Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Please be seated. Good morning everyone. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On many occasions in the early days of our new Assembly, Members have talked about the concept and ideas for the vision, objectives and strategies of the 14th Assembly. Defining that vision and how we can make it happen was among this Assembly's earliest tasks.

In February, we enjoyed the hospitality of the community of Fort Providence for four days. We compared, argued and compromised with the values and agendas of 19 freshly elected, vigorous and highly principled politicians. We did not fully achieve our goal that week.

Subsequently, Mr. Speaker, we met for another two days earlier this month to finalize our work. Today, I address the House as the Chair of Caucus to advise the people of the Northwest Territories that our document has cleared its final revision and is now at the printers.

Mr. Speaker, our plan is to release this important document next Friday, March 31, 2000. It is called "Towards A Better Tomorrow", and it takes its inspiration from the words of a prayer by Fort Providence elder Mitch Landry, at the tremendous feast the community hosted for us.

The Honourable Joe Handley, House Leader of the government, will join me and Caucus deputy chair Steven Nitah, the Member for Tu Nedhe, in its release and in taking our message out to the people of the Northwest Territories. We will also be distributing copies to every mailbox in the Northwest Territories, and making direct contact to a broad range of other governments and agencies. We want to talk about the plan and get some response and reaction.

Our expectation is not that we will get instant approval from everyone. That would be too easy. Rather, we hope this paper will spark a renewal like fine spring weather in our optimism and outlook for the future. I look forward to rising in the Assembly next Friday and tabling the document that will help us towards a better tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On this very fine Friday, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize and honour an important segment of the people whom we serve and represent; our youth. As the Members may have noticed, we have a huge number of young people in the gallery who, I believe, will be recognized later on at the appropriate time on the order paper.

Mr. Speaker, we have been hearing a lot this week about which side of this House works harder. I am not sure who would win that battle, but as a new Member on this side, I can say it has literally been meeting after meeting around the clock in the last few days and weeks.

Mr. Speaker, I once had a dessert called "Death by Chocolate", which was very good. I wonder sometimes if we are collectively engaged in an exercise of "death by paper" or "death by meetings". When I feel buried in these meetings and papers, I get empowered by the happy thoughts and positive energy I receive by remembering the young people I have come into contact with since I decided to enter into a political life.

I have had the occasion to visit local schools to speak to them about what we do as MLAs, and to read to them during their literacy week. The look of curiosity and fascination in their eyes are something to treasure. I experienced the same look from the group of young people I met in Fort Providence during our Caucus retreat when they came to visit me at our hotel on the last day there.

I know it is for the well-being and secure future of these young citizens, not only in my riding of Range Lake, but throughout our vast Territory that we often engage in rancorous debates on both sides of this House. I do not think we need to wait for a special day to do this.

I would like to take a moment to recognize the youth of our Territory on behalf of everyone in this House. The group of seven children in the gallery is especially dear to me, Mr. Speaker, for their unusual enthusiasm for political process.

Brooke and Dana Harris wrote and sang a song for me, which was aired in one of the riding profiles on Northbeat.

James and Aurora Williams came out in the early hours of a very cold morning to do what is known as a burma-shave. This is a code word for those greet and wave sessions by the roadside during our campaign.

Mickey Marshall and Kayla Chang became fascinated with all of the campaign material, and would often come to my office to stock up on the buttons and posters. I had no idea what they did with them all, but I do know one of the posters is still hanging in Mickey's window by Wal-mart.

Andrew Hoover was volunteered by his mother to go door-to-door with me for an hour. He liked it so much, he stayed...

Ms. Lee, the time allowed for your Member's statement has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Andrew Hoover was volunteered by his mother to go door-to-door with me for an hour. He liked it so much, he stayed for another four hours on the last day of the campaign.

I would also like to recognize the Fort Providence youth, who are not here in person, but to whom I would like to send greetings. They are Audrey-Lynn Landry, Chelsea Elleze, Rebecca Landry, Dori-Ann Lefoin, Simon Elleze, Samantha Perron, Melissa Elleze, Eva Yakinneah, and Shauna McLeod, who I understand watches the Session on television every day.

Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to see these budding politicians of tomorrow. I would like to tell them to dream big and work hard. I would ask the Members to join me in welcoming them to the House and in sending greetings out to all of the youth in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk briefly on the issue of quality of blue-chip information in the government.

Every day, Ministers and deputy ministers are making significant decisions on the programs and services. Decisions that often have huge impacts on people and dollars. In the private sector, most decisions are made based on good, quality blue-chip information. Things like understanding of their market, precise financial information, detailed understanding of their employees and their skills. Mr. Speaker, since first coming to the Assembly in 1995-96, I have been asking for similar types of information. I wanted more than vague reassurances as to how well decisions would be made and why they were being made.

Over the past few weeks, I have once again been reminded that we still do not have this quality of information in all areas of the government. I would like to cite three examples, Mr. Speaker.

The first one is position numbers. The government regularly says people are our most important resource. It follows that the government should have a good understanding of what human resources it has and where. In 1996, standing committees wanted to know how many people work for the government and where. It seemed to us like a simple question. In fact, it became a six-month, arduous exercise from reconciling numbers from an electronic system and comparing them to where people actually were and where they worked. As a result, government moved away from full-time equivalents, and decided we should keep track of positions.

In April of 1997, FMBS was finally able to produce a report that was supposed to be an accurate reflection of the number of staff, the employee, department and location. As I mentioned yesterday, Mr. Speaker, I recently requested information on the departments, position and location. I was given information in December and was told it had been double-checked by departments.

Mr. Speaker, I did not really think this was a big issue, since it was numbers pulled off of the accurate PeopleSoft system, a system we have spent millions of dollars on and have a large staff employed to maintain.

Mr. Speaker, I was very disturbed when I saw the final figures and the significant differences between what is on the PeopleSoft system and what the departments say are the real numbers.

The second area is financial information, Mr. Speaker. The fiscal outlook and projected deficits seem to be moving targets of the tens of millions of dollars, often it seems overnight. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 1995-96, numbers offered by FMBS changed by $50 million in the course of six weeks. I remember that time period well.

In the fall of 1998, the Assembly was told things were really good and significant supplementary spending subsequently took place, near $100 million, if my memory serves me correctly. Five months later, we were told those figures were not quite what we thought, and things were not as rosy. In fact, things were looking a little grim.

Apparently again this week, fiscal position has differed from that paper by $19 million.

The third area, Mr. Speaker, is written questions. During the February Session, I had asked a number of written questions requesting basic operating information. For example, I asked Public Works and Services to tell me how many contracts were over budget and by how much. Mr. Speaker, what they gave me was about six trees worth of every contract they have, which tells me nothing. It does not tell me what contracts were over budget and by how much. Mr. Speaker, that is the kind of information that should be readily available. It came up more than six months ago. I was also told in every written response how hard it was and how much work it was to provide that kind of basic, standard information.

If we are going to make good decisions, we need blue-chip information. I would hope this government would make a greater effort to provide basic information, and tell us in a clear way, and honour the promise they made for straight answers on simple questions. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is regarding economic opportunities for First Nations people, especially people who have land claim settlements. Mr. Speaker, the Gwich'in negotiated their claim some eight years ago, yet sections of that agreement are not implemented. That is the responsibility of this government.

Mr. Speaker, I am speaking of chapter 10 of the Gwich'in Agreement, which is the economic chapter. It clearly identifies that the government carries out public activities in the settlement area, and gives rise to employment and economic opportunities when the government elects to enter into contracts with respect to those activities.

It continues to stipulate that the Government of the Northwest Territories procurement and negotiating policies and processes are to maximize local, regional and northern employment and business opportunities.

