Mr. Speaker, this government has an economic vision. We see a prosperous, diverse economy built on the strengths of our people and the wise use and conscientious protection of our natural resources, one which attracts investment and provides communities and individuals with opportunities to be productive and self-reliant.

Developing a sustainable economy that provides employment and income opportunities for northerners is a key priority of this government. This is a significant challenge and there is no easy answer or one simple solution to meet the increasing demands of job creation. The Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED), tasked with addressing this challenge, has developed new strategies and approaches, which are seeing positive results.

Mr. Speaker, over this past year, the department has developed several fundamental principles which have been applied in finding new, cost effective alternatives for job creation. Briefly, these principles are as follows:

-The NWT's rich natural resources must be managed responsibly, particularly since they are the basis of our economy. Economic activity in natural resource areas must ensure northern benefits and must consider environmental stewardship.

-The government is not the engine of economic growth. Business and community development drive economic growth and are the lifeblood of job creation in a sustainable economy.

-New partnerships must be formed at every regional level to provide cost-shared sources for programs and services that maximize capital formation, job creation, labour force development and economic growth.

-Regional and community based organizations must have more say and control over their own development to ensure local involvement in finding solutions.

These principles have been applied and have resulted in fundamental changes to program delivery and how results are achieved. All the department's program and Northern Employment Strategy budgets have been allocated on a regional basis and regional superintendents are now responsible for making decisions on where to place investments for best results.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to point out that the department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development would not have been able to fund $34 million in projects on its own. Only through our new approach, which allows for increased access to flexible debt financing programs and cost sharing with regional partnerships, have we been able to achieve this volume. The impact on the economy of these investments has been significant. RWED superintendents and partners have been aggressive in supporting new businesses and community economic development, resulting in the creation of 376 full-time and 948 part-time jobs. In today's difficult economic climate many existing businesses and community development organizations require assistance to expand or maintain employment. Assistance was provided, with the result of 459 full-time and 554 part-time jobs maintained. A full-time job is calculated to be a minimum of 40 weeks of employment and a part-time job to be a minimum of ten work weeks of employment. The total work weeks of employment created and maintained as a result of projects was 48,434 which is the equivalent of 1,210 full-time jobs.

RWED's contribution costs per full-time work week of employment were $196, which clearly indicates a good return on investment in providing opportunities for northerners. Mr. Speaker, these results are very positive and clearly show that RWED is headed in the right direction in meeting this government's priorities. The bottom line is that we are devolving the money and authority to the regions and providing flexibility within each region to invest in its priorities. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank colleagues and staff for their support in assisting RWED to achieve such positive results. Their hard work and efforts are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week saw a meeting of the joint territorial/federal task force on value-added diamond industries here in Yellowknife. It was obvious to me, Mr. Speaker from reports on the meeting, that by sending only one of the three deputy ministers that are on the task force, that the federal government might not consider this process to be as high a priority as we do.

I wonder how much federal development money would be available to create value-added diamond industries if this diamond find was in Ontario or Quebec where nearly 200 of our federal representatives originate from, as opposed to our two Members of Parliament from the Northwest Territories. What Canada has to realize is that the more economically self-sufficient the north is, the less we have to rely on the resources of Ottawa and the rest of the country. I hope the diamond companies do not think that we are overstepping our bounds and dabbling in issues that no government has the right to be involved in a free-market economy. I heard, Mr. George Burne, the manager of the newly established De Beers presence in Canada, tell us this weekend that we should concentrate on diamond mining and leave everything else up to the professionals. Mr. Speaker, we are far too accustomed to the paternalistic attitude of Ottawa when it comes to charting our own course and being involved in where we want to take our northern economy.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen no quantifiable reports, studies or any other evidence that would convince me that value-added diamond industries would not flourish if located in the Northwest Territories. I see no major or insurmountable hurdles at the territorial, municipal or federal level that cannot be worked out in conjunction with the diamond producers and marketers. Mr. Speaker, the western NWT is fighting for our economic future. We have boomed and busted several times. The economy must diversify and expand.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as the MLA for Hay River, I would like to thank Mr. Burne of De Beers for attending the NWT Chamber of Commerce meetings and banquet this weekend, the NWT Chamber for holding their meetings in Hay River and I would also like to thank the Honourable John Todd for taking the time to come to Hay River, being the keynote speaker for the banquet and also squeezing in several meetings with a number of my constituents and taking Hay River hospitality like a good sport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again to speak about the plight of income support workers in my constituency and the problems they encounter in trying to do their jobs on a minimum budget.

The community of Tsiigehtchic receives approximately $4,000 to administer the Income Support Program. They are unhappy about the work that has to be done to carry out these responsibilities and the amount of money that this government provides. At this point, Mr. Speaker, the communities of Tsiigehtchic and Aklavik are considering withdrawing from administering the Income Support Program for the department. This is to be expected, Mr. Speaker, with the method the department uses to calculate the Formula Financing Program. There are certain things that have to be looked at in regard to the background materials and the notes. The case numbers are based on how many times the income support worker sees a client. However, Mr. Speaker, it does not mention the number of clients that see the income worker who are rejected or do not receive income support, also the amount of time it takes for the income support worker to spend to evaluate the client or clients who have been rejected. Working on each case load, I know of income support workers who have to take their work home and spend many hours after work to conclude the reports. Mr. Speaker, taking into account all these problem areas, the income support workers are working at below minimum wage. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister at the appropriate time, would he reconsider looking at the way this program is being evaluated? Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as an Assembly, we have achieved some significant progress in regard to balancing the budget and achieving a small surplus this year. I think we should all be very proud of that achievement. We cannot loose track of the fact, in the enthusiasm of the moment, that there are significant problems still before us, financial and social. Mr. Speaker, we have an accumulated debt of about $40 million. There are a lot of forced growth issues we have yet to address in the social envelope. For example, we are short 4,000 housing units. We have not addressed the needs of education for a number of years where they have had no increases to their budget in spite of an increased population. We have pay equity before us with a price tag of anywhere from $40 to $200 or $250 million. We have a P3 proposal that has a lot of potential providing it is done right with the proper check and balances. If we do not have the proper checks and balances, an amortization schedule and it is not coordinated properly by the government, then we have the potential, almost overnight, to put ourselves back in the same financial situation we have just spent two years digging ourselves out of. While we should be very proud of our achievements, we cannot loose track of the fact we have a lot of work to do. We are not out of the fiscal woods yet, and that we have to stay the course in a lot of ways as we plan for the future. Time is running short but we cannot afford to stray. We have to keep an eye on the fact that we are now fiscally solvent for the time being We want to stay that way and build on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a busy time of year for Yellowknife, with worthy events nearly

every weekend. Last Friday, I had the privilege of attending a reception for some pretty amazing young ladies. Twenty-four from Yellowknife's two high schools are involved in a national pilot program where they learn the construction trade. It is fairly intense, four afternoons a week and one and a half hours at a time for the next two years. At least some of these girls will likely graduate to a construction site one day, and we, as a society, will be all the better for it. I would like to salute them for breaking into what has traditionally been a male domain.

Another event I would like to mention is the Ball in the Mall, which is coming up this Saturday night . It is the second time the Yellowknife Association for Community Living has organized this major fundraiser benefiting the Abe Miller Centre. Many of you are probably familiar with the centre. It has been offering programs for people with intellectual disabilities for the past 20 years. The association's work is no longer limited to Yellowknife. Over the past few years, its programming has been expanded to several communities, including Rae-Edzo and Rankin Inlet. Programs are currently being developed for Inuvik. The Ball in the Mall is a fundraiser that raises more than money. It promotes community awareness and the acceptance of adults with a mental handicap into the community at large. I am pleased to say I will be attending the ball, and I would encourage all of you to support such a worthy cause.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I was able to travel home and touch base with constituents and my family. Mr. Speaker, I spoke to many people and held a constituency meeting while I was at home for the weekend. A number of issues came forward. There is a continuing concern with the education that is provided to the students and children of the Northwest Territories. There is concern in my community with the self-government process and what is happening. How will the Beaufort Delta self-government work and tie into the whole constitutional effort that we are going through as the Government of the Northwest Territories? Mr. Speaker, an issue that came forward as well is the ongoing concern with government and how it does its business. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier in one of my other Member's statements, sometimes we need to nip things in the bud. They are like weeds because if they start growing, they will continue to grow. The concern out there, no matter how much information we put forward, the seed has been planted. It is a hard one to turn around. I would urge this government

