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.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Members' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate my nephew, Alan Mikkituk who recently graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. His parents, Ron and Leonie Duffy and grandparents, Mikitok and Tweenaq are very proud of him. Also, the former Mrs. Duffy would have been very proud of her grandchild.

Alan's convocation was held on Tuesday, May 19th, where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree with honours in physics, as well as an honours certificate for highest marks in mathematical physics.

Alan is currently enrolled in a Graduate Studies Program at the University of Saskatchewan, and the focus of his research is on plasma physics. Mr. Speaker, Alan Duffy is not only a hard working student. He is also a dedicated husband to his wife Laura and proud father of their three children, Natuk three, Nanook five, and Tweenak seven months.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of my nephew and commend him for his dedication, discipline and the long hours of hard work which were required for his achievement.

(Translation) If you are listening, Alan, I celebrate your convocation. I am rejoicing with the people of Coral Harbour, as well as your parents, and I love you. (Translation ends)

Join me in congratulating Alan Duffy on his success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. On behalf of the Member for North Slave, I would like to recognize the grade five class from Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School in Rae-Edzo. They are here today with their teacher. Welcome to the Assembly.

--Applause

I would also like to recognize the following who are in the gallery involved with the support of the cadet movement in the Northwest Territories. From the Northwest Territories/Yukon Zone of the Air Cadet League of Canada, there is Paul Craig, who is the President, and Jeff Gilmour. Welcome to the Assembly.

--Applause

From the Northwest Territories branch of the Army Cadet League, there is David Colpitts, President and Doug Sherburne.

--Applause

Welcome to the Assembly. From the Canadian Forces Headquarters, Northern Area, there is Lieutenant Colonel Jack Backstrom and Warrant Officer Floyd Powder.

--Applause

Welcome to the Assembly. Uniformed leaders of cadet units, there is Lieutenant Al McConnell and Lieutenant Steve Daniel. --Applause

Welcome all to the Assembly. Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the past two years during the exercise of reduction and cutback of government services programs, many essential programs and services were eliminated. I have received a request to have one such program which was eliminated to be reinstated within this government. Mr. Speaker, this is a request for compassionate travel. I am sure every Member of this House has received such requests from their constituents. Mr. Speaker, given the extremely high cost of transportation in the NWT, recognizing that fact, I think there is a significant demand to have the program back in the budget. At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Premier if, in fact, the compassionate travel benefits could be reinstated by this government. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is May 21st and it is a special day. May 21st is World Catholic Education Day. The day is recognized annually as the day in which Catholic schools around the world engage in some activities which recognize their international associations. Catholic schools

contribute a great deal to the scholastic, spiritual and social aspects of life wherever they exist. In Canada, there are over one million students enroled in Catholic schools. In Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, we have three Catholic schools which today will be involved in various activities, recognizing their international association. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my fellow Members join me in recognizing the contribution to education that Catholic School District No. 2 in Yellowknife has provided. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Members' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As MLA from Tu Nedhe, Mr. Speaker, a constituent is concerned about the pay equity issue. Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal of discussion and debate over the pay equity issue. Both the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Union of Northern Workers have made their positions clear on the matter.

This morning, I received a telephone call from one of my constituents. This lady is a government employee. She was calling to let me know that she and other female workers in my riding want to see this issue settled. They are not interested in a lengthy debate over pay equity. They would like to receive their share of the settlement and get on with their work, the sooner the better.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents raise a very important issue, one that some people may have lost sight of. While we argue over pay equity, female employees of the territorial government are left waiting for a settlement. They continue to work under a pay system that has been found to be unfair. As an MLA, I do not think that my constituents or anyone else in the NWT should be kept waiting for fair treatment. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time I have heard people say they want pay equity settled. I encourage the UNW to listen to what its members are saying. We cannot change the past, but we can do better in the future. Let us not keep our employees waiting any longer. UNW, let your members vote. Thank you.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about education in the Northwest Territories as I have been doing for some time. Mr. Speaker, as we heard earlier today and in the past, putting money into education is investing in the future. I read in one of the reports that the Department of Education has put out that investing one dollar today will save four to five dollars in the future. We also know that the education rates in the Northwest Territories are virtually bordering on the same rates as third world countries, excluding large centres such as Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, studies have been done all over the world showing that poorly educated people tax the resources of governments because they have no jobs or the worst paying jobs. They are also less healthy than better educated people. They do not live as long as better educated people. They are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs and they are more likely to end up in jail, at some point in their life.

Mr. Speaker, I think we all want healthier people who are more likely to not abuse alcohol and drugs and more likely to stay out of jail. I feel the answer is simple. We simply need to put more money into education even if it means going into a deficit. Thank you.

Thank you. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ootes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week we have a number of cadets acting as Pages here in the Chamber and we also have a number of cadets who are here with different displays they have set up. I would like to recognize Crystal Richardson, who is one of the Pages as well; Shawn Camsell, Dustin Chocolate, Henry Fish, Jackson Mantla. These young people are from Rae-Edzo and are active members of the Rae-Edzo Cadet Corps. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize several people. First of all, I would like to acknowledge the presence of one of many summer students who will be working for the government this year. Shelly Kovalench will be working for the NWT Housing Corporation and she is observing today's session with a senior policy analyst, Doug Johnson of the Housing Corporation. Also, Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge one of the air cadets who lives on Latham Island on Morrison Drive, Corporal Selen Gouthier from Ecole St. Joseph's School. She is sitting over there to your right.

-Applause

Thank you. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Before we proceed to oral questions, I just want to remind the Members we will be taking a break at 3:00 p.m. The whole purpose is to meet the cadets and also to test how physically strong you are. I think the cadets would like to challenge you to a tug of war, as well as shooting. I would appreciate all of the Members being involved. It would do everyone a lot of good. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. On February 12, 1998, I asked the Minister about Hall Beach residents not being able to receive broadcasting from CBC since December, 1997. At the time the Minister responded by saying that on February 28th, they would send someone to fix the service. Today is May 21st, they still have not been provided with CBC broadcasts and their local radio station is still not in service. Can the Minister provide me with an accurate response as to what they are doing and what they are going to do to rectify the problem? (Translation ends) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned the need for the cleaning of Cape Christian in my Member's statement, my question will be directed to the program Minister, Stephen Kakfwi, Minister of RWED. Will the department consider using the Royal Military College's evaluation of the site, instead of conducting its own evaluation? Thank you.

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the honourable Minister. Will the department be undertaking a thorough cleanup of the site this summer? Thank you.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following up on my earlier Member's statement, concerning education, I would like to address some questions to the Premier with regard to the role the government is playing with the open letters that have been published in the newspapers with the letters and documentation that have been tabled in this House. My question would be to the Premier on what direction is the Premier giving his staff, his Ministers on a continuing call for support to education? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier of the Northwest Territories, I do not direct the Ministers to deal with any given issue. I ask them to always take a look at any public concern that is raised, such as education, health and social services, whatever, and try to address the issue. Basically, we, as a government, have to respond to public concerns raised and we do that. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, how is the Premier implementing this response to the people? The Premier just told us he was responding. How is the Premier responding to these calls for reform to the education system and with allocation of funds? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whenever we have a public concern raised, if it is addressed to myself, I do pass it on to the Ministers responsible and ask them to respond on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. They are tasked with their ministerial duties for any given department, whether it is education, justice, health or whatever. They will respond to those requests. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in this House I have questions to the Minister for Education. We have heard he has been working very hard to try to work within a budget that has been cut. The Premier was also present when the motion was introduced in the House and passed last month. I am wondering what response has the Premier taken in regard to the motion passed last month in communication with his other Ministers and the Minister of Education? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware that as Cabinet Members, as Members of the Legislative Assembly, people get a lot of requests. The few you hear about today are specific requests for more money for education. Yellowknife wants more money for diamond mines. Someone else wants more money for compassionate travel. There is a constant barrage of requests for dollars. We, as a Legislative Assembly, all 24 of us, agreed to balance the budget in the Legislative Assembly. We have accomplished that. We do not plan on going out and spending more than we take in. We do not plan on going into a deficit. We have very specific direction from this Legislative Assembly that we should operate within a balanced budget, with a given amount of deficit. We plan on finishing our term doing that. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we have balanced the budget and yes, we have a small surplus projected. We are all moving forward. Mr. Speaker, I think the

concern with education that has been raised over today and the last several months, as Mr. Erasmus stated earlier in his statement, as Ms. Groenewegen stated in her statement, I am wondering will the Premier now tell us what is the direction he will be taking as the head of this government to lead us somewhere, not only fiscally, but fundamentally, logistically with education and education concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I have said earlier, we set a course. We will follow that course and we are following that course until April 1, 1999. The course is taking us to division and the course will be taking us to a balanced budget. We have all just passed the budget here, just six weeks ago, I believe it was. The budget was very clear what we, as a government, were going to do. As far as education is concerned, I think that there are many people out there that have a concern about our education. It is a legitimate concern. We have to address it. We will work with other Members as well as educational boards and other members of the public to move to address it. There is no rainbow. There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We have limited financial resources and we have to address the issue of education within the limited amount of financial resources that we do have. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for Division and Nunavut Transition, Mr. Arlooktoo. Mr. Speaker, I realize that all of the details have not yet been finalized regarding which services will be contracted out from this government to help operate Nunavut. My question to the Minister is, can he tell us or at least give us an update as to where the discussions are at now, regarding which services will be contracted out? Thank you.

The Deputy Premier, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the discussions we had with the Interim Commissioner last week, the basic agreement was that we would try to keep contracting out to a minimum. As much work as possible would be done by the Nunavut government on day one. Those of us who are working on this file, all know that would not be possible. At this point in time, our employees in Nunavut, in the new Nunavut government to be, new deputies and our deputies here are working on a document which will assess the capacity of what the new Nunavut government will have, subtracted from the services required which will equal what needs to be contracted out. We expect the list to be available to us in July.

The basic answer to that is, one, we want to keep it at a minimum and two, we want to make sure that the accountability or the control will rest with the Nunavut government and whatever arrangements are made, that there is an agreement signed with the GNWT, for example, that the GNWT would have its say in the signing of a contract. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I realize most of the work is not completed yet, but we must have some information available as to what type of services and which departments? How long do we anticipate using these services? Thank you.

Mr. Arlooktoo. Two questions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, we do not have a very clear picture. The one thing we do know is that the day-to-day services that government already provides on the ground in the communities are already there, so it will be there. The headquarters type functions are mostly coming out of Yellowknife which have to be moved over to the regional offices which is a bit of an unknown right now.

As I said, the work is continuing and by the first week in July, hopefully, when the Nunavut leaders meet again, we will be given a document that lists out what will be required to be contracted out. If some of those are to be contracted out with the Western Territory, that information will be shared immediately with the western leaders. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I realize and I see the need for contracting out these services as we are not quite ready to take them all on our own. How does the Minister see the services that will be contracted, what impact does he see that these services will have on the level of control that the new Nunavut government will have, given the fact that one of the primary reasons for creating Nunavut was for the Nunavut residents to be able to govern and control their own destiny as they see fit? Thank you.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To put it in a nutshell, one of our priorities is to make sure that the

Legislative Assembly and the Executive Branch are up and running on April 1, 1999. You would have a point in the government that is in charge and in control, which is accountable for all of these different services. This is where the accountability and the authority will lie. Where services are contracted out, those will be done in agreement with the GNWT or another government or possibly with a private firm. If I could use one example, the legal registries with the Department of Justice, we know that in the community where it is supposed to be, in Nunavut, the office space infrastructure will not likely be ready. An arrangement will have to be made for the documents and the facility to be here in Yellowknife until the facility is ready. This would be done on a service contract basis. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement regarding the demand for the Compassionate Travel Benefit Program, given the high cost of living, travel in the NWT and in many cases the only means of travel is by air between the regions in the Nunavut area. Mr. Speaker, given the demand for the reinstatement of the compassionate travel, subsequently having requests coming from communities for this program, will the Premier of this government seriously consider reinstating the compassionate travel benefit? Thank you.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is not a lot of difference from Mr. Ningark's riding and my own about the concerns raised for compassionate travel, as well as the other communities that are remote which have to be serviced by air. I have raised that with the Minister of Health. We talked about it and the bottom line is, what is the priority? The priority of this government is to ensure we have enough dollars to move those people who are sick and need to be medevaced into the health centres and that is where the dollars will be spent. We no longer have dollars to spend on compassionate travel, so we have not revisited that issue. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I remember correctly during the reduction cutbacks, the Premier of this government and Mr. Todd, the Finance Minister, stated publicly the reduction cutbacks would be fair and compassionate. Will the Minister look at again reinstating the compassionate travel for people who cannot afford to travel to be with a loved one in their time of need? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we had our budget reductions and we went through the budget reduction process in the last two years, we have cut $207 million from a billion dollar budget, close to 20 percent, no other jurisdiction in this country has had to do that. We have done that. We have accomplished that and because of it, we now have fairly stable ground to move forward. I, like the Member, feel compassion for those people who would like to be with their loved ones when they are in the hospital, sick or would like to be moving with them if they have to go out to have treatment for being ill, but unfortunately, this government does not have the dollars to pay for that anymore. We do have the dollars to move the actual person who is sick to the nearest regional centre or to hospitals, but we do not have the dollars to move relatives around. I know some communities have come up with innovative ways of doing that. They have worked on their own; for example, in my riding when someone is sick and they do need relatives with them, the people go from house to house and have money donated to that family to help. That is how a community works together to help each other, and it seems to be working. Maybe other communities could follow suit. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Roland.

The Minister responsible for the Western Transition Planning, Mr. Dent.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Dent.

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

Mr. Dent.