Good afternoon. With tomorrow being Remembrance Day, I would ask Members to remain standing in a moment of remembrance after the prayer, in remembrance of those who gave their lives for our freedom.

-- Prayer

At the setting of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. Thank you.

I wish to advise the House that I have received the following message from the 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 the Supplementary Appropriations Act, No. 5, 1999-2000 during the Third Session of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

Yours truly,

Glenna F. Hansen, Commissioner

Orders of the day. Déclarations de ministres. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Déclarations de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of the men and women who fought for our great country in order that we may live in peace. Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of Remembrance Day tomorrow, I feel very strongly that we need to recognize these individuals for the sacrifices they made for us.

Mr. Speaker, I will be travelling home to Hay River later today and I will be laying a wreath at the Remembrance Day Service at the Royal Canadian Legion in Hay River. Mr. Speaker, in Hay River, we have a number of veterans who served in war time that I feel strongly deserve our recognition. These are, Mr. Speaker: Frank Hirst, Ken Hunt, Ross Ullathorne, Steve Kovatch, Mansel Grey, Art DeChief, Bernie Campbell, Harry Dobbs, Don Ducharme, Burt Stevenson, Bob McMeekin, Jerry Eyford and Lawrence Clark.

Mr. Speaker, we owe these men, and the thousands of other veterans like them, a debt of gratitude for their selflessness and

commitment in order that we may enjoy the freedom that we have today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I as well would like to take this opportunity in this House to reflect briefly on Remembrance Day and its importance in my community, in this Territory and across our land.

Mr. Speaker, like my colleague, Mr. Delorey, I will be returning home to my community for the first time in about two weeks. Tomorrow is a very important day for us, as it will be for many others. There are many people in our community who served in the armed forces in World War II, in Korea, and other conflicts since then, and continue to serve with honour and distinction across the land for the benefit of all of us.

As we stand in this House debating issues and raising issues in a democratic process in a free and open way, it is because of the sacrifices that these folks made on our behalf that we are able to do that. I think that it is very important never to forget the contribution, blood and sacrifice that people put out so that we in fact have the privilege to have this type of government, to raise issues in a careful way, in a good way without bloodshed. I think we should all take time to honour those people and never, never forget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Déclarations de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my colleagues who spoke before me, I would like to say a few words on Remembrance Day. As November 11th approaches, it is important that we honour the contribution of the many Canadians who fought in wars and conflict in this past century. Remembrance Day is our opportunity to remember with gratitude and pride those who have died while serving their country and honour those who still carry the scars of the wars.

Mr. Speaker, it is only by understanding what the role the people of the North played as part of our war heritage, including the aboriginal people who went to great lengths to enlist and fight for this country, only then can we appreciate what we have achieved as a nation. There are many proud moments in our country's military history. Although we all consider Canada a peaceful country, there have been many occasions when we have had to defend peace and freedom, values that define us as Canadians.

While we honour those who lost lives and were in battle fronts, it is equally important that we show our appreciation to those who stayed home and worked to support the war effort. Mr. Speaker, it is important to know that most of these people were women.

This week across the North, children in our schools will be participating in activities that will make them aware of the role of Canadians at wartime. We would also assume that they will be made aware that we have many veterans in the North, some are possibly their grandfathers, uncles, cousins, and it is important to know that they participated as part of Canada's involvement in the wars.

November 11th is a sombre reminder of things that really matter in life; courage, determination and freedom that we sometimes take for granted. We all have challenges in life to face. Let us face them in the same spirit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we stand here today to say that we have a mandate as people have served in the army, the First and Second World War, to serve and protect the interests of the people we swore to uphold the laws of the land and to ensure that we are servants of the people who elected us.

I think it is important to Members of this Assembly that when we made that oath swearing in as Members of the 14th Legislative Assembly, we uphold that oath. We swore to serve the people of the North fairly and equitably and also to ensure that we do what we can to ensure the well-being of all people is taken fairly.

When we see what is happening around us to the people we have sworn to serve with the declining programs and services, we have to stand up and do what we know is best in the areas of health, social services, education, and ensuring people of a healthy lifestyle to live, ensuring we take care of all the people, from the elderly to the disabled.

We hear ourselves say a prayer every day. There are some words in there that I think we must never overlook: "As we work for the benefit of all people and peace and justice in our land." That goes for those who came before us who served us in war. We also have a duty to ensure that we serve for the benefit of all people, and ensure that we continue to have peace and justice in our land.

I, for one, feel that we have a duty to all of those people who have served in the army to ensure that we preserve and protect in the name of the House, but also the people who have put the trust in us to be here to serve them like those who have served before us. With that, Mr. Speaker, thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Déclarations de députés, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to honour Remembrance Day tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, in a place and time where it sometimes seems as though there is non-stop discussion in this House about rights, benefits, entitlements and what is wrong in our world, I would like to take a moment to reflect, honour and remember those who have served our country in conflicts and battlegrounds around the world in order that we are able to discuss what we do in an atmosphere that makes it possible for each and every one of us to exercise and articulate democratic rights to the fullest extent possible.

In particular, Mr. Speaker, I would like to especially honour those Canadians who fought and suffered injury and lost their lives in the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. Mr. Speaker, the war that broke out on June 25, 1950, was the first open act of aggression following the establishment of the United Nations. Over 26,000 Canadians served in the Korean War and we were one of the 36 United Nations member nations that participated in that conflict. Our contingent was only surpassed by the United States and the United Kingdom.

I would also like to honour those aboriginal soldiers, which I am advised amounted to about 73 members in that contingent.

Mr. Speaker, there were thousands of people who lost their lives in that war and many suffered injury. Mr. Speaker, my family comes from North Korea. My mother was one of the millions of refugees who left a burning village to the south. She lost her father in the conflict.

Mr. Speaker, I have said in this House that I consider the day I moved to Canada to be my birthday. I consider Remembrance Day to be one of the most important days of the year. I would just like to state that for the record and honour the memory of those who served our country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, by now, I think we have all seen the news item with the heading "Child protection workers and workload crisis." Some Members of this House, myself, Mr. Braden, Mr. Dent and Ms. Lee, were at a meeting yesterday with child protection workers. We heard about the crisis they are facing, Mr. Speaker. They told us that they are over-worked, have unmanageable caseloads, files all over the place, and in fact are just bursting at the seams. We certainly believe that we are faced with a crisis now that this has been building for some time, Mr. Speaker.

This government commissioned the Child Welfare League to do a report. The report was called, "It Takes a Community". In this report, it identified a need for 22 additional child protection workers to be hired in the North; specifically, the Deh Cho and Yellowknife were singled out as requiring immediate attention. The Child Welfare League research prior to the report indicated that ten were specifically needed in Yellowknife.

One of the things we discovered in talking with these workers yesterday, Mr. Speaker, was that up to 50 percent of the active files they are currently dealing with involve children who have been in Yellowknife for less than six months. Mr. Speaker, it is another example of the effect of the magnet community situation we are in. Clearly we have services that people come to this community for.

I think this will continue to build as we refuse to address some of the alcohol and drug situations in the communities. We have seen drug and alcohol centres in the North reduced from five operating facilities to one. I think this is just a single example.

Currently, child protection workers in this city see three times the national average of cases, Mr. Speaker. They have told us that they have 140 kids in care at any given time. A worker on call over the weekend, they only have one on call each weekend, can get 25 calls per weekend.

Another serious problem is the lack of supervisors for the child protection workers. We again have higher than the national average, Mr. Speaker.

They are thankful that this Minister has listened to their concerns and responded with three new positions. However, Mr. Speaker, it simply is a drop in the bucket. More has to be done. These folks have a legal, moral and ethical obligation to protect our children. Mr. Speaker, we are going to have to give them the support they need. Our children are counting on us. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of Remembrance Day tomorrow, I would like all of us today to reflect on the benefits and rights we enjoy as Canadians. These rights have been protected and maintained by great sacrifice during the past century, in particular during the wars, by many. In fact, in too many cases, it was at an ultimate sacrifice. Let us not disappoint their efforts through anything less than our best efforts as MLAs to continue to do everything we can to make this world a better place for everyone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last night, along with hundreds of other Yellowknifers and Northerners, I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony at Sir John Franklin High School to commemorate the opening of the newly renovated Sir John. It was a fine evening. I would especially like to compliment the principal, Anne Mieke-Cameron, for the wonderful job she did.

Mr. Speaker, since its opening in 1958, Sir John Franklin High School and Akaitcho Hall have provided a very, very high standard of academic and vocational education and made a difference in the lives of thousands of people in the North. It is interesting to recount that people from over 37 different communities have attended Sir John Franklin High School over its time. Since then, we have seen it evolve into a facility that also serves the arts community with the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre there.

I am a graduate of the class of 1972, Mr. Speaker, and it is very satisfying for me now to have my own daughters attending school. I would like to also congratulate the people involved with the renovation program for involving the students in the redesign and the ideas that have gone into this remarkable new facility.

Last night, the commitment of this government through the previous Minister of Education, Mr. Dent, was acknowledged and Mr. Ootes, today's Minister, as well as the excellent work of the Department of Public Works people. Mr. Steen was also acknowledged, along with Clark Builders and Ferguson, Simek and Clark. It was a good tribute to the hard work and the dedication of over two years of construction that everybody endured.

Mr. Speaker, you yourself represented us very well as the voice of past students and gave a great presentation and a tribute to what that facility has meant. Along with that spirit of celebration, Mr. Speaker, I too will be joining Northerners and Canadians in recognizing the sacrifices that many made so that we can still continue the privilege of a free and a broad education in this wonderful country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to say a few words in regard to Remembrance Day. This is a day to express our gratitude, and certainly my personal gratitude, for the sacrifices that were made and continue to be made by the many Canadians around the world to protect what we consider a very important thing, and that is freedom; freedom to speak, freedom of activity.

My parents lived through two world wars. I was born during World War II. Like most people, we have our own horror stories about those times. People of my birth country are still gratefully and eternally grateful for the work that was done by Canadians. On an annual basis they still celebrate, half a century later, the work that was done by the Canadian soldiers who went to Europe and liberated Holland. There are many Yellowknifers as well, Mr. Speaker, who served in the world wars and in other wars and have sacrificed their own lives and contributed to keeping peace around the world and they continue to do that.

I would like to make mention of just three, but that is not limited to the number of people who are in Yellowknife who contribute; Jack Adderly, Dusty Miller and Mel Brown. I consider them personal friends and I really appreciate the work they have done. They all served, of course, in World War II in Holland.

We were fortunate to be able to come to Canada, to this great country, after the war. And it is a great country. It is a country that has been designated as the best country in the world for seven times in this particular decade alone. That is a tremendous achievement. That is a judgment from amongst 100-plus countries around the world. As well, it is judged on the basis of numerous criteria, over 100 criteria. So I think it is something to remember. Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, I will be participating in the Remembrance Day ceremonies, like most of us will. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would also like to recognize the veterans, particularly in my riding and in my family. Mr. Speaker, when I was a child, I did not realize that I was growing up in the recent shadow of much grief which had resulted from my parent's involvement in war.

Our parents shielded us from this pain. My father entered the British army at the tender age of 20. When I think that is just about the age of my boys now, it is shocking. My mother had said goodbye to two of her brothers when she was 16 years old. One never came back and the other came back shell shocked and suffered anxiety the rest of his life, never able to move away from the memory of the wounded and dead he picked up on the front lines as part of the ambulance brigade. He had been put in the ambulance brigade because he could not bring himself to bear arms.

During that time, when his brother was close by in France, my uncle did not realize how close he was to him and later he received word that his younger brother had been killed in action. Knowing that he was so close by, he had such a reaction to this that again, he was just shell shocked for the rest of his life. The only, I guess, happy news for Uncle Bruce was that he did meet a beautiful, sophisticated Dutch woman in Holland when he was there and she did come back to Canada after the war to marry him as a Dutch war bride.

I would also like to recognize my grandfather who served in the First World War. I have to tell you, I became one of his favourite grandchildren because I moved up North where aboriginal people were and he served in the trenches in the First World War alongside aboriginal soldiers. He said that was the place to be. They had the skills to listen and to survey the situation and if there was a place that you had to be in those trenches, he said he wanted to be with the aboriginal soldiers.

