me, voted for me because they said, if she stands up for us the way we have seen her stand up for herself, we will vote for her. Returning home after the last session, a number of my key supporters got together and put me on the hot seat so to speak. They said Jane, what has happened to you? Why are you not asking any questions? Why are you not asking any hard questions? I explained to them very candidly that when I first came here, I got sick. I picked up a virus. I was sick. I was getting over that when I tripped and broke my leg. It took me months to get over that. I was just in the midst of getting over that and my company in Hay River was on the verge of bankruptcy. In the midst of that I got a phone call that my dearest friend, my father, had dropped dead of a heart attack. I explained that to my constituents, but then I did commit to them that they would see the old me who they had elected and they would see energy and action in the Legislature.

On the heels of this meeting with my supporters, I was publicly confronted in a constituency meeting and asked if this government has a communication problem or a correction problem. That is the question I was asked. I committed to find out the answer to that question. On my first day back in Yellowknife, I did go around Yellowknife, I did go to the Courthouse and I did collect public documents in my search for the answer to that question. I returned to the Legislative Assembly to be approached by the Ordinary Members saying, the Premier is waiting to see you. I went to the Premier's office and met with him at his request, and there to my surprise is the assistant deputy minister of Justice, a lawyer I would assume. I am told that she will provide the service of being a witness to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, I have to say, I have been asked, do I hope there are any red faces at the end of this exercise. I sincerely hope not. My motives are not to embarrass or hurt anyone. I am a God-fearing woman. I have made mistakes and I probably will make more mistakes. Every morning when I leave my house, I say a prayer, and I hope and pray that I do not make mistakes which either contravene proper principles of ethics and behaviour or the principles which I adhere to as a Christian. Mr. Speaker, again for the record, my motives are to represent my constituents to the best of my ability and to live up to the campaign motto on which I was elected which were energy and action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about the Premier's statement of February 4th, regarding the questioning by Ordinary Members over the Lahm Ridge Tower lease. Mr. Speaker, the Premier's statement caused me concern as an Ordinary Member. He challenged the Member for Hay River to file a conflict of interest complaint. I can only conclude that we have fundamentally different views on the rights and obligations of government and Ordinary Members. As the Premier said, we do have processes outside of this House for dealing with citizens' concerns. In fact, we have several. We have courts and commissioners and adjudicators. As he said, it is true that anyone may make a complaint to the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. I have the greatest of respect for these institutions but, Mr. Speaker, we have another process, one that goes back centuries. It is called democracy. Democracy means responsible government and that means that those individuals not in a governing position have a responsibility to question and be a sober second thought. Responsible government means several things, but foremost, to me it means that Ministers of government are accountable to the people through their elected representatives, the Ordinary Members of this House. Government must be fair and just. It must be seen to be fair and just. There are few opportunities for government to directly answer questions to the people, questions of the people. If there are rumours and innuendo and if the rumours are misconceived, I would have thought that the government would welcome the opportunity to clear up the misconceptions. Instead the Premier chose to challenge one of the Members. Mr. Speaker, whether or not government welcomes this opportunity, Ordinary Members will continue to ask questions in this House whether it is pleasant or unpleasant for the government. It is our responsibility and our duty as Ordinary Members. We will continue to exercise our duty. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause