Good afternoon, colleagues. It is such a lovely day outside. I was looking in the rules to see if I could give you all a day off. However...orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our sparsely populated Territory, I am sure each Member of this House knows a young person in their constituency who has met with tragedy while operating a motor vehicle, be it a skidoo, motor boat, automobile, motor bike or ATV. In the last ten or so years, alcohol was a contributing factor in 60 percent of the fatal collisions in the Northwest Territories. A Department of Transportation report believes too many people are being killed and injured as a result of drinking and driving. I would like to thank the Member for Mackenzie Delta, David Krutko, for sharing with me the grim tragic accident facts that have been collected by the Department of Transportation.

In Yellowknife, we are fortunate to have Students Against Drinking and Driving, an organization active in our high schools. I believe there is also a chapter of this organization in Hay River. Through their efforts, these communities are made more aware of the devastating effects of mixing alcohol and motor vehicles.

I am pleased to say that other Yellowknife MLAs and I met recently with representatives of St. Patrick High School's Students Against Drinking and Driving, who have been successful in their bid to host the 11th Annual Canadian Youth Against Impaired Driving (CYAID) Conference in Yellowknife in March, 2001. Conference organizers are anticipating 500 student registrants from across Canada for this conference, which may be one of the largest conferences ever to be hosted in our Territory.

Students Against Drinking and Driving Northwest Territories, as part of this initiative, has a goal of expanding this student led program into other northern communities.

I know various government departments and agencies such as the Coast Guard and Coroner's office have been most supportive of Students Against Drinking and Driving.

I believe that this initiative by Yellowknife SADD students has a tremendous opportunity for positive results and they would like to bring their message to the Members of this House and to all northern communities.

As this is primarily a youth initiative, I have raised this matter with the Minister responsible for Youth, the Honourable Roger Allen, and later today I will ask the Minister how this government might further this important youth initiative.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has been working on a new Northwest Territories Wildlife Act for some time. Departmental representatives have been holding public meetings and open houses in communities around the Northwest Territories. As I understand it, the public consultation period is due to end near the end of this month and the department will then proceed with the drafting of a new Wildlife Act.

Many constituents in Frame Lake are members of the Armed Forces or members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Currently, a person must reside in the Northwest Territories for two years before becoming a resident hunter. I know that many members of the Armed Forces and many members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police seek northern transfers because of the wilderness experience that the northern lifestyles can offer.

It is difficult for members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Forces who are transferred often to sometimes enjoy the full benefit of living in the North because they may only spend one or two years in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, these people provide a vital service to all citizens of the Northwest Territories and Canada. I believe that it is unfair that their duties may take them elsewhere before they become eligible to purchase a hunting license.

I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, that in six Canadian provinces, members of the Armed Forces have no waiting period before qualifying to purchase a resident hunting license. Other jurisdictions in Canada offer members of the Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police waiting periods of only two to six months, with the Yukon standing out as being a year long.

Mr. Speaker, I suggest that the current Northwest Territories residency requirement is punitive for people who are transferred to the Northwest Territories by their employer to work in the service of Northerners.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I have made a submission to the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development urging consideration of special status for members of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the new Wildlife Act. I believe the residency requirement should be waived or reduced to a minimal waiting period for members of those forces.

Mr. Speaker, having noted that the consultation period ends shortly, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all of my constituents to take notice of the chance that is offered to them right now to submit a position to the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and hopefully influence the outcome of what a new Wildlife Act might look like. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker over the last few weeks, I have raised in this House, and every other public forum that I was able to, the issue of positions and the shift of government services out of the regions and communities and the subsequent inflation of headquarters' numbers.

I have heard many rumours in this creep in headquarters' positions over the last few months. I suppose the good news is, it is not a creep. The bad news is it is a big shift from regions to headquarters.

Mr. Speaker, I had the information from 1997 after the initial major deficit reductions took place. I wanted to see how they compared with the here and now. I requested information from the Financial Management Board Secretariat on the number of positions as of December 31, 1999.

The first report I received from the Financial Management Board Secretariat, straight off the much vaunted PeopleSoft system, showed a very dramatic picture, Mr. Speaker. There have been significant increases in headquarters' positions and a commensurate large decrease of positions in the communities and in the regions.

The Financial Management Board Secretariat had the departments re-check the numbers, massage them, work them, and they subsequently published their own geographic tracking document, the official one. This time, for some reason that I am not quite sure of yet, there was a small decrease of headquarters' positions of five percent. Of even more concern, Mr. Speaker, in spite of how the numbers were massaged, there was still a ten percent decrease of positions outside of headquarters.