I would also like today to honour my father-in-law, who was too young to be in the Second World War, but from Holland, he was taken to the German work camps and served during the war in a camp.

Mr. Speaker, these are all relatives of mine who have actually passed on now, but when I look at veterans, I can just hold them in the highest regard and appreciate them, knowing what they have been through. I would just like to thank all of the veterans in the Northwest Territories today who served for our freedom. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Déclaration de députés. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to say a few words in honour of Remembrance Day tomorrow. Like many in Yellowknife tomorrow, I will take part in the Remembrance Day services, marching from the Legion to the cenotaph and then on to St. Pat's. Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember the sacrifices that many have made to protect our freedoms and to mark Remembrance Day as the time to do that.

My father was a World War II vet and he was one of the lucky ones. He came back and he did not bear any significant scars from the war. I have talked to him and to other veterans about the horrors of war and, even hearing from those people, I know it is hard for me to comprehend what they have gone through.

We need to not only mark Remembrance Day to pause and reflect, but we also need to take this opportunity to remember that we must teach our children about the honour, respect and sacrifices made by so many. We must not only honour those who fought on our behalf but we must do our best to stop it from ever happening again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Members, I too will be participating in the Remembrance Day services tomorrow in Hay River. I want to remember an uncle of mine who was in the Second World War. In 1994, I had the honour of being able to retrace some of his steps that he had made after D-Day, through France, Belgium, and into the Netherlands. I was very moved by the cemeteries. The Canadian cemeteries that are there are well maintained by the Europeans, particularly in the Netherlands. It was a great honour for me to be there and pay my respects to those Canadians who had fought for our freedom.

Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister responsible for Health and it relates to my Member's statement and the situation that child protection workers are faced with. The Minister has responded to this crisis by offering three additional child protection workers in the community. We have been told that while they are very thankful, this is only a start. Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if the Minister can tell us, are these workers on a permanent basis? Will this now go into base funding? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the temporary workers who have been brought in, two social workers and one support staff, to alleviate the immediate crises here in Yellowknife are there on a temporary basis. The more permanent solution to this problem will become a part of our planning and budgeting process, as I have mentioned to another Member who asked this question earlier this week. Unfortunately I am not at liberty to discuss what is in the business plans in response to this report.

I want to assure the Member that we do recognize this as a very serious issue and want to do everything we can to alleviate the shortages where they have been identified. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you. Another issue that these folks are faced with is the lack of supervisors. I think nationally the average is one supervisor for six child protection workers. We only have one supervisor in the city and, with these additional temporary workers, we would be looking at a situation of one for twelve. I am wondering if the Minister has looked at addressing this problem.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we are aware of the lack of supervision that many of these workers are under. One of the advantages of having people in supervisory positions is so that workers can discuss some of the issues with them. They have a sounding board and some direction in difficult situations. Unfortunately in the North, most of the supervisors are also carrying heavy caseloads themselves just because of the sheer volume of the work. Yes, we do recognize this as a problem and hope to address it in the best way that we can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Another issue these folks are unfortunately faced with is, as the Minister said, they have an overwhelming caseload and are unable to do prevention work, or unable to be proactive in many cases and work with the families before it gets to the intervention stage. Short of more workers being put toward the problem, I am wondering what else the Minister is planning to do to address this situation so that in fact we can do some prevention work and do not have to always be taking children out of these situations.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe there are quite a number of contributing factors to the stress which the social workers and child protection workers find themselves under.

There is the actual volume of calls that are coming in. These calls, I believe...I should not quote the number, but I know the Members would be very surprised at the actual volume of calls across the North they are called upon to respond to.

When we do receive these calls, it may be necessary in the future to have some way of prioritizing these calls so they can deal first and foremost with the most urgent and the most critical ones. That might be of some help.