Yet, I was alarmed to hear of a contract that went out to the Inuvik Regional Health Board regarding security reception services. Chii Construction, which is a company with the band in Inuvik, which is a Gwich'in organization, had the contract for the previous three years. They did, in my eyes, a good job and they had the experience. Yet they were not successful in their bid, considering they were the lowest bidder and they had the work experience.

On top of that, Mr. Speaker, they were not told there was a process to appeal. After making an attempt to appeal their case, they were told there were no policies in place with the Inuvik Regional Health Board to appeal the contract.

I find that alarming. These are public funds put forth by this Legislature to carry out activities for this government. Yet we talk about partnerships with aboriginal First Nations and improving the lives of these people, but it seems that whenever they take the step and strive to improve their economic opportunities and enhance the lives of the people they represent, they are losing out. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Mackenzie Delta is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Krutko, you may conclude your statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, there is no real process or avenue for this government to ensure the obligations that are in place in the Gwich'in Agreement, which is a public document that is protected by the Constitution. This government is not making any effort to change its policies to ensure we receive the maximum potential that has been negotiated which is that this government improve the lives and conditions of aboriginal peoples.

We talk about public funds. I would like to again mention that this contract is public money. Yet there is no appeal process. There was not one aboriginal person on the board that reviewed the contract. We talk of fairness and whatnot. The majority of people in Inuvik and the Inuvik region are aboriginal people, yet not one aboriginal person took part in the review of these contracts. That is an injustice, when you are not being judged by your peers, but by people from outside the region.

I will be asking the Minister responsible for Finance some questions on policies and procurement to ensure aboriginal people receive their fair share of economic opportunities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this moment to recognize an elder from my constituency, Mr. Joe Farcy, who passed away on Saturday, March 18, 2000. Mr. Speaker, Joe was born on April 4, 1912, and raised in the North Channel area at the mouth of the Mackenzie River. He spent many years trapping on the Horn plateau area. As a youngster, he worked as a woodcutter for the SS Distributor and the mission in Fort Providence.

Joe loved the bush life. He was a trapper, a hunter and a fisherman. Mr. Speaker, from 1955 to 1985, Joe served on the band council under the leadership of Chief Vital Baton Rouge and Chief Phillip Simba. Joe always acted and served in the best interests of his people. He was a friend, a good adviser, and an elder for the community. Joe was pre-deceased by his wife Theresa and children Morslan, Phillip, Fabian and Alex. Joe is survived by his three sons, four daughters, 26 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Once again, on behalf of my constituents, I offer our condolences, prayers and support to the Farcy family.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The condolences of the Legislative Assembly are extended to the Farcy family. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since it is Friday and all, I would like to start off by sending greetings back to my wife and children. I would also like to take this opportunity to try and look at this forum we are in, in a different light.

Mr. Speaker, being a hockey player, and it is said that due to my age, I have gone from speeding around the rink to coasting around the rink, I would like to draw some parallels to this forum. Mr. Speaker, what I felt like yesterday when we found out information about the interim budget, I felt like a player that was sent a blind pass. I was in the tracks and looked behind to receive the puck and was hit by a wall.

Mr. Speaker, that was the feeling I had yesterday as we found out information regarding Municipal and Community Affairs. I do not think this was a purposeful thing. Most of the time, your own team-mates do not set you up to be hit hard. They try to get you the puck so you can score a goal. Hopefully, this was an event that was unintentional. In fact, as they say in the game of hockey, when you get hit hard, you get up and you skate again, but you remember the number of the player who hit you. Mr. Speaker, I remember the number.