Mr. Speaker, this tells me two things. First, that there is still a problem getting blue chip information out of the government, which I intend to talk about in a later statement. Further, and more importantly, the figures indicate to me a trend and a problem that we have to look at very seriously. Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that after 1997, after the reductions to all of the government, there should have been a more significant decrease in headquarters' positions, due to division.

On the other hand, the regions should not have been affected by division. There should not be the same kind of erosion that we now see has taken place at ten percent. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Thebacha is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Miltenberger, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The numbers still point to a problem. There has been constant and ongoing erosion since 1997, even though we all paid the price as communities to help balance this budget of services and government positions out of the regions. Somehow, in spite of division, headquarters has managed to be buffered.

Half of the departments have had an increase to headquarters since 1997, according to the official document put out by the Financial Management Board Secretariat. Departments like the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Aboriginal Affairs, Municipal and Community Affairs, Justice, Transportation, Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and the Workers' Compensation Board.

Mr. Speaker, the work at the regional level has not changed. There was no political direction that I can recollect in this House to further cut positions in the regions and the communities. I can see no reason why there has been a continued decrease to the level there has been to jobs and government positions outside of headquarters.

Mr. Speaker, since there is such a significant discrepancy in the numbers, I will be asking the government, for my community, specifically to try to identify for me where these jobs are, where they were, and what positions are there.

Mr. Speaker, I think that as a Legislative Assembly, we have to look at a way to address this trend. It was never the intent of this government to talk on one hand of decentralization and moving things to the communities, but have the hard numbers show in fact that the trend is the other way. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will table the documents I used to make these assessments. They are all government numbers but I will table them in this House. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to speak on the question of the have and have not communities in the Northwest Territories. In the prayer that is usually read in this House, we talk about how we represent and serve the people of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I have been here for four years. In those four years, I have fought hard and vigorously to ensure that the communities, in a small way, would be served by this government through programs, services and economic opportunities such as contributions to highway maintenance grants. We have tried to ensure that there are economic opportunities for the unemployed in our communities. We have tried to ensure and the situation for the people that are unemployed and on income support and other means of dependency on this government will be changed.

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen that in the former budget that has been put forth by this government. All I see are increases at the headquarters level and increases in the government itself. Mr. Speaker, I would like to know when this government will reinstate the cuts that were made to the small communities.

Mr. Speaker, I feel awfully annoyed when I see the increases at the senior level of government, yet, we talk about setting an agenda to be fair to everyone. I have seen the fairness that has taken place in the last four years, which was the majority of cuts to the small communities so that we have limited resources to take care of the problems that we have. We have a major problem in the delivery of health care and education services in our small communities. But yet, Mr. Speaker, the funds that keep flowing from this government seem to all be at the central level.

I will continue to fight hard for the small communities. I have grown up in a small community and I have seen what the day to day impacts are on people. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of people in this House who did not have that experience. I think it is time that people took the blinders off and looked outside the boundaries of Yellowknife to see the impacts of these cuts on our small communities. At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Premier a question on this matter, ensuring fairness in this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you are well aware, the Yellowknife MLAs experienced a very productive constituency meeting earlier this week. The issues that were raised in that meeting have been reported already to this House by my Yellowknife colleagues.

There was something else that was said in the meeting that has had me thinking for the last few days, and I wish to bring it up in this House. After hearing answers about why we need devolution of powers from the federal government to do our job, one of our constituents asked a question. "You want all this power, but what are you going to do with it? Do you have a vision?"

As I indicated at the meeting, my answer is an emphatic "yes", Mr. Speaker. My vision for the future of Yellowknife and Northwest Territories is very clear. I believe we have the potential to create an economy that generates enough wealth to pay our way. As a "have" Territory, we can better take care of the basic needs of all our citizens and be competitive nationally and globally. I believe a plan for a healthy economy must go hand in hand with a plan for a healthy people.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I know that Yellowknife cannot do it without the Northwest Territories and the Northwest Territories cannot do it without Yellowknife. Some may say that this is not a vision but a lofty dream that people have been saying forever. Why should it be any different this time around? Well, I can tell you Mr. Speaker, that I am one of those blessed people who have personally experienced dreams and visions turning into reality time and time again. I feel it deep inside that great things are going to happen in this 14th Assembly. My observation so far is that the ducks are lining up, so to speak, to make this happen more than ever before, Mr. Speaker.

Division is behind us. We are seeing an intergovernmental process that will bring aboriginal governments to work with us on resource development and mutual governance issues. We have the resource industries willing and poised to invest a lot of dollars in oil and gas and diamonds. We have a Prime Minister interested in looking at the possibilities in the North with a fresh eye. We have a federal Finance Minister who is seeing the North as an investment potential and not a recipient of handouts. Mr. Speaker, may I ask for consent to complete my statement?

The Member for Range Lake is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You have unanimous consent, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further, we have a Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Minister with a commitment to devolution of federal powers.

On the home front, Mr. Speaker, we have a government headed by a Premier with years of proven leadership experience and strong support in and out of this Assembly. We have a cohesive Cabinet that is working cooperatively and well together. We have a senior civil service with morale higher than any I have seen in a long time. And most importantly, Mr. Speaker, we have a strong group of Ordinary Members in this side of the House who are going to make sure the job is done right.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Speaker, an older gentlemen came up to me and said, "I liked hearing about your vision. Make sure you hang on to it". I intend to do everything as a Member of the 14th Assembly to lay a solid foundation to make this vision a reality.

I would like to add one more thing. There is one cardinal rule I live by in making my dreams into reality time and time again. Dreams cannot be achieved by using negative energy. A vision is turned into reality when it is broken into manageable pieces and by going after them relentlessly with hard work and tenacity.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since I originate from the trapping economy, I would like to speak a little about the importance of this time of year for our people of the Mackenzie Delta, as they traditionally spend the spring months out trapping muskrats.

Those who need special attention, Mr. Speaker, are Gilbert Kasook, Rhoda Joe, Roger Selamio, Big John Coyen, Sandy Stefansson, Mary Jane Dillon, Ernie Dillon, Lulu Loreen, Victor Allen, the Dick family and both Harry and John Carmichael's families. These are just many of the people who carry out the practice of trapping each spring and keep our trapping industry alive. For those I have missed, I wish you well and a prosperous trapping season. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. I am sure that spring and the spring hunt does spark the memories of a lot of people in this House. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the issue of a vision as well; a vision of a strong Northwest Territories where all regions are equal and where there is not one side that is better off than another because of decisions made politically.

Mr. Speaker, I say this because I come from an area that is quite remote from the capital of the Northwest Territories. I have said since I have became elected in the 13th Assembly, and will continue to say in the 14th Assembly, that if we are going to truly build a strong Territory, it has to be done through teamwork and by committing to work together, not to just say, in areas of policies, that everything will go to where needs are the greatest.

Mr. Speaker, where is our vision if we say that all the dollars we spend will go to those where the volume is highest? The reason I speak of this, Mr. Speaker, is yesterday during question period, when Mr. Krutko questioned the Honourable Vince Steen, the response to one of the questions was that the budget planning was based on need and volume.

Mr. Speaker, that puts the rest of us in the smaller communities at a distinct disadvantage. That means using that formula, the highway that connects my community to the rest of southern Canada is going to be the first to have more wear and tear.

I cannot agree with that. I must ask this government how do we set our policies? Where are we going to go? Shall the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer? I did not come into government to have that happen. Later on today, I will be asking the Premier on the policies of this government. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to echo the thoughts of Mr. Braden and recognize a group of individuals in our community.

This group, Mr. Speaker, is the St. Patrick's High School Students Against Drinking and Driving, commonly known as SADD. This dedicated group of students, staff and community members has been very active since 1994, promoting healthy choices for students to make in their lives. The chapter was originally formed by Mr. Johnnie Bowden, the current principal of St. Pat's who was the vice-principal at the time, and Ms. Michelle Thoms, who is still active as the SADD advisor for St. Pat's.

This group is a small but vocal partner to national and international organizations as well. They have steadily grown in numbers since their formation and now have 60 active members in the St. Patrick High School SADD chapter, but consider the entire student body as members.

Events have been initiated and hosted for students which offer alternative activities to drinking and other negative influences our youth face in their everyday lives.

Mr. Speaker, there are other chapters in Yellowknife at Sir John Franklin High School, École St. Joseph and Weledeh Catholic School. Recent interest to start their own chapters has come from northern communities such as Hay River, Fort Simpson, Rae, Fort Smith and Fort Liard.

Next week, 38 representatives of this chapter will be going to Edmonton to attend the 10th Annual Canadian Youth Against Impaired Driving Conference. This conference will bring together over 1,000 delegates and presenters from across Canada who will attend workshops and gain valuable knowledge and experiences to reaffirm their positive life choices.

