Good afternoon. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I would like to call attention to the award of a Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal to an employee of the Department of Transportation, Mr. David Hessdorfer. David Hessdorfer is a veteran firefighter at the Yellowknife airport. On behalf of the Office of the Governor General of Canada, I had the honour recently of presenting Mr. Hessdorfer with his award.

Following a lengthy nomination process, the Office of the Governor General approved the award this summer. To receive the award, the nominee must have completed 20 years as a member of a fire service of such high standard to merit the award. In addition to his 20 years with the airport fire service, David has also served more than two years with the City of Yellowknife's fire department as a volunteer firefighter.

Whether performing the general fire and paramedic duties of a professional firefighter, fire hall administration or training new recruits, David has proved a reliable worker who can be counted on at all times. His professional attitude and keen abilities make him a pleasure to work with and a well-respected member of the department.

Mr. Speaker, I believe this award from the Governor General's office is well deserved and that Mr. Hessdorfer stands as an example of the dedication and excellence typical of employees of the Department of Transportation and the territorial public service in general. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me a great deal of pleasure today in that this is a significant day in the history of our government. It is the 50th birthday of our Premier.

-- Applause

I am sure we all benefit from that 50 years of experience and learning that is packed in his head. Mr. Kakfwi, we all wish you a very happy birthday.

As well, Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting that tomorrow is the birthday of the Deputy Premier.

Mr. Speaker, she is 40 -- and I cannot deceive this House...

-- Laughter

...and we also wish her a very happy birthday. I am sure there is some significance on the Chinese calendar or some other document to the fact that our Premier has his birthday today and the Deputy Premier's is tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed, happy birthday, Mr. Premier, and happy birthday to come, Madam Groenewegen. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today at noon, I was fortunate to be able to visit my riding at the Range Lake North School where a group of students there have come up with an idea to help raise money for the Northwest Territories Council for Disabled Persons. What they have decided to do is challenge all the kids in our city to donate a cheesecake or a pie to the council auction, which will be held later this month on November 25th, I believe. Those pies that will be brought will be auctioned off.

Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, this is one of the most important events that the group has to raise money. I would like to acknowledge the work of the president of the student council, Kathleen Stroeder, and the vice-president, Kim Theil, who thought of this idea and launched it today. I would also like to challenge the Members and staff of the Legislative Assembly to make a contribution towards a pie or a cheesecake so that we can donate them at the event. Mr. Speaker, I would like to emphasize the fact that this is a group that serves people from all over the Territories, not just our city, and provide services for those in need due to various disabilities. It is an important cause.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge and congratulate the Ministers of the Department of Health and Social Services and Education, as well as the sponsoring groups of Northwest Territories Council for Disabled Persons, Association for Community Living and YWCA for releasing a very important report yesterday, "Living with Disabilities and Living with Dignity." I am aware of this report from having been briefed on it in Hay River in the summertime and I was looking forward to having this report released. I look forward to reading the report and to working with the government to see what we can do to meet some of the needs of the people in our Territory who are in most need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government is in the business of providing programs and services to the people we represent. There are many programs that are designed to help the old, the young and the infirm. These programs and services must be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they remain relevant and meet the needs of the people they are supposed to serve.

One such program, Mr. Speaker, is the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program administered by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Since its inception, this program has been a valuable aid to the seniors in the Northwest Territories in helping them maintain their independence in their own homes. However, Mr. Speaker, there is a need to review this program to ensure that the needs of the seniors and their families continue to be met. The program has not been improved since 1997. The maximum income that each senior's household is allowed needs to be adjusted higher to take into account inflation and a huge increase in fuel and oil prices in this year alone.

Mr. Speaker, in the communities I represent, any household who earns more than $30,744 per year is not entitled to any assistance under this program. I challenge the Members present to consider whether they would be able to pay taxes, buy food, pay bills and keep a roof over their heads on this amount.

Mr. Speaker, government programs should be designed to ensure that they serve everyone in a fair and equitable manner. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, what guidelines does this government have in place to ensure that all our seniors will be able to meet their heat and fuel demands this year?

It has been four years since this subsidy was introduced. I believe it is time to review this issue in light of the rise in fuel costs. We have to measure whether or not the subsidy is still enough. We shall also be revisiting the ceiling set to see if they are still adequate. Is this $30,744 still a realistic family income to use as a cut-off or should we look at raising it to an amount more in tune with what is required by the seniors to maintain their independence?

Mr. Speaker, I will be following up with the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment during question period to determine whether he believes that the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program is being delivered in a fair and equitable manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. 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, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a matter that is critical to the citizens of Hay River. Mr. Speaker, we have a population of approximately 3,800 people, with a regional hospital but not one permanent doctor. We have had over the last eight months or so a number of doctors providing service to Hay River on a locum basis. Mr. Speaker, I feel I am on the campaign trail again saying we need to do something about our health care system.

Here we are a year later, and we are actually in worse shape than we were back then. Mr. Speaker, the fact that doctors are coming from the South to provide locum service is a band-aid solution, a quick fix to a desperate situation. This may be all right for someone coming to see a doctor for a minor complaint, but I submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that locum services are not all right for our seniors, our disabled, or persons with chronic diseases that need to be monitored closely. It is critical that a treating physician be acutely aware of their medical history. This cannot be done with doctors who come to town on a three-week stint.