I remember my days in contact hockey. One of the best feelings I had as a defenseman was when I knew I had my opponent lined up in my sights, and he was in his tracks. Mr. Speaker, the game is not over. We are early in the first period, and I have my head up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Indeed you have your job cut out for you with defensemen like Mr. Handley and Mrs. Groenewegen. They make it pretty tough to score a goal. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents in the Nunakput riding, I would like to recognize our young athletes who participated in the Arctic Winter Games. I would like to congratulate the following individuals, who won gold, silver, and bronze ulus:

• • Charlton Wolki from Tuktoyaktuk was part of the silver medal midget hockey team;
• • Matthew Anikina from Tuktoyaktuk won silver in the Alaskan high kick, and bronze in the one-foot high kick;
• • Phillip Jacobson from Tuktoyaktuk, junior male in Arctic sports, won gold in the one-foot high kick, gold in the knee-jump, silver in all-around, silver in the two-foot high kick and bronze in the Alaskan high kick;
• • Noah Pokiak from Tuktoyaktuk, junior male in Arctic sports, won a bronze in all around, and a bronze in the two-foot high kick;
• • Sharon Alanak from Holman Island, open female in Arctic sports, won gold in all-around, and gold in the two-foot high kick;
• • Eli Nasogaluak from Tuktoyaktuk, open male in Arctic sports, won gold in head pole; and
• • Irwin Elias from Tuktoyaktuk, open male in Arctic sports, won gold in one-hand reach and silver in one-foot high kick.

Mr. Speaker, I hope the Members will join me in thanking all of these athletes, both those who received medals and those who did their best for their participation and professionalism they showed in representing the Northwest Territories in these games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to touch on a subject that is very important to me, and indeed to everyone living in the North. Mr. Speaker, as a Member of this government, we strive to create a vision, set policies, procedures and priorities. This we do in the best interest of the people we represent.

In my opinion, we are here to represent all Northerners. Yet there is a very grey area as to who we recognize as a Northerner. Mr. Speaker, we entertained, supported and encouraged a group of young people, who are here to promote the fight to stop racism. As they so fairly indicated, Mr. Speaker, racism takes on many different forms.

However, far too often when we deal with issues such as student financial assistance programs, from medical services and travel, to hunting rights, we tend to classify our people.

My major concern is with our young people and how they relate to each other in terms of equality. If we want to see our vision become a reality, I suggest we are going to need many different people living and working in the Northwest Territories. If, Mr. Speaker, we want to have everyone working together towards the same goal, it may be worth our effort to define who is a Northerner.

Mr. Speaker, if we could accomplish this, I think we can truly say we are working and making decisions that are truly for the betterment of all Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I may, I would like to recognize the visitors from my riding. Aurora Williams on the far right, Brooke Harris, Dana Harris, Mickey Marshall, Kayla Chang, Andrea Hoover, James Williams. James and Aurora are the children of Tom Williams, who is the executive assistant to Minister Allen. Pam Williams is at the back, my assistant, Jean Wallace, and the mother of Brooke and Dana Harris, Melinda Harris. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

It is my pleasure to recognize the young people of the Rotary northern exchange group, along with their chaperone, Mr. Ports. The Rotary District 5370 of Alberta and the Northwest Territories has this exchange group every year about this time. The students come from areas such as Medicine Hat all the way to Peace River. With that, I would like to welcome the Rotary exchange group to the gallery.

-- Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Pat Thomas of the NWTTA. Welcome, Pat.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Department of Finance. It is regarding my opening comments, and the consideration that we do have some obligations under land claim agreements.

Specifically, Mr. Speaker, the question I would like to ask the Minister is regarding a contract that was let for security-reception services in Inuvik. Chii Construction, who previously held the contract for three years, was surprised to find out that out of nine tenders, they came in seventh, despite having the lowest bid and the experience. They did not qualify for the bid. They asked for an appeal of the case, knowing they had the lowest bid and the experience. I believe the contract went to a taxidriver in Inuvik.

Mr. Speaker, knowing these are public funds that we block-fund to the Inuvik Regional Health Board to carry out their activities, why do they not have an appeal process so we can get the return on our investment? So we can get the best price for the services provided? In this case, I believe they had the best price, they had the experience, yet they were not awarded the contract.