I would like to point out that the students who are attending this conference from Yellowknife have had to work their way towards attending the event. Through various fundraising events, the students have had to raise approximately $900 each to attend the conference. I am pleased to say that this group has taken the challenge to pay their way without any government funding. This is no small task, Mr. Speaker, especially for students to undertake.

In closing, I would like to ask my fellow Members to join me in a show of support for the students, staff and delegates who will be attending the conference next week in Edmonton and wish them well in the various activities they will be participating in. I am sure, Mr. Speaker, we will be hearing a lot more from this group over the next year as they work towards their preparations to host the next national conference here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Member's statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Julius Buski and his wife Nonie, who are visiting us today. He is visiting Yellowknife in his capacity as District Governor for Rotary District 5370. A note that may interest some Members - Mrs. Buski, Julius' mother, was my piano teacher for some 12 years. She also taught me violin for six or seven years.

-- Applause

Welcome to the Legislature of the Northwest Territories, Governor and Mrs. Buski. We are expecting a piano recital from Mr. Dent in the Members' lounge after the Session. Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a friend of mine sitting in the gallery. His name is Paul Smith. He is a former colleague of mine at the law firm of Gullberg, Wiest, MacPherson and Kay. I articled with him and he was also the manager of my campaign. Mr. Paul Smith, thank you.

-- Applause

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I would like to welcome all the visitors that are attending our Session. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement, I truly believe that if we are going to build a strong Northwest Territories for our children to continue to prosper, we are going to have to do it with a balanced approach, where the small communities work along with the large communities and visa versa.

Mr. Speaker, I have a concern. It has been stated publicly in this House, and I will refer to the unedited Hansard on page 476, when Mr. Steen was questioned by the Member for Mackenzie Delta on Highway No. 3. The Minister's response, in part to the question, was that the department cannot distribute a budget based on spreading it evenly through the regions.

If that is, in fact, a policy of this government that we are going to spend money based on volume as a major part of the package, then the rest of us outside the large centres are going to suffer dearly. I can refer back to the 13th Assembly in which I believe Inuvik suffered heavily under the reduction scenarios. So my question to the Premier is, is it in fact the policy of this government to spend volume-based?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Stephen Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, that is not the policy of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Steen was speaking about the way in which the Minister responsible for Transportation deals with capital allocation regarding highways. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the differences that each department has to use in making up formulas and distributing budgets. If that is not the policy of the government as we know it, can the Premier inform us, has there been direction to his Cabinet Ministers when they started working on this interim appropriation and the budget that came up, on an approach to spending in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have said a number of times in the Legislature, this government has been in office a little over two months. We have needed to give direction on the interim appropriation that we require for government to continue operating after April 1st. The direction, as I know it, was to have an interim appropriation bill in front of this Legislature that would comprise four months of expenditures based roughly on what was required last year in the first four months of the fiscal year.

That included forced growth, and that is what we require. It has not been largely finessed, but it will be, as Members have been told. I am not sure that it is clear yet, but there will be ongoing changes in the year. We will prepare the budget and present it to the Members in June. It will contain measures that the Members have indicated in this interim appropriation. It will address such issues as how can we live within our existing means and make sure the priority issues are addressed. It will ensure that small community needs are respected and, if possible, reductions should not be made at the expense of communities and regions. Those are all things that we have no difficulty with at all.

It is simply that we have not had time to engage in detailed planning, as Members are aware. I hope they appreciate that we are trying to be as inclusive as possible in the overall planning. That is what this government is engaged in, as we get off to what I hope is a very productive start in the four year mandate. Thank you.

Thank you, Premier Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Premier is, in fact, informing us that we are going on the status quo of the existing expenditure framework that previous governments have gone on. Is that the case? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Stephen Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is generally true. There are no specific new initiatives undertaken solely by this Cabinet. For instance, there is one of the Members on the other side that has made great hay of the fact that the Executive has increased expenditure by what he says is about 18 percent. The fact is that much of that was initiated by the previous government and some by this Legislature. I, as the head of the Department of the Executive, am responsible for passing this through this Legislature.

It is true that as a Premier and as a new Cabinet, we have created some new positions. But by no means is it anywhere near 18 percent, as the Member for Thebacha suggests. It is way below 18 percent. Much of that should be borne equally and enthusiastically by the good Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my questions can cover everybody and every jurisdiction in the Northwest Territories. Hopefully, with this next response, we will focus more on where the question is coming from and not on another colleague.

