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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize the Yellowknife Association for Concerned Citizens for Seniors and the fine work they are doing providing services and support for our elders in Yellowknife. The association, known by its short name of YACCS, leases the land where the old Stanton Hospital used to be. It has three facilities for seniors there and is within my constituency, Mr. Speaker.

Aven Manor is a 29-bed long-term care facility. Aven Court is made up of 24 one-bedroom housing units for seniors who can still live independently. The Baker Community Centre is used for social and recreational activities by seniors and the community of Yellowknife.

YACCS recently released its strategic plan for the next three years. They hope Yellowknifers, including seniors and care providers, will share their thoughts and ideas about the plan. The goal is to build a supportive community for the health of seniors. While they were doing their strategic planning, the YACCS board and staff wanted to build on the past successes and set new goals. YACCS intends to maintain the programs and services they currently provide. They will monitor and assess their performance of the board and operators of their facilities. They will develop and maintain a data base on seniors' demographics and needs to use when planning services for seniors. YACCS will determine the most appropriate way for them to participate in addressing the need for seniors' housing and care for seniors with cognitive impairments.

Mr. Speaker, I am very impressed with the work YACCS is doing and with the results of this strategic planning exercise they have just completed. I would like to congratulate them on this work and to wish them luck in the future. I urge all interested Yellowknifers and others to contact the association to see how they can help with the good work that YACCS is doing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Déclarations de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, as well, would like to speak briefly on the good work that the society for the disabled is doing in Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, the small communities outside of Yellowknife have an even harder task, I believe, of trying to bring resources to bear to improve the quality of life for disabled people. In Fort Smith, this has been a conscious effort for many years and they have won national awards for what they have done in terms of accessibility in public buildings and such for the disabled. Mr. Speaker, the concern is how do we support the people in the small communities? How do we support those societies that often labour in obscurity, unable to get the resources that they need? This is a difficult task. It is a request that requires funding from already scarce resources, but I know in every community there are committed, dedicated people who have devoted their lives to helping the disabled and to making the quality of life better for them.

So I am very happy to hear concerns raised in this House about this issue. We did have a briefing from the Northwest Territories Society for the Disabled. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to take this opportunity to recognize the very many people in Fort Smith. Sister Sutherland is the most prominent spokesperson in our community who has laboured tirelessly for the disabled and done much work on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, there is not enough money to go around. I do recognize and want to acknowledge the fact that Education, Culture and Employment has given them about $29,000 for a project under the Community Skills for Work Program, which I think is a good start. That support is much appreciated, but I think we should never forget how hard these folks work for our citizens, for our constituents, for our family and our friends in often relative obscurity with insufficient resources. They deserve, I believe, all the recognition and support that we can give them as a Legislature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to take the opportunity to make some comments on an issue that was raised in this House the other day. My honourable colleague for Thebacha asked a series of questions on November 3, 2000 to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the need for a standardized definition of Metis. I respect my colleague's right to represent the wishes of his constituents and press the government on this issue.

However, Mr. Speaker, my constituents are concerned that the standardized definition of Metis would jeopardize the emerging relationships between the Metis and the federal and territorial governments in regions other than the South Slave. This is not appropriate.

As aboriginal people, the Metis' main relationship and outstanding issues rest with the federal government. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the definition of a Metis cannot be made without the participation of Metis organizations and the federal government. Indeed some Metis governments are still wrestling with the definition of Metis.

However, this government should not be put in a position to predetermine or prejudice the outcome. I urge the Government of the Northwest Territories to carefully consider their actions in establishing a definition of who is a Metis. A definition that suits the purposes of one claimant group cannot be used to define all of the other Metis claims in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to talk a bit about the department's new transportation strategy, Investing in Roads for People and the Economy. I have had a chance, since it has been tabled, to go through the document and have a look at the various different sections there. There are things, Mr. Speaker, that I agree with and there are certainly some things that I do not agree with. I would like to point out one of the things that really irks me with this document, Mr. Speaker.

When we get to the action plan, number 6, one of the things we are suggesting is that we pursue additional federal funding for the Mackenzie Highway extension under the Non-Renewable Resource Development Strategy. It sounds fine, but when we get into the meat of this issue, it is suggested that the development of new roads in the Northwest Territories is an acknowledged federal responsibility. The federal government also reaps the majority of royalty and tax benefits from developments in the Northwest Territories.