I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Finance, what policies are in place to ensure there is an appeal process on all public funds allocated by this government?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to be able to tell the Member that, although I am not familiar with this specific contract, through the Financial Management Board Secretariat, we are doing a thorough review of all of our procurement practices. This process is now in its final stages. I am sure the issues regarding appeals procedures and so on will be taken into consideration as we move along with the recommendations from the procurement review, which is currently underway. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is good to know we are looking at it, but my problem is that this incident is at hand. Do we have a way to allow these people to appeal the case? In my opening statement, I made reference to the board that reviewed these applications, yet there was not one aboriginal person present when they did the review.

Because we have an obligation in the land claims agreements, which is chapter 10 on economic measures, this government has some obligations. Will the Minister tell me what his department will do to see if there is an opportunity to review the case at hand?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not familiar with the details of this specific contract, so I will take it as notice.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question was going to be directed to the Premier, however I will redirect it to the Deputy Premier. It was indicated in this House by the Premier that summer student employment within the Government of the Northwest Territories would be handled out of the office of the Executive. If there were resumes, they should be sent to that office.

Given the fact that universities and colleges will be adjourning for the summer in about five weeks, I would like to ask the Deputy Premier if she would commit to tabling a list in this House of all of the available casual positions in government by community, so students coming off the plane will know what is available for the students that are returning.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mrs. Jane Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I understand correctly, the Member is asking for a listing of all of the jobs within the various communities by department available for students returning from post-secondary education. Mr. Speaker, that sounds like a good idea. I do not know of anything that would stand in the way of doing that, putting the list together and contacting the departments to find out what their needs are over the course of the summer. Perhaps the Member would like to clarify that is in fact what he is looking for. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Am I able to direct my supplementary to the Premier?

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. No, the rules allow it to be directed to the one person. The Premier is allowed to direct it to someone else. That is the only option.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will direct my supplementary to the Deputy Premier. Just to clarify my request, I would like to have tabled in the House a list of specific positions that can be targeted within departments for summer student employment for students returning from school. A list of positions in all the communities where there is government. Whether the Deputy Premier would commit to tabling that so we have that information, and that information can, in fact, be sent out to the communities and students, so they will know what the opportunities are. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mrs. Jane Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, not knowing exactly how much work might be involved with that, and how providing the information might coincide with the House sitting, the Member is asking for it to be tabled. Perhaps what we could do is come to some agreement as to when we could have the information available for the Member as opposed to when we could table that information, and also discuss the timeframe in which we could do that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, like the Deputy Premier, I am a reasonable individual. I am more than prepared to try and do what is best. I would like to ask the Deputy Premier if she could indicate whether departments have specific positions put aside? Given students will be returning in five weeks, I am assuming the government already has the wheels in motion to take care of this business, to have this information collated and available. I am concerned that it may be an onerous process, and one that may go on. I would like to have some clarification from the Deputy Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mrs. Jane Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of specific positions targeted for summer employment by various departments, but I am also certain that we could survey departments to find out what positions may be available for summer student employment by department and by community. I am not certain how long it would take to get that information. The Member is correct when he says the students are returning in five weeks. I believe we could undertake to contact departments to get that information. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final supplementary is for further clarification. Since April comes every year and summer students return every year, can the Deputy Premier indicate what formal process they have that is ongoing, so it is not a question of scrambling around trying to get the information and so it is planned out in a careful, anticipatory way, knowing what the numbers are and what the need may be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mrs. Jane Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of previous years in terms of precedent on how this information was gathered. I will have to take that supplementary as notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. That part of the question was taken as notice. 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 the Department of Justice. I would like to ask him about this government's intentions for developing legislation in a few different areas. Specifically, I am very concerned with human rights legislation. We currently have a Fair Practices Act. I think that by all accounts there are big-time holes in all of this. It excludes a lot of people. It seems every time we have problems, we have to go to Ottawa in this area.

I also have concerns with labour legislation. With some of the issues and concerns that have recently been raised, I think it has been suggested that the North take ownership and develop some labour legislation. I have heard it many times. I have heard Mr. Dent speak to this on occasion.

