The Member for Hay River is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mrs. Groenewegen, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I get started, I would like to welcome all the MLAs back to Yellowknife. I would like to remind you to feel free to spend lots of money in our fair city. I know you will spend a lot more if you have accommodations here than you would have if you were in Hay River or Fort Smith, as my colleague from Fort Smith reminds me.

During our break from the House, I talked to a lot of my constituents and they raised a lot of issues, about which I will be making statements and asking questions. Obviously, they were very happy when it was announced that the diamond sorting facility would be built in Yellowknife. They also had a lot of problems and issues they would like to see resolved. For instance, the pay equity and contract negotiations issue is something all people would like to see resolved. Many people have mentioned they were displeased with the fact that Yellowknife is being used as a base for the Northern Allowance, while it is not the cheapest community to live in. There was also a lot of discussion about education and people are very displeased with the student/teacher ratio and the fact that we have the highest ratio in Canada. They would like to see this go down. In the area of adult education, people are quite concerned. We have a very poorly educated population and people would like to see that changed for the adults. There is concern about the constitution. They would like to see this happening in the west. Many people mentioned the fact that there are very poor youth treatment facilities and would also like to see this addressed. There are quite a few problems that are arising from the income support and the way it is being implemented.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, in the area of aboriginal and treaty rights, I have attended several meetings where this was brought up and the government is not really recognizing or living up to agreements on treaty and aboriginal rights. As I said, I will be making statements and asking questions in these areas and others, as well, during the course of this session. Thank you.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Arlooktoo.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I thank you on behalf of my constituency for the kind words you expressed about the passing of Kovianaktuliaq Parr. I will ensure they are passed on to the family immediately.

If you ask why this is such a critical issue and why should we, Members of the Legislative Assembly and government, be concerned about it; the answer is simple. I view the carving industry as the largest employer or the top income provider for the majority of my constituents. Many families have depended on carving sales to pay bills, buy food and to buy hunting equipment and supplies to support subsistence lifestyles. I believe and have been pushing for action on the part of buyers, producers and government to cooperate to see if there are areas that we could work together on to help improve the conditions of this industry. This could be in marketing strategies, finding new buyers, quality and quantity control and issues regarding material availability. There is also the complex issue of reducing the dependence on carvings, finding other forms of employment and dealing with the fact that not everyone can support their families on a carving income alone.

Recently, I have been working with all parties, in particular the Minister of RWED, to move the work on this issue along. We hope to distribute, to interested parties, options and possible strategies in the next week. Your support would be appreciated. (Translation ends)

That concludes my statement. I do have further information that I will pass on to other Members of the House at another time.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Welcome back to you and my honourable colleagues. I would like to take this opportunity in my Member's statement, Mr. Speaker, to recognize a young lady from Cambridge Bay, who happens to be sitting to your left. Her position and name are Master Corporal Melanie Puglik of the army cadets. She has the honour of representing her community on behalf of her fellow cadets and acting as a page for us this week. Welcome to the Assembly.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Welcome back to my colleagues. Welcome back to Yellowknife. I also, Mr. Speaker, had the opportunity to have discussions with many constituents, and I believe they have concerns and issues related to job creation, P3 projects, employee concerns, pay equity, division of the Northwest Territories and formula financing concerns for particularly the west.

One that I would like to talk about in particular, Mr. Speaker, is that I had the opportunity, on April 18th, to attend the commissioning of the HMCS Yellowknife in Victoria, British Columbia. There were many Yellowknifers and northerners in attendance for that event, including many former northern residents now living in southern Canada. Among those in attendance were the honourable Ministers Antoine and Kakfwi representing this government who presented gifts to the Captain of this vessel. Minister Antoine presented Captain Bancroft with a plaque which consisted of a NWT license plate and registration documents. Mr. Speaker, this gift was very unique. The license plate, numbered MM706, is an actual naval designation number. What is very unique is the fact that this license plate number is actually registered in the Department of Transportation system as a motor vehicle. The NWT can also be identified as the only jurisdiction anywhere having a war ship registered on their motor vehicle system. On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, Minister Kakfwi presented HMCS Yellowknife's Captain Bancroft with a beautiful muskox blanket. I understand it gets rather cold in the evenings aboard ship. Minister Kakfwi also presented a stuffed raven which is, as you know, the mascot for Yellowknife. I learned that this particular raven was found dead in the streets, and Minister Kakfwi took it upon himself to have the raven stuffed and presented to the Captain.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge these two Ministers on the manner in which they carried out their duties on behalf of this government. It was with pleasure and with pride that I was able to observe the admiration of the gathered crowd for the professionalism and wit of both Ministers. We can sometimes take for granted our own government Ministers and senior officials, but when we have had the opportunity, such as I had, to stand back and observe, we can certainly appreciate the calibre of leadership we sometimes take for granted that we have in our own back yard. I would ask that my fellow Members join me in a gesture of gratitude to those two Ministers for a job well done at the commissioning of the HMCS Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on March 27th, the north lost one of its most benevolent and community-oriented citizens. Mr. Fred Coman was a father, a businessman and community activist. He devoted much time to contributing to the well-being of Iqaluit and Nunavut residents. Fred came north in 1962. He worked first for a company called East Coast Carriers. Later he branched out into owning and operating a theatre, restaurant, cartage business and carving store. Fred was a successful entrepreneur but never lost sight of the community and its people.