and all Members of this Assembly that we need to start doing some weeding. We need to get the Weedex out and clean up our image and show the people of the territories that we truly represent the people and their interests in the Northwest Territories as we know it. It is time to put action our words. It is time to move forward. It is time to be responsible. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to today recognize two Pages from Hay River who have come up to serve the Members of the Legislature, Sarah Pope and Morgan Schauerte, incidently the nephew of the our Deputy Clerk.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been a fact for some time that while many of our people, businesses and community-based organizations have done well in producing arts and crafts, we have not done a proper job in developing marketing strategies. We produce, but we do not spend enough time developing a way in which to sell to make sure that we have a market place to go to. People are going to accept the goods, reproduce and move them on to the consumers. We need to do more work in deciding what type of arts and crafts we need to produce and in what quantities, so that we are meeting the needs of consumers and tourists. We need to do more work so we know the volumes and the quality of work that is required to meet the needs of the consumers. We need to do more work in identifying the potential consumers and then alerting and making aware these potential consumers of the goods that we have available to us.

The NWT Development Corporation in the last year and a half has done considerable work just to shore-up the existing businesses we have across the territories to make sure they are running and operating in a manageable way. We are now turning our attention towards marketing. I have just come back from attending a conference in the United States, in Scottsdale, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona where we have brought producers of arts and crafts from all the aboriginal communities across Canada. The Northwest Territories was very well represented there under the organization of the Northwest Trading Company and the NWT Development Corporation and also with the involvement with the Cultural Institute. There we met with dealers, gallery owners and people from across the United States, who have a specific interest in becoming aware and acquiring carvings, paintings, arts and crafts from aboriginal communities. We think we have made a good start and a positive impact. We will know over the next couple of months whether this has been a good investment or not. Those are some of the examples of the things we are doing in regard to the concern to make sure as the market goes up and down that we continue to be diligent and trying to promote and maintain the markets that we have established to date. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, at this time we do not have comprehensive documents that would outline the specifics or strategy in general terms for all the different products that we have. We can develop a document that would outline specific initiatives we have in regard to Inuit carvings. Things we have done to make sure that the material required for carving is accessible to the artists in the communities, illustrate the kind of work we are doing to make inroads for new markets and increasing the marketing of Inuit art in southern Canada. We have done work, for instance, in the lumber sector. We can share with Members all the different sectors of our economy that we are looking at. Fish for instance, wild meat products, and share with them, in a general summary document, the kind of initiatives we are taking to promote and market these products in the different sectors. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is any specific problem that can be pinpointed in regard to all the different products that we have. For instance, we produce lumber. We produce fish. We have fish products, muskox meat, caribou meat, hides, fur, things like moccasins, fur products, shrimp and char. A whole range of different products. Inuit carvings, Dene carvings and paintings. Each one of these products are handled a little differently, have different markets and require different types of work to be done in order to get it flowing into an established market. In general terms the one problem we might say we have is, we spend a great deal of time and money developing businesses to produce goods, to make jobs that result in the production of goods, but we have not spent enough time and resources in preparing a market place for these goods. Very often we end up stockpiling certain styles of products because we scramble only after the fact to try and figure out who is going to buy these things. Is it the kind of product they want to buy, how much of these goods would they be interested in buying? Looking at things like quality, workmanship, availability, consistency of supply and the many other things the consumers at the other end require. Also, the particular price tag, the particular market might be willing and able to spend. In general terms, if there is any one problem that we have, I would say, it is specifically as the Member has alluded to, the problem that we have not spent enough time developing work to make sure our products are available, the consumer is aware and a willing interest in acquiring these products. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it is the intention of our department and the intention of the NWT Development Corporation to continue working on this particular area of responsibility that we have. Specifically, one of the areas is to ensure Inuit carvers maintain and continue to expand on the interest different countries of the world have in acquiring carvings from people in northern Canada. Yes, we will continue to work on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, the guideline the department uses is to try to have student financial assistance cheques delivered to students within ten working days of the time they apply for their assistance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be happy to look into it. To make sure I have all the details correct, I will take the question as notice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I do not think that the health care system is the only social safety net that is in crisis. I believe that the Income Support Program is also in crisis. The Minister indicated last week that the department, as part of the normal course of its duties, conducts ongoing reviews of the program it administers. The department has to also take a close look at the formula financing of the Income Support Program and adjust it to reflect actual workloads of the individual income support workers. Will the Minister consider looking at this or has that also been part of the review?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that would, in fact, be part of an ongoing review as we come to the completion of the first full year that most communities have administered the program. We will be discussing with the communities how the program has worked and trying to find ways in which the program could be improved. I cannot make any assurance that there will definitely be some change, but the intent is to try to work with communities to see that they can effectively deliver the program for the amounts provided. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Regarding my opening statement, I mentioned the community of Tsiigehtchic which receives $4,000 to hire someone to deliver the Income Support Program. This amount, which is minimal compared to other communities, does the Minister feel that $4,000 for a one-year program which we are supposed to put as a priority to get people off welfare and put them back to work, is adequate?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when this program was taken over by Education, Culture and Employment from Health and Social Services, the intent was to free up time for social workers to deliver the