The other thing is that once social workers are dealing with a family that is in crisis and children who are at risk and it is necessary to respond, quite often the resources they need are not there so that they can in confidence place these children in placements in homes that have been screened, that have been approved where parents may have received training. I think these are all things that could be looked at as adding additional resources to the network, to the system that is available to social workers as they deal with these critical issues. These things are all issues that we are looking at. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is correct. We have been told that 25 calls from Friday night to Sunday morning is not at all unusual. These are not calls of a non-urgent nature. These are calls typically from the RCMP who say they are going to a home because there has been a problem and they need a social worker to meet them there because there is a child who has to be taken into care. These are very serious situations. I do not think any of us could comprehend how a worker could make it through a weekend with this kind of work. It is a critical problem. I sure hope the Minister sees this as the highest priority and will commit to the House to address it as quickly as she can and make this one of her highest priorities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, child protection is a very high priority to me. It is a very high priority to my department. I appreciate the work of the social workers in all of the regions in all of the communities. I ask them to bear with us as we make plans to offer more support to them in carrying out their duties. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier and it is in regard to my Member's statement. As we all swore an oath when we were sworn in to the 14th Assembly to serve the residents of the Northwest Territories and also that we treat everybody fairly across the board, I think it is also important that we, as the Members of this Legislature, have to ensure that we improve the programs and services that are out there. We have seen a real decline in the area of health, social services and in the health and well-being of the people who are in our communities and the residents of the Northwest Territories.

An area I have a lot of concern about is to ensure that the health and well-being of the people of the North are being well-served, to make sure that we have safe drinking water, that it does not affect the health of the residents of the Northwest Territories, especially when we as a government are responsible for ensuring that service is not jeopardized by the actions of this government in regard to carrying that out, or the inactions of this government because of not responding to it.

I would like to ask the Premier, due to the number of concerns that have come forth and knowing that we do have an obligation to the residents, is there an avenue to ensure that we continue to carry out the responsibility to work for the benefit of all the people of the North, making sure that service is measured by ensuring we do make positive steps, that we do not continue to make statements like we are looking at it, we will get back to you, but making positive efforts to find solutions to these problems for the residents of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the issue of this government providing good services to the residents of the Northwest Territories and to specific communities, I believe there is an obligation to communicate directly with the communities involved to ensure that the type of support and programs they are accessing are serving them well. If we are going to discuss concerns and issues of specific communities, then we should find a way to bring those community leaders directly into meetings so we can discuss them. It seems to me that once we raise the initial issues here in the House, then it is an obligation on our part to make sure that the community's concerns are directly involved. I think this is what the Ministers are attempting to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it is apparent that we have to use all avenues within this government when we serve our people. We do have people within the government who have the expertise or have the experience in assisting communities when they need help. We have to get those people into those communities to assist with these problems. Will the Premier commit to ensure that the departments do make their resource people more available to communities?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Member should be assured that this government will always encourage officials who deal with communities to make themselves available to the communities they are serving, to ensure there is as much communication and effort being made to resolve issues and concerns that arise in the course of business as conducted between the government and the communities involved. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, another area I have some concerns with is ensuring that we do work for the benefit of all of the people in the North and that we be consistent when we do something for one community, the opportunity is there for other communities, especially when communities find themselves in financial difficulties and it is affecting the programs and services we have given them the ability to carry out. They cannot do that.

I would like to ask the Premier if he could ensure that we have fairness in the way programs are being allocated. That we do not pick one community over the other and we try to be fair to all communities when it comes to distributing and assisting communities to help them with the budgetary problems they are running into. Will the Premier commit to that?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Member can be assured that we try to be as consistent and as fair as possible and that we will deal with all communities, all people of the Northwest Territories. It is also true that communities, as they take on increased responsibility, also have a responsibility to manage their money and their budgets. If they run into deficits, take on the responsibility for recovering those as well. Where it is not solely their responsibility, this government is prepared to discuss that situation with them. I think that has been fairly consistent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, for one, would like to hear it from the Premier. I think it is apparent that we do have different resources used in different areas. We have programs that are structured to assist some communities and not all communities. We have to realize there is a financial impact not only to the communities, but it is a financial impact to this government. The services we provide are on behalf of this government for all people. I think we have to ensure that if one community is getting funds through a supplementary appropriation, other communities have the ability to also access dollars to assist them under the same circumstances through that process.