Mr. Speaker, can the Premier inform us that when he and his new Cabinet become more familiar with their workload, they will be able to look at the way this government's policies are formed to date and to make adjustments so that we can truly grow as a Northwest Territories as a whole, not as have and have nots? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Stephen Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I think this government can assure the Member that that is how we would like to proceed. I would like to remind Members again, that as an MLA, I also come from a region that has been, historically, largely ignored and, resource-wise, rather undernourished. It has enjoyed some small growth in different areas over the years. It was because of the very aggressive and consistent hard work by the good Member that they elected. Small communities will be respected to the greatest extent possible. The support of this government and this Legislature should be assured to them. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions to the Premier are in regards to my opening statement. One thing I have noticed with this interim appropriation and the cuts to our small communities, is the whole question about compassion and realizing that there are certain social and economic situations in our small communities that keep arising.

It is especially true with the high cost of living and the high percentage of people who are unemployed. In some communities, we are talking 80 and 85 percent unemployment. Yet, Mr. Speaker, when it comes down to the question about need, I think we are finding out that it is more greed than need. Especially in the context of looking at this budget, where I see a lot of items, especially in my riding, in the area of $50,000 being taken out of here and there. And there are areas where half the transportation capital budget is in one jurisdiction.

I have been working hard to ensure that we have an economic base to help people get off income support and get jobs, and find ways to improve the lives of people in our communities.

I would like to ask the Premier, what has he done to put some criteria in place or principles that his Cabinet and this government can follow to ensure that we meet the goals people in the small communities are setting for themselves? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a good question and I thank the Member for most of it. I do not like the part which states that greed is prevailing somewhere in this government as it carries out its work. I think it is needless and does not need to be mentioned in the Legislature.

The fact is that this government, as I have said, has been in office a little over two months. We are eager to initiate some work to better meet the needs of communities, regions and the people we serve. It is also important for us to think out and plan well in advance of anything that we do and to appreciate the full implications before we start.

I point to a couple of examples. One is there are community and regional self- government negotiations going on. I would like to have the capacity to be able to meet the demands that will bring to this government. I would like to look at reorganizing regions, and look at resources in communities and regions as well as possible. After division, do we need to reorganize? I need the capacity to do it.

There are some resources that are available now in the Department of the Executive. That was pointed out in the committee of the whole the other day. But that no longer meets with the support of some Members of the Legislature. The question is how do we initiate that so we can meet the needs of the communities and regions. I have to step back and consider that, because that is not so clear.

Self-government negotiations require additional resources so we can meet the newly established negotiations with the Akaitcho Territory and the Deh Cho. It requires additional staff because they have established negotiations. I have a sent a very accelerated schedule of work that cannot be met within existing resources. Unfortunately, these are placed in the Department of the Executive, so it does look like we are getting rather out of bounds on our growth. But it is meeting the demands from the communities and regions.

On one hand, we are trying to move prudently. But we need to move quickly in some areas. In other areas, we are simply positioning ourselves so we can begin the proper planning. It is necessary to initiate some changes, but with a frisky and well organized plan. The Member on the other side is asking questions. It is important you make clear what it is you want us to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to my statement, one of the things I do not see much of anymore is that this infrastructure building that the Premier talks about is all happening in Yellowknife. We do not see anything really happening in our communities. We are finding a lot of positions have been vacated, and monies are moved to the regional centres. The positions are taken out of the regions and the communities.

I would like to ask the Premier, what is he doing to ensure that he reinstates the numbers that were there before he starts compiling all these people in the government in Yellowknife? Will he seriously put something in place so there will be positions in the communities and the regions to help the social and economic problems we find ourselves in? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had made a commitment to the Legislature that we would not initiate any changes without at least informing the Members. It is not proper for me to suggest that there are going to be whole scale changes made, because then the Members would be very upset and I would be in full retreat by now.

I am going on the assumption that all Members will be interested in looking at the idea of reorganizing regions to compliment the settlement of claims, the emergence of political organizations and aboriginal and regional governments.

We should look at the idea of making sure that the existing resources at the community and regional level are, if they can be, made more efficient and better utilized for services to communities. If there are ways of creating greater autonomy at the community and regional level, then we should do that, respecting the fact that the self-government negotiations are going on.

If the communities and regions wish for an initiative like that, we should be prepared to offer it. I am interested to know if the Legislature would give an indication like that. I believe that was what we had suggested in Fort Providence, but it is not categorical and clear to me.