Mr. Speaker, I know how frustrating it can be as I have experienced first-hand how hard it is to even get a medical appointment. It is pretty bad to live in a place like Hay River and be told that you have to go to Yellowknife or High Level to get a medical. Mr. Speaker, I find this situation deplorable. Women in Hay River who are pregnant have to go to Yellowknife in order to give birth to their children, as Hay River is not able to provide this very necessary service to its residents.

Mr. Speaker, for the months of August, September and October 2000, there were 17 Hay River mothers who had to give birth to their children in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, it is very important for the residents of Hay River, many of whom were born and raised there, that the birth certificate of their children read Hay River and not Yellowknife. This, Mr. Speaker, has very negative ramifications. Not only is it very expensive for families involved, it creates many hardships. Mr. Speaker, women have to leave home, many times leaving other children and their husbands behind for periods of up to three weeks or more. This, Mr. Speaker, is unacceptable and I will have questions for the Minister later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The other day I spoke on the topic of housing and how the growing economy in a number of communities in the Northwest Territories was opening up new windows of opportunity, but it is also making things tough for the disadvantaged, the poor and the sick. Housing is just one of the areas of concern, Mr. Speaker. I work with a number of constituents on various social services issues and there are a couple of common threads that link all of them. We have seen some advances in the last few years in program and service delivery, such as the blending of territorial and federal income support and employment services at the Canada and Northwest Territories Service Centre.

We have seen NGOs and government working as the Minister for Health and Social Services announced a holistic healing program for women. We have seen the YWCA, the Salvation Army and the Women's Centre taking steps to join forces to work on housing solutions. They need our government's backing to be successful. We should be fostering the spirit of partnership, Mr. Speaker, to give better support to the disadvantaged.

These people often have complex problems. The need for housing support, for instance, is often linked with needs for education, for health problems or justice issues related to family violence and abuse.

In working with constituents, I learned that people in these situations go from office to office. They have to explain their situation over and over again to get help. We would do a lot better if we looked at service delivery from the client's point of view, from the point of view of the single mother with two youngsters traipsing around office to office, from voice mail to voice mail to get answers. A single window approach with one explanation, one face-to-face relationship with a skilled worker who has the time and the resources to do a good job would be a big step.

Yesterday, my colleague for Range Lake referenced the burden of social workers. They are not alone. Income support workers have caseloads that I understand are as much as triple their counterparts in other parts of Canada. Right now they are giving us a signal that their network is at the breaking point. Are we listening?

This Assembly's vision statement promises to foster self-reliant, independent citizens, Mr. Speaker. I believe if we put more emphasis on life skill support, we can help people maintain stability and help them get off that cycle of dependence. I look forward to the Ministers and the social services programs working together to benefit the help that we have for the disadvantaged. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on November 3rd, a motion was passed by Members of this Assembly in support of zero tolerance. In that motion, we challenged other governments, municipal governments and aboriginal governments to adopt this motion.

Mr. Speaker, this motion has caused me to reflect back to previous governments and their attempts to deal with zero tolerance, whether it be at this level or with the staff. It brings to mind a particular issue that I recall being rather heated in my community quite a number of years ago. A policy or directive was established that drug and alcohol workers, those who worked in crisis centres, had to live by the zero tolerance standard as well. If you were going to be dealing with addicts, you had to as well be an abstainer.

That raised an issue where we used to have a program in Inuvik with the facility that dealt with drugs and alcohol. Mr. Speaker, that has caused me to find out if in fact this government continues to hold that practice. Do we request board members of drug and alcohol societies to be following the zero tolerance guidelines? In fact, are they still in place? At the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister responsible to find out if in fact we still hold this policy in place. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to touch briefly on the issues of student financial assistance. This is an issue that constantly comes before this House. I am now in my fifth year and since I have come here, I know that it has been raised by myself and many of my colleagues, the concerns about the problems, the complaints that we get from constituents.

The department continues to try to shore-up the system they have in headquarters. They put in advanced, impersonal voice mails. They have put out more forms. They have put out more information. The complaints do not go away, Mr. Speaker, simply because, in my opinion, that is not a program that should be delivered out of headquarters. This is a program that has to be moved as close to the students as possible, to the regional centres, to the large communities where there are career development officers.

It is interesting to note, Mr. Speaker, we do not receive, and I do not receive as an MLA, anywhere near the complaints about income support which is delivered at the community level by social workers where there are appeal committees as I do about student financial assistance because it is a headquarters program. It comes into the Minister's office. It comes into our office and into this House.

So there are fundamental concerns about the receptiveness in all the communities by aboriginal governments and regional centres to have this devolved. The students have asked for it. They have begged for it. This government continues to keep a stranglehold on this program. I have no reason why. It makes no sense. I cannot figure it out after five years. It is shored-up with more sand bags, more machine guns to man the towers and keep this program from the people.

It does not make good government sense, Mr. Speaker, so I would hope that this government would finally take a look at seriously devolving this program. We have made changes that have left some of our students adrift without adequate funding. We have changed the terms of the student financial assistance contract for some of them. Others that should have been entitled to twelve only get eight semesters, leaving some of them incomplete in their studies, having to scramble for money.

If this was located at the community level, at the regional level, Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that we would not be standing up in this House day after day, year after year, talking to the Minister trying to get his attention to move this program where it belongs, closer to the students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Merci, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.