So I would like to ask the Premier, will he consider ensuring that the use of supplementary appropriation is open to all communities?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, supplementary appropriations are used by this government to request additional financial resources for departments that find themselves facing additional needs through the course of the year that are beyond what is appropriated to them through the normal budgetary process.

Where, on occasion, communities face difficulties that we believe are not solely their responsibility and are created through unforeseen circumstances, there are sometimes supplementary appropriations requested by departments to address that. It is not intended for communities to unilaterally request money through appropriation bills themselves. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the document and the strategy is a living document that will be around for awhile. It is the department's intent to make changes as required. All through the document, you will see that it suggests that there is encouragement for aboriginal companies, aboriginal people to get employment or business opportunities. The strategy really realizes that to have these particular routes put in place would require cooperation and coordination with the aboriginal groups and with the aboriginal communities.

The Lupin road, which I think is giving the Member some concern, is really just a winter road into the Lupin mine country which services the diamond mines at the present time as well as some gold explorations. There is no intention at this time that this is eventually going to become the all-weather route into the Slave Geological Province.

The document clearly states there is going to be involvement with communities to define exactly where an all-weather route would eventually be built in the North Slave. If this route services the communities and the mines at the same time and it is the cheapest route, then that is the route that we will probably take, but there is no decision in this document at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the main purposes of this government in considering taking over the Lupin winter road is to allow for aboriginal participation in the maintenance of that road for future. It allows for northern control of the route.

The whole strategy would include consultation with aboriginal groups and consultation with aboriginal communities as to where and what we will do with this particular route in the future. The whole purpose at this point is to allow for northern control of that particular route into the Slave Geological Province and, like the Member's concern, it is aboriginal participation.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you. Mr. Lafferty, I would think that is a difficult question to ask. Could you rephrase that question please?

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intent here is to allow for aboriginal participation, like I said. We are discussing these issues with industry. We are having discussions with all stakeholders to identify the needs. The overall plan of this Lupin winter road would be at no cost to this government. Right now, it operates on a similar system with industry. Industry pays the full cost. I am a bit concerned that the Member is suggesting that we do not take aboriginal concerns and we do not identify them specifically in this document. The document is following on the lines of "Common Ground". It is following the lines of "Towards a Better Tomorrow" and the whole intent is to involve the aboriginal groups in the benefits from this construction of these roads. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, the Lupin winter road exists today. It is used by industry today. It is maintained by industry today, but there is a limited amount of northern control on that route. We are trying to encourage more northern control and more northern involvement on that route. I, as a Minister, also realize the Member's concern that we are concentrating on this route rather than concentrating our resources somewhere else on other routes and to other roads into our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure the Member that, as I said, if we were to take over control of the Lupin winter road, it would cost this government nothing. That is the intent of the department. It would still allow us to concentrate on roads into communities and to have resources to continue what we are doing right now in maintaining the existing highways system. Thank you.