I would be prepared to hear Members give that direction so that we can begin work like that. It is possible that we can look at making the government, at the headquarters level, more efficient. There are ways of becoming more accountable. We can look at ways we set targets and have instruments that can measure whether or not we have achieved those targets.

I would be prepared to look at initiatives like that. These are ideas that are floating around. We have had very little time to sit down and come up with ideas. and ensure that we have the proper planning to suggest ideas like that. I am looking forward to, sometime after the Session, when Cabinet may make suggestions like that amongst ourselves, when there might be more time to do proper planning. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things I noted in my opening comment is that we have seen some major cuts in the capital for my riding, and of some half a million dollars in transportation, the access road programs and the projects to assist communities. Yet, Mr. Speaker, we spend millions of dollars in these small communities on social or income support programs.

People do not want welfare. They want workfare. I want to know, why is the government using the formula they are using in highways and traffic, but do not really look at the social and economic needs of communities, ridings, and regions? Realizing that what little money they get really does offset the cost to this government on social payments we make in the communities, especially in the area of income support. In some communities, we are spending $2 million to $3 million.

I would like to know from this government, when will they change the concept that many of these bureaucrats have, that everything is based on a process and not really looking at the human needs? All the communities are asking for is to improve their lives, the social conditions, and to make it better for their children. When will this Premier consider looking at this as one of the options this government takes into account? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I always thought the government tried to operate in the best interests of everyone that they serve. The perception is sometimes that the government does not always do that. That is true. I have always believed that governments fundamentally try to do what is in the best interest of everyone they were elected to serve.

In the instance of the Mackenzie Delta, Fort McPherson specifically, there is one issue that I know the Member has asked for a quick response on, which is in regards to the difficulties of Fort McPherson with their water supply. We have assured the Member we would act quickly on that. I believe we have moved to fast track the capital so that all construction for a new water facility and a water supply system for Fort McPherson has been arranged for this year. That is one specific instance where we have tried, in the last two months, to respond specifically to Mr. Krutko's riding.

In general, on the area of the Mackenzie Delta in regards to economic development, we have been fully supportive of bringing the oil and gas companies back to do exploration and production work. We have recently moved to try to allocate additional dollars to the communities, to this government so that we can assist in getting our communities and regions ready for the oil and gas development that is coming in the next few months and years. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We talk about having a transparent government so people can realize we are accountable and open. Mr. Speaker, I really have a problem when I see new capital projects coming in the budget, especially when a lot of these projects are in the Ministers' ridings. I would like to ask the Premier, when will this practice stop so that people realize the projects should be where they have been distributed through a capital planning project? We see a lot of new capital projects coming forth, and the majority of those projects are in the Ministers' ridings. I would like to ask the Premier, when will you ensure that practice stops? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware that there is a trend towards increasing capital allocations only in the Ministers' ridings. I do not believe that is true and certainly if it appears that way, it is not because there are Ministers in those particular ridings. It is because the government and the departments believe those are the areas where the capital projects are in greatest need and those are the priority areas. I do not accept the allegation the Member is making. Thank you.

Thank you, Premier Kakfwi. Before I go to the next honourable Member for questions, I would like to draw the House's attention to some of the rules governing question period. A question must be brief. It must not contain a preamble that exceeds carefully drawn sentences.

These are your rules. The answer as well should not be lengthy, it must be brief. I would like to remind the Members that when you go into long questions and long preambles, it does take away the opportunity for other Members to ask questions. With that in mind, item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this afternoon is for the Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen. As I have stated in my Member's statement, Mr. Speaker the St. Patrick's Students Against Drunk Driving organization will be hosting the 11th Annual Canadian Youth Against Impaired Driving Conference in Yellowknife in March, 2001.

They are also seeking to establish SADD chapters in Northwest Territories communities. Will the Minister inform this House how the government might support this SADD initiative and ensure that all Members have a better understanding on this positive approach by youth in dealing with the consequences of drinking and driving? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I get into the core of my answer, I would just like to mention to the Members that this is part of an example of how my portfolio integrates with the other departments. Specific to the Member's question, yes, in my capacity as Minister responsible for Youth, I received a request from the Yellowknife Students Against Drunk Driving group, requesting a luncheon meeting with the Members here in the Chamber. Mr. Speaker, I met this morning with the Minister Responsible For Transportation to seek support to hold the luncheon in the Great Hall.

That will occur on March 28, 2000, to which I will be sending out an invitation to all the Members here in the House to attend this very important function. From my information, the Yellowknife SADD group has raised a vigorous campaign over the past few years and certainly had a positive impact on reducing student's drinking and driving.

