Thank you, Mr. Roland. Good afternoon. On behalf of the Members of the Legislative Assembly, I would like to express sincere condolences to Her Honour Helen Maksagak, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and her family on the death of her husband and their father and grandfather, John. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

I have a message from the Deputy Commissioner.

I wish to advise the House that I have received the following message from the Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories the passage of Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1998-99 during the Fifth Session of the 13th Legislative Assembly. Yours truly, Dan Marion, Deputy Commissioner.

Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Kelvin Ng will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Provincial/Territorial Ministerial Framework Negotiations meeting in Toronto. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, cadets play an important part in the lives of hundreds of our youth. There are two air cadet squadrons and 17 army cadet corps in the NWT, with more than 400 air and army cadets. I had the privilege of being involved in the cadet movement for a number of years, and I know, from personal experience, what a difference it can make for our young people. I, therefore, take this opportunity to add my voice in recognition of the cadet movement in the NWT and in its recognition today in this House.

The primary focus of the cadet organization is to develop in our youth the foundations of good citizenship so that they will be able to become strong and contributing members of society. We have examples here in this House now in the form of our Pages, who have been drawn from our longest standing cadet units.

We have also seen the cadet displays outside put on by the cadet corps in Rae-Edzo and by the two Yellowknife cadet units. This afternoon at the break we look forward to the reception and demonstrations.

I would also like to pay tribute to the many volunteers who give so much of their lives to this movement. The volunteers, I experienced, gave not only their skills but also took the time to talk about issues and interests with us, really reaching out. With their abilities and dedication, our youth can continue to grow and develop into leaders of our communities.

We would not have cadets without the Canadian Forces, and I would like to thank them and their northern-based personnel also for the tremendous work they do for cadets, not only in the time they spend, but in providing equipment, uniforms and financial support. It truly is appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I know that we all wish air and army cadets, their leaders and their civilian sponsors all the best in the future and offer our support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Ministers' statements. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' statements. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to update Members on the status of the discussions regarding financing arrangements for Nunavut and the Western Territory after April 1, 1999.

The Special Committee on Financial Arrangements for Nunavut and the Western Territory has completed the first phase of its work, examining the issues of funding levels and financing mechanisms for the two new territories. A great deal of work has been done in a relatively short period of time. I would like to commend the work of the officials of the GNWT, the Office of the Interim Commissioner, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., and the Western Coalition who have been meeting with the federal government since last May to discuss these important issues.

At this time, northern parties are awaiting the decision of the federal government regarding final funding levels and mechanisms. Based on my discussions over the past months with the federal Minister of Finance, the Honourable Paul Martin, I remain confident that sufficient funding will be available for each new territory after 1999 to maintain current program and service levels.

In addition, I believe that we will see some important improvements in the design of the formula mechanisms, some of which will increase the responsiveness of the formula to northern funding needs and others which will lead to greater administrative simplicity.

It is hoped that we will be advised of the federal decision as soon as possible. Business planning for the 1999-2000 fiscal year must begin soon for both territories and information about funding levels is key to this process. It is also important that officials be able to start work as soon as possible on the more detailed discussions and drafting needed to develop formal agreements. We would hope that these agreements would be ready for signing in the fall.

I would like to take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to thank Members for their advice and input into the financing process over the past year. Without the cooperation of everyone involved, these discussions would not have been as fruitful or as encouraging. Thank you.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a real need for change in the area of community fire protection. Over the last year, six people were killed and 23 people were injured by fire in the Northwest Territories. This is three times the Canadian average.

In the last two years, communities have also lost the following to fire:

- the Co-op store in Fort McPherson

- the Northern store in Deline

- the fire hall in Fort Resolution

- a furniture store in Yellowknife - the Attagoyuk school in Pangnirtung

- a motel in Fort Smith

- school portables in Fort McPherson, and

- the water board building in Gjoa Haven

Mr. Speaker, this amounts to a loss of over $23 million worth of infrastructure.

It is tragic that too many northerners have lost their lives and that millions of dollars in property are also lost. With this track record, it is becoming even more difficult for this government to attain reasonable insurance coverage against fire.

All of this, Mr. Speaker, stresses the importance of introducing significant change to the current fire protection system. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is leading this effort through the office of the fire marshal, but just as important, Mr. Speaker, is the role of communities in maintaining an adequate fire response capability.

Community fire departments must have adequate resources to properly equip themselves to effectively respond to fires. In addition, Mr. Speaker, local firefighters must also be properly trained to do their jobs and to protect their community.

MACA is working with the NWT Fire Chiefs' Association to develop a territorial firefighter training program for community volunteers and professional firefighters alike. The department and the association are now finalizing recommendations to improve firefighting training across the north.

Since most fires can be prevented, the department is also working with the Fire Chiefs' Association to develop public education strategies to reduce the number of fires. The NWT Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Program has been launched to work with youth who are prone to starting fires. As well, our Learn Not to Burn campaign has been delivered in all our northern schools to educate children on fire safety.