I recall several meetings with the Honourable John Todd and other members of the Nunatsiaq Liberal Party when Fred would crack a joke or provided insight that put us on the right track. He was an excellent campaign organizer and a friend.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of Iqaluit, I am sure this House joins with me in expressing our good wishes and condolences to Fred's wife, Olannie; his son, Henry, and daughter, Heather, on their loss. He will be missed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Members' statements. Item 4, Returns to oral questions. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Miltenberger on February 18, 1998, regarding mortgage life insurance for clients. This is a very important issue. The corporation, through client counselling for the Expanded Down Payment Assistance Program encourages everyone with a bank mortgage to carry mortgage protection insurance. The purchase of this insurance is also encouraged by the lending institutions themselves.

Purchasing mortgage protection insurance will ensure that the mortgage is paid out in the event of the unfortunate death of either party who signed the mortgage.

Under the Expanded Down Payment Assistance Program itself the corporation does not require mortgage insurance for its portion because our assistance is provided as an upfront grant or as a forgivable loan. In either case, an untimely death of an individual under the program will not require any adjustment to the forgiveness as long as the family can continue to live in the home and meet their bank mortgage. If they had purchased mortgage insurance, they will not have to make any further payments to the bank.

The corporation has considered setting up its own Mortgage Insurance Fund paid for by fees charged to program clients. However, the payments would end up being too high in order to set up a fund large enough to pay out mortgages.

An option being pursued in the case of a death of a major income earner is to allow clients to access additional corporation support to bring down their bank mortgage payments to a level which would be affordable or to pay out their bank mortgage in full and convert the client to another program.

Mr. Speaker, the corporation is developing final recommendations on this important matter for my review by the end of March, 1998.

Thank you. Returns to oral questions. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have two new returns to oral questions, firstly asked by Mr. Picco on January 26, 1998 on strategy for family planning. The residents of the NWT make their own decisions about the size and timing of their families. However, the government does have a number of services which help people make their own choices about having children.

Through the schools' health curriculum, young people learn more about making choices and the responsibilities that come with those choices. The program includes developing self esteem, having the confidence to make decisions, and knowing and understanding the consequences of actions. The Department of Health and Social Services acts as a resource to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment on the health curriculum.

Through the health and social services boards, there is support in a number of ways for community residents. Family planning is part of the Well Women yearly visit in an informal way, dependent on each woman's individual needs. Formalized counselling is part of post natal care to ensure women make clear choices about when or if they want to have more children.

Individual communities and regions have had promotional campaigns about sexually transmitted disease control and family planning. The department has some promotional education materials available for residents and health and social service centres.

Some people make a very conscious decision to avoid pregnancy for a number of reasons. The community health centres have condoms, birth control pills, Depo Provera and other preventative methods available free of charge.

Having a child is a huge responsibility. It affects lifestyles, disposable income, almost every aspect of a person's life. While the government has not developed a plan to encourage a lower rate of population growth, there are a number of programs in place to make sure that, as much as possible, children are born to parents who want those children at a time in the parents' lives when they want the responsibility of the child.

Mr. Speaker, return to an oral question asked by Mr. Ootes on February 2, 1998 on breast cancer screening programs, the department utilizes two prevention techniques. Primary prevention refers to interventions that will prevent the development of the disease. Known modifiable risk factors include diet, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking.

The department has been actively involved in promoting the preservation of traditional diets and regular consumption of traditional foods. Fact sheets have been prepared and made available to all health centres and regional health promotion staff. EpiNorth, the departmental epidemiological newsletter, regularly includes information on this topic.

Tobacco smoke is also a strong risk factor for the development of breast cancer. The department actively encourages and supports its regional boards to target smoking as the most important health risk factor.

Secondary prevention focuses on finding the disease at the earliest possible stage and effectively treating it before it has caused illness or to prevent any further spread and threat to the overall health of the individual.

Screening against breast cancer, in appropriate populations, allows the disease to be found at an earlier stage when treatment is more likely to result in a cure. The components of a comprehensive breast cancer screening program include: 1) teaching all women breast self examination; 2) annual examination of the breasts by a trained health professional and 3) screening mammography, a special X-ray, for women in selected risk groups where benefits of mammography have been documented to offset the risks.

The department has, or is doing, the following secondary prevention initiatives:

- Breast cancer screening is incorporated into nursing practice standards for all health centres.

- Training for teaching breast self-examination and for performing clinical examinations of the breast have been provided through the Advanced Nursing Skills Inservice Program (ANSIP) since the beginning of the program.

- Resource materials and teaching tools to boards.

- Support was provided in 1990 for Stanton to develop its mammography service.

- Interim guidelines for mammography screening were provided to all boards and health professionals in 1995.

- Revised screening guidelines were submitted to the department in November, 1997, and distributed to all boards as well as the NWTMA in December. A workshop has been planned for March 13th, which will involve representatives from the various boards, as well as departmental staff to discuss implementation of these guidelines.

NWT breast cancer rates are still lower than elsewhere in Canada. The cancer registry reports no one having breast cancer from any of the Dogrib communities. Breast cancer in Inuit women over 50 also remains rare. It is important that we focus on primary prevention to maintain these rates at the lowest possible level for all coming generations. Thank you.

Thank you. Returns to oral question. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to recognize two professional artists, Bob Kussy and Billy Merkosak. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a person from Pond Inlet. William Merkosak, who is a good carver, is here. I would like people to recognize him. Thank you. (Translation ends)

--Applause

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Roland.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Krutko.