For this, Mr. Speaker, I applaud the SADD group's efforts in taking the lead in establishing SADD chapters across the North. I am pleased to hear that the youth group has also taken the initiative to host the Canadian Youth Against Impaired Driving Conference in Yellowknife in March, 2001. Mr. Speaker, the Yellowknife SADD group wishes to meet with the Members so that they can outline this worthwhile project and seek territorial support and involvement. Again, I encourage all Members in this House to attend this event, to meet with this youth group and offer their support to fight drinking and driving in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is in regards to government information on positions and such. I will address it to the not as thin-skinned Minister responsible for Finance. Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of questions about excessive spending and stretch limos and the Premier gets all cranky. It must be because he is too tired. Too tired to be frisky, obviously.

-- Laughter

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister responsible for Finance is in regards to my statement today about the positions and the inability to get a clear sense of what they mean, how accurate they are, and whether or not they are credible. I would like to ask the Minister whether he would commit, at least for my constituency, to have his department look at those and somehow explain to me the dramatic shifts that have taken place, even after reductions. I cannot understand the numbers that they say are there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would first like to compliment the honourable Member on his tie.

-- Laughter

Yes, I will certainly commit to looking at the information he has provided to me. We have to be very careful when we start comparing employment or position numbers from regions to headquarters or even at different periods of time, and so on.

You can get it from a number of sources. If you take the human resources information system, it is at one point in time. If you take it off the main estimates, it covers a whole year. If you go to the regions, then often we have devolved responsibilities. For example, between 1997, when the Member is referring to and now, we have devolved a lot of positions to the communities and to regional organizations.

So it is a complicated question. You cannot just sit down and take a number off a point in time and compare the two. A lot has happened in that period. Mr. Speaker in response to the question, I will definitely have the department do an analysis and provide a full reply on the differences. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my tie gives a little colour to this Assembly and helps to alleviate the "mortician and undertaker look" the Cabinet Members choose to favour.

-- Laughter

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Finance Minister is that these are government numbers. These were the numbers we were given to tell us how the cuts were going to impact our communities. I would hope that the Minister is not saying they are going to have some elaborate shuffle and shell game to show that while they have devolved, the numbers show that there has been a ten percent erosion over and above the reduction cuts. Or that somehow everything is wonderful and do not worry about it, things did not really happen that way. The people in the communities know that that is not the case.

Mr. Speaker, I would like some assurances from the Minister that the review he is going to do is going to be impartial, objective, fair and accurate.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I hope that will be the last reference to neckties in today's question period. The question is directed to the honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will wear a different necktie or shirt next time and change my dress. Mr. Speaker, I will definitely undertake to ensure that it is fair, accurate, open and honest in terms of the information we will provide. I take a great deal of pride with being able to provide information that is straight up. I assure there will be no shell game, and the Member can have full access to the information we use. I will explain very thoroughly how we arrived at what we did. I do not think the intention here is to try to undermine someone's information or anything like that. It is simply to provide good information to the House. I intend to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Mr. Bell, indicates that I am giving morticians a bad name.

-- Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that all of the numbers I used are government numbers, taken off the government systems that are supposed to be blue chip. Can the Minister tell me when he anticipates he would be able to have some clear feedback? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Without having talked to my staff, I expect I can have the information, and I am sure it will satisfy the Member, by early next week. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to clarify, I made a mistake, and it was actually Mr. Braden who gave me that final comeback. Mr. Speaker, will you be tabling that document in the House or will you and I be discussing it in a more personal tête-à-tête? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be happy to have the tête-à-tête first if you want, to explain the information and how we arrived at it. I would be happy to do it either as a Ministerial statement or to table it in the House. I will do it one way or another, but we will get it here. Thank you.

-- Applause

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister responsible for Finance with respect to the high fuel costs. I realize that the Government of the Northwest Territories does not have control over fuel prices, but I must raise this question because I have been asked to do so by my constituents, who are suffering a great deal because fuel prices keep rising. I wonder if the Minister could advise the people out there as to what the cause of this is, and what, if anything, he is doing about it. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have not done any thorough assessment of the total cost of the fuel increases to the general public, nor have we even finished it for our departments. We do know that the fuel prices have risen dramatically in the last while. Internally in the government, I expect any department's that need additional money in order to carry on their responsibilities, whether it be to deliver fuel, something like transportation, where they will use a lot of fuel, that they will do that assessment department by department. They will bring that forward in time for the main estimates.