support services that people needed. Income support was seen much along the lines of a clerical function, wherein a clerk could figure out whether or not a person's income was over or under a certain line in a community and determine whether or not their income needed to be topped up. In calculating the formula for paying for the administration for the delivery of the program, it was felt that the amount of money represented by one full-time equivalent for 2,000 cases would be adequate. I have to assume that if the amount is $4,000 as the Member has said, that would be based on that formula. We have found that formula to work across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the whole idea of the formula working, I do not believe I would be standing here asking questions because there is a fault to the delivery of this program. What are the plans the department has for communities that want to bow out of this program and give it back to the department to administer on their own?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would hope that communities would not actually want to follow through on that, because it would remove some of the community flexibility that may exist with the program being delivered by people at the local level. We would certainly be prepared to work with the community to discuss where they are finding the challenges and see if we cannot find some way to help them meet those challenges. Perhaps with some support for a while, they can find a new way to deliver the service that does not tie them up so much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister advise me how soon can he have someone go into the communities of Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik and Fort McPherson to consider remapping the financial formula that is in place and the amounts that they feel adequate? How soon can he have someone in there?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did not make that offer to the Member. What I did say was, the department is prepared to work with communities that are having problems. If the community wishes to approach the regional office, I am sure we can set something up with them fairly quickly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng. Last spring and summer, a request for proposal was issued to purchase computers for the social services system throughout the Northwest Territories and health centres. I believe that contract was awarded for around $1.2 million with about 350 computers required. I wonder if the Minister could tell us, where are those computers at the moment?

Thank you. Could the Minister tell us if there were any deficiencies in these computers? What action is being taken about those deficiencies?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is our view, as a government, that it is possible to do business with the industry and with the many companies who are interested and have interests in the land and resources in the Northwest Territories. As difficult as it appears at times, it is even possible and reasonable to expect the federal government and federal officials to treat reasonably the interest and concerns this government and northern aboriginal people have, in being a significant beneficiary to any type of development that takes place within the boundaries of the Northwest Territories. We do not advocate or entertain the notion of, at any time, civil disobedience as a means of levering benefits. All of which, we believe, can be done through civil and proper discussions and negotiations. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the former leader of the Assembly of First Nations explained the logo that the organization had at one time, which had displayed a peace pipe and a tomahawk. He said it is always our policy to use the first and display prominently the second, which produces good results. I am sure that in this public arena where everybody has a say, there is a very strong reason to believe that the interests of communities, the leader and particularly the views of aboriginal leaders are always to be taken very seriously. I am sure. I am absolutely positive that people in the mining industry, BHP, would not make the mistake of misreading the potential and the cost that would be incurred if relationships with this government or with the people in the communities of the Northwest Territories became severely tested. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Finance in relation to the public and private partnerships initiative. Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a growing perception out and about that this P3, as it is called, is $200 million possibly, of free money, that we will be able to have almost unlimited construction without really having to track it or possibly pay the tab. I would like to ask the Minister what steps he is taking to, in fact, ensure this very beneficial program will have the proper checks and balances? Is there clear information out there as to what exactly qualifies under this particular initiative? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question to the Minister then would be, are in fact the actual rules of engagement and implementation, the checks and balances, under development? Will they be in place before we start proceeding with any initiatives?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Other jurisdictions have had much more experience than the Northwest Territories in this particular area. Some have, in fact, had their own fatalities, very costly ones. Many jurisdictions, as a result, come up with their own processes and procedures. Is the Minister going to check so that we do not, in fact, reinvent the wheel and then we can learn, hopefully, from what works and what does not work in other jurisdictions as well?