Thank you. I would just like to remind Members that the Speaker has no control over how a Minister answers a question. Ministers can choose to answer a question in any way they want. They can either answer it, not answer it, or speak as they see fit. The Speaker has no control over that or over the quality of the answer. Members, just keep that in mind. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my question is for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, the Honourable Jane Groenewegen, in regard to the concern that was brought to me by a constituent. It has to do with flu vaccinations and the availability of them in Hay River. In light of recent remarks, Mr. Speaker, that were made by the director of population health for the NWT on the importance of the flu vaccinations, can the Minister inform me as to the availability of these vaccinations throughout the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what the availability is throughout the Northwest Territories but the health boards do have the responsibility for delivering these flu vaccine shots. I heard the program advertised. It is going on here in Yellowknife and I was in Hay River when they had the seniors' health clinic day so I know they were made available there. I am not familiar with how extensive they are but I would assume, Mr. Speaker, that these flu shots are available in all of the communities, all of the regions of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister have any information as to the benefits of these flu vaccines? Is there any indication as to how much benefit we are getting from the flu vaccines to cut down on the amount of flu that is going around? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the flu vaccination program is something that has been in place for some time and I believe that the knowledge within the health care community is that they do serve a very useful purpose. Certainly for people who are elderly or at high risk because of chronic illness, these are very advisable shots to receive. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister have any information or can the Minister inform me as to how these flu vaccination shots are being administered in Hay River and who has to pay for them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that the flu shots are available in Hay River and, as I mentioned, there was a public health day held recently for seniors in Hay River. There were a number of things provided that day for seniors. One of them was the flu shots. I also believe that through public health in Hay River, flu shots are available to the general public. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have done a bit of canvassing at the public health departments in the NWT in regard to this. In Fort Smith, they have never charged for the flu shots. In Yellowknife and Inuvik, they have charged for them in the past but for this year they have waived the fee for these flu shots. In Hay River, I understand that these flu shots are available free of charge for caregivers, seniors, and the chronically ill. In light of the fact that other jurisdictions do not charge their residents for these flu shots, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider directing the Hay River Community Health Board to waive the fee on these flu shots for this year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, health boards do have the authority to decide whether or not to charge a fee for people outside of the chronically ill and the elderly. The Hay River Community Health Board did make a decision to charge people this year because the board did not budget for providing flu shots free to all people. So it is my understanding that the board will be considering offering free flu shots to everyone next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services and relates to the deficit recovery plans for boards in the Northwest Territories. We were told earlier that four boards had run up deficits totalling in the millions of dollars. I was wondering if the Minister could advise us, have the plans for the deficit recovery for all boards been received yet?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the last time I was updated by the department on this, I do not believe that all health boards had submitted deficit recovery plans yet. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been given the understanding that the final approval for deficit recovery plans would wait until all boards had their plans in and could be considered in concert. This is causing some problems for those boards that are waiting to try and make some changes. My question for the Minister is, when will boards hear if their plans have been approved?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it was initially considered that we would wait until all deficit recovery plans were received so that we could consider some of the initiatives in light of the overall health care system. Subsequent to that, it was decided that we would not want to hold back some of the boards who had made more progress on this planning exercise. There were a couple of deadlines that had come and gone, but at least a portion of one of the boards' request to this government and FMB did receive consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in responses to questions posed by Mr. Lafferty earlier in this sitting, the Minister left the impression that there might be board inefficiencies which had led to these cost overruns. Can the Minister provide us with some concrete examples of inefficiencies that have been found as a result of these proposals to eliminate deficits? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in order to deal more knowledgeably with some of the deficits, because this is a relatively new thing for health boards to get into this degree of deficit that we have seen with four of the boards this year, in order to make decisions based on the best knowledge possible, the department is undertaking an operational review of the boards which had a deficit to be able to more clearly identify where there were unavoidable cost drivers, where there were unavoidable costs associated with volume of travel or work. Hopefully when we receive those, we will be in a better position to identify what the source of some of these issues are. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also, when responding to questions posed by Mr. Lafferty, the Minister suggested that recovery plans could not include service reductions. I would like to ask the Minister how that is possible, given that we are looking at millions of dollars?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Heath and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is referring to something I previously said and asked me to answer based on the...I would have to see the exact wording that he is referring to. I guess the spirit of what I am trying to say is that if a board came forward with a proposal to recover their deficit, which was going to significantly and negatively impact the level of service that was being received in that region or in that community, that is probably something that the department would not approve. Where there would be efficiencies created where it would not negatively impact on the service, that is something we probably would look at. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today goes to the honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and it has to do with the Human Resource Strategy for Non-Renewable Resource Development that we discussed in committee of the whole, Mr. Speaker.

I spoke about it yesterday and I commended the department and the Minister for coming up with that strategy. I believe that it gives a really good picture of the number of jobs that will be created by the industry and the number of people that should be trained in order to take those jobs. However, Mr. Speaker, I did point out the lack of information in that strategy having to do with programs available for women. The deputy minister of the department answered the questions. I am not sure if I am happy with that answer in that he focuses on the role of the employer and not the government in setting out priorities to make sure that women are able to take advantage of those employment opportunities as well as men.

So I would like to ask the Minister again, what is he doing to ensure that women can take advantage of the training opportunities, especially in the trades area, with this industry? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.