In terms of the cost to the public, the fuel prices have increased as a result of increases in world crude prices. We do not know for sure how much more the price will continue to rise, or whether it will level off, or possibly drop down. Our tax on fuel is one of the lower ones across Canada. There are eight jurisdictions that have higher taxes per litre than we do. I do not think our taxes are causing a great burden like this.

When we start doing things to try and alleviate the pain that people are feeling as a result of a fuel price, we have to be very careful we are fair to all people. Some people who use it in their livelihood, other people who use it for pleasure, and other people who simply maybe have a problem because of heating prices. It is a very complex question. We are monitoring it very closely. I think if there is something we can do, I expect the department will be giving us advice on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister eluded to the taxation on the fuel price, I wonder if the Minister can explain whether or not the portion of tax that the Government of the Northwest Territories charges on fuel costs has remained constant from the time of the rise of the fuel price. I do not know if the Minister understands my question. I just want to know if the tax that the Government of the Northwest Territories is charging on the fuel has remained the same?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the tax that we charge for fuel has remained the same. The tax we have on it is 10.7 cents per litre for gasoline for on highway use, and 6.4 cents for off highway use. That amount has remained the same. At this point, I do not have any intention to raise it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to get clarification again. Is the taxation a percentage of a base price of the fuel or is it a set dollar amount? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the tax on fuel is based on the per litre, it is an advelorum tax. It is 10.7 cents per litre for fuel that is used on highway and 6.4 cents per litre on fuel that is used off highway.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I am trying to get at is, I understand that we are all experiencing difficulties due to the high fuel prices. I want to let the public know that the Government of the Northwest Territories is not playing any role in adding to the hardship. My question is, the Minister mentioned the taxation on fuel is 10.7 cents and 6.8 cents. Has that amount remained the same regardless of the up and down fluctuations in the fuel costs? In other words, have we increased any of our taxation on the fuel costs?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really do not know when the last increase in the tax on fuel was. I can tell you that in the life of this government, there has been no increase on fuel tax. It has remained, as I said, 10.7 cents per litre for as long as we have been in government here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. 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 Finance, regarding the Digital Communication Network. We have had various departments in the House tell us, Education for one, that the DCN is not allowing them to provide distance learning as they had originally thought it would. Mrs. Groenewegen alluded to the fact that Telehealth is not yet functional. Four years ago, I believe this government thought that by getting into this arrangement with ArdiCom, we would be able to achieve some of these things.

Certainly the system is under-performing. I do not know if it was ill conceived or if things have changed since four years ago. I am concerned about this. I think this government has to make distance learning and Telehealth a priority. With our small population, we simply cannot afford to have all the infrastructure everywhere. These are very critical issues. I am wondering if the undertaker responsible for Finance can tell us how he proposes to fix the problem. Thank you.

-- Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I intend to bury this problem.

-- Laughter

And the cable. Mr. Speaker, the Digital Communications Network is now installed in 32 communities. The company that has the contract to provide it, ArdiCom, has fulfilled its responsibilities in that capacity. There have been some inadequacies with the system. It is not clear to what extent it is ArdiCom's responsibility and what extent it is our responsibility. That is still being sorted out by the department.

The uses for the Digital Communications Network system are fine when it comes to links such as the FIS, PeopleSoft, motor vehicles, Internet access and so on. Where we run into problems is where you need greater bandwidth to allow for videoconferencing, or in the case of Health, I think possibly somewhere even greater assurance of reliability of the system. There is some need for what is referred to as premium bandwidth service performance. There should not be much ambiguity here, but if a department pays for a premium bandwidth, then it is up to the company to guarantee that is provided. The department who wants it has to pay for it.

We have recently contracted with the Gartner Group, an independent information technology think tank group, to review our Digital Communications Network. They have completed their study and their report is now being reviewed by the department. We are aware of the problem. We are trying to alleviate it. As I mentioned, the bandwidth that is being purchased may not, in some cases, provide the reliable service that you may need in Health. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be very curious to see that review and I am hoping the Minister will bring that review to the House. I would suggest to him that he would have to kill the project before he could bury it. I think it would be much wiser if we would shovel some money at it, buy the bandwidth we need, and start to reap the cost saving benefits sooner. I am wondering if the Minister can commit to sharing the review with us?

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the honourable Member's advice in terms of what priorities we should have as a government and where to put some of our meagre resources. I will take that advice very seriously. I certainly intend to kill the problem and lay it to rest. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just quickly, will the Minister commit to sharing the review with this House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that the review has already been completed, can we get that as soon as possible? Like next week? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.