Mr. Speaker, my department will continue these initiatives and will work with communities to increase their capacity to respond to fire. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to make a statement regarding Hall Beach's lack of CBC News Service. The residents of Hall Beach are still not able to receive CBC service at this point in time. As well, their local radio station is still out of service. At the appropriate time during question period, I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what his department and the CBC have done to date, to rectify the problem. Thank you. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the need for office space in the communities I represent in Grise Fiord and Arctic Bay. Mr. Speaker, since community empowerment started, the hamlets in these communities have had a shortage of office space. Last year, I was asking the Minister responsible for hamlets to renovate the offices that are being used to date. Today, nothing has been done. As a matter of fact, in the community of Arctic Bay and Grise Fiord, the employees who were transferred from the government are working in condemned office space. Every person has to work in a good environment place. Nothing has been done to date on these offices.

As a matter of fact, when I was visiting the community of Grise Fiord, I took a tour of the office. There were some cracks and pipes that were cut, as well, the furnace was not working properly and in a cold climate area such as Grise Fiord that is not acceptable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Barnabas. Members' statements. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the cleanup situation again at Cape Christian. Cape Christian as many of you know is the former American Coast Guard Station located 12 miles northeast of Clyde River. The Government of the Northwest Territories is the current owner of the site.

I stated earlier that the community of Clyde River would like the site thoroughly cleared of garbage and PCBs. There are also abandoned buildings on the site that pose a danger to children. Removal of those buildings should also be considered. In summary, Mr. Speaker, the site is a threat to the health and safety of the residents of Clyde River.

I understand an evaluation team from the Department of Public Works and Services proposes to go to Cape Christian to evaluate the site. The Royal Military College has evaluated the site before. They noted the presence of PCBs. I would like to take this opportunity to suggest that the department use the evaluation done by the college and immediately start the cleanup this summer. For the record, Mr. Speaker, this summer. Pollutants such as PCBs from the site are leaching into the ground. The residents cannot wait another summer for another evaluation to be done. Once the proposed evaluation is completed, there will not be enough time to coordinate a cleanup until next summer. This problem has haunted Clyde River for a long time now. Now is the time to properly resolve the matter by cleaning up the site. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Enuaraq. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the last sitting, I introduced a motion to have any budget surplus be redirected to the Department of Education and the Department of Health. Mr. Speaker, last month when I was home in Iqaluit, I attended a public forum on education sponsored by the Iqaluit Education Authority. The meeting was well attended and many good issues were raised.

The Department of Education has received, I believe, three percent cuts to its base funding over the past two years. With the increased enrolments in our schools and the adequacy of staffing levels, the reductions have had a major and detrimental effect on our schools and children. Mr. Speaker, I have received several letters from teachers, I have spoken to educators and parents and in all cases, they are worried and angry about the quality of our education system. We have cases of teachers buying materials from their own pockets. We have stories of stress and burnout. We have stories of curriculum problems and the adequacy of the formula used by the Department of Education in allotting the budgets to our school boards.

Mr. Speaker, the government continues to answer these concerns with, give us examples, show us the evidence. It is not enough to raise these issues in the House. The government has no money, Mr. Speaker. The government continually tells us about reductions and cutbacks. Yet, our educators question dubious studies and money spent on other areas. Mr. Speaker, as an elected Member, we get defensive when confronted and questioned about these reductions and their impacts.

I know that the Minister of Education is attempting to deal with these issues, but more has to be done and that can only be accomplished with this House unanimously supporting and addressing the concern of crowded classrooms and of formulas that do not reflect the current staffing levels, allocations for curriculums, et cetera.

Mr. Speaker, I will table another letter today from a teacher in my riding concerning this. I can also table letters from students, parents and education councils on these issues. Will that be proof enough for this government to do something? Can the problem be fixed by putting more money into the system or should the government review the adequacy and the areas where the money for education is currently being spent? Mr. Speaker, later today I will address the Premier about the government's role and what the Premier will direct the government to do about these issues and serious concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about a concern that has been brought to my attention regarding the very high rent that our teachers are paying in some of our small remote communities which is, of course, raising other issues. How will we find good quality teachers to staff our more remote communities? The lack of good quality teachers will ultimately reduce our children's level of education.

As we are aware, a few years ago, our government decided to sell off all staff housing and at the same time raised the rents to market value. This, as we have all heard, has created difficulties for teachers and other staff in our smaller communities. Often, teachers going into small communities are beginning teachers and/or have one or two years experience. In some of my communities we need three teachers and this means we need to hire a single teacher. As an example, a beginning teacher with a degree receives approximately $46,000 plus Northern Allowance of approximately $6,900. The rent for houses in Rae Lakes is $1,127 per month or more, plus electricity and other utilities. This means a single teacher living in Rae Lakes pays over $13,000 per year in rent. Which in comparison, the same teacher living in Rae-Edzo could pay as low as $6,000 per year. The only difference between these two teachers would be the northern allowance. Why is there such a difference in rent costs? It is important to encourage teachers to live and work in these smaller communities.

To emphasize this further, in my region we currently have 26 vacant staff housing units in Rae-Edzo, two houses in Rae Lakes boarded up and possibly houses in Snare Lake that will be boarded up as well. All because no one can afford to live in them. Currently, we have one staff member in Wha Ti that is living in a GNWT housing unit that the Department of Public Works and Services has condemned and is still charging $500 per month for the luxury of living in a tiny one bedroom log cabin.

Previously, staff was able to live in a unit according to the size of his or her family. If a single person was living in a three-bedroom house because no other unit was available then, that person would be charged a different rate for being over accommodated. This practice is no longer available. What can be done to ensure adequate affordable housing is available to all staff no matter where they live? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Roland.