I see where we are going with this, Mr. Speaker, and I agree we want somebody else to pay for the roads, but I think this is backwards logic, and I think that it is important that we argue that we need provincial-like authority in this area. We do not want to say to the feds, "You people want to drag the diamonds out of here, they are your diamonds, you go and build the roads." I worry that is in effect what we are saying, Mr. Speaker. I really think that we have got to say to these people, "You know, we will handle this. We will build the roads when you give us control of these resources. We need the royalties and the tax benefits from these resources for our people here." Both the public government and the aboriginal governments should be the ones controlling these resources. It troubles me when the department has a strategy that suggests, well, that is somebody else's problem, they own the resources anyway.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for Minister Steen about the highway strategy, but I just wanted to raise this point to let him know that I certainly do not accept or appreciate this approach. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member from Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Déclaration de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today to speak about fairness, in particular the Student Financial Assistance Program, because I believe that the new Student Financial Assistance Program is not fair in its treatment of some people. The program has increased benefits for most students. However, some who were in the system got lost in the shuffle, I believe. When the program changes were announced by the Minister last spring, it was pointed out to the government that the new rules were not fair to Metis students, and, to this government's credit, they found $500,000 to make the program fair to Metis students.

However, when it is now pointed out that the changes are not fair to some who were promised remissible loans, a promise made in good faith by government employees, the Minister does not choose to act to fix the situation. Mr. Speaker, a fix here would cost far less than the $500,000 it cost to fix the program for Metis students. Mr. Speaker, when asked, in fact, how this can be justified, all the Minister had to say, and I quote from page 1706 of unedited Hansard was, "We have not cut anyone off, Mr. Speaker. There is still availability for all students to access repayable loans."

Mr. Speaker, that is shameful, that is the switch that we are talking about that is not fair. Some people were promised that they would have remissible loans, only to have them taken away part way through their programs. Mr. Speaker, just as what they did for Metis people, this government should bring fairness to those who lost benefits with the introduction to the new system. It would cost very little to stand behind the promises made in good faith by employees of this government. I encourage the Minister to take a serious look at this issue and bring some fairness into play. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to an Oral Question asked by Mr. Delorey on November 3, 2000 regarding ambulance services on Northwest Territories highways. Although there is no lead GNWT department with responsibility for organizing or setting up emergency ambulance services to respond to highway accidents, there are a number of departments that are involved. The Department of Transportation is responsible for establishing the rules of the road, for example, speed limits, and ensuring that the highways are safe to travel on. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has, through its legislation, enabled municipalities to establish ambulance services. The Cities, Towns and Villages Act allows municipalities to pass by-laws concerning ambulance services.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, by agreement with the Government of Canada and the Northwest Territories, have the primary responsibility for responding to emergencies on the public highway system. Depending on the nature of the emergency, the RCMP receive assistance as required from a number of federal, territorial or municipal agencies. Ambulance services are not an insured service under the Medical Care Act. The department does, however, have policies concerning payment of or reimbursement for ambulance services. The Department of Health and Social Services will work with the Departments of Municipal and Community Affairs and Transportation to clarify the mandate and responsibility for ambulance services, establish parameters for development of ambulance services, protocols for receiving and dispatching calls and the provision of services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Bell on November 8, 2000 regarding the review of the Government of the Northwest Territories summer student program. During the summer 2000, corporate human resources coordinated the student working group on student and graduate employment. The students involved with the working group came from a cross-section of government departments and regions. The working group produced a report which included recommendations to improve the student summer employment program. I will be tabling this report later today. The report has been circulated to all departments and it will form the basis for additional discussion on what can be done to improve the government's support for student and graduate hiring. Immediate action has been taken on the recommendations dealing with the development of a web-based student employment site. This work is being undertaken in cooperation with Northward Infonet or NorthWIN. The intention is to enable students to apply for government summer jobs on-line as well as through a more traditional forum. Departments and agencies will then be able to access a complete list of potential student employment through the same web site. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to recognize the grade six and seven class from Weledeh School and their teacher, Jennifer Voytilla. Thank you.

-- Applause

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Colleagues, at this time, I would like to take this opportunity of introducing and welcoming to the gallery the Languages Commissioner for the Northwest Territories, Ms. Fibbie Tatti.

-- Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mot de bienvenue aux visiteurs. Item 6, oral questions. Questions orales. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address my questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services. They relate to the report, It Takes a Community, a report which was prepared by child welfare services in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, this report points out that Northwest Territories child welfare services are functioning precariously close to the edge in the Territories, but that there are no serious impediments for change beyond the one of financial resources. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, the report notes the weak accountability systems in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister advise what has been done to specifically address the accountability issues in the child welfare system? 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, there have been a number of initiatives which have been undertaken within the department to respond to the recommendations contained in the report that the Member refers to. Specifically in relation to accountability, there have been a number of things done but one thing I know specifically is there has been a new information system that has been set up. Training is being provided to social workers at this time in order to participate in using this system for keeping a record of the child welfare cases which they are responsible for. Thank you.