We know this government has a zero tolerance for violence declaration. I would suggest that this, in its current format, is simply a nice gesture and nothing more. This thing really has no teeth. I think we need formal legislation and policies in this area. I am wondering if the Minister can tell me what his intentions are in this area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was happy to hear the Minister suggest we are looking forward to our own human rights legislation and possibly labour legislation. But I am not so happy with his responses in relation to zero tolerance for violence.

I do not think it is enough to say we have a strong concern in this area and the federal government has legislation. I think we have to take ownership in this area. I think we have to do something and we have to move quickly. If the government does not have plans in place now, I would like to urge this government to make plans. I think this is very important. I am wondering if the Minister can tell me, and assure this House, that he will look into this area and report back to the House?

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, the Honourable Jane Groenewegen. It has to do with the NAS facility outside of Yellowknife. I have been getting calls from my constituents who had worked there and who have been in limbo for the last few weeks without getting paid.

Their matter has been before the Labour Standards Board. I understand the certificates were issued, but they are still waiting to hear if they can get the money. I would like to ask the Minister what she knows about what the government has done and what the government is able to do to compensate these workers.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the issue the Member raises in the House today. We had been contacted by someone from labour standards asking what the government will be prepared to do in response to these concerns that were raised by employees of Northern Addiction Services.

The Department of Health and Social Services has a number of contracts with the board of directors of the Northern Addiction Services. However, these contracts have expired some time ago. The department does not have a contractual relationship with NAS at this time. The responsibility for the payment of the employees of NAS rests with the board of directors, not with the Department of Health and Social Services. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's answer. However, I think this is a situation that is very similar to the Giant Mine pension workers, in that the workers at the facility are being penalized with their pay. There are about eight people that I know of who are going without pay up to thousands of dollars. I think it is really unfair for the government to say the contract was with somebody else. They were providing the services required by Health and Social Services. I would like to ask the Minister if she would look at this situation and find the money to pay the workers the wages owed. I do not think it is a lot of money, but it will go far for them. I am wondering if the government can do anything. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Honourable Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed it is a very regrettable situation for the employees of NAS as well as the board of directors who now may find themselves in the position of being liable for these costs.

However, the department did try to provide advice to the NAS board with respect to their responsibilities to their employees, and had even advised at one time the board should get insurance in the eventuality of something like this happening. The board declined to do so. We find ourselves in a difficult situation. It is an awkward thing to expect the board of directors to be liable for this. However, they continued to employ people after contracts had expired. It is not possible for the government to come in at this time and respond to those shortfalls. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has anyone told the workers this? They are waiting for somebody to pay for their wages. They think the board of directors is working on it. They think the government is working on it. I hear that nobody is really working on it. It is really up to the board of directors, which I know is not doing anything. We have workers out there working without getting paid. They are working as we speak, and think they are going to get paid. I feel the government has to take the responsibility and let them know they are not going to get paid.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. I am not sure of the question. You made a statement. Could you clarify the question please?

If I may re-phrase, Mr. Speaker, I do not mean to be confusing, but would the Minister please make a commitment to meet with the workers and inform them of what their predicament is. If they are not going to get paid, they should at least be told by somebody. I think the government has some responsibility to do that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the previous relationship with the Department of Health and Social Services was with the board of directors and not directly with the employees. The contracts were held with the Northern Addiction Services board. They, in turn, had the relationship with the employees. To my knowledge, at this time, there is only one person who is actively working for the NAS board. That is someone who is maintaining the facility at Dettah as a caretaker and maintenance person. I am not aware of anyone else continuing to work.

With respect to communicating with the board of directors, we have a meeting hopefully to be agreed to Monday to meet with representatives of the board to discuss the outcome of recent proposals and potential contract arrangements with the board. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Groenewegen. 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 the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. A couple of days ago, I noted the Wildlife Act is under consideration for redrafting. A number of my constituents have a concern about their ability to qualify for resident hunting licenses.

I am wondering if the Minister could advise this House when specifically the public consultation period is over? Is it at the end of this month, as expected?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, the Honourable Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had made a commitment to revise the Wildlife Act. We have released two documents in November of 1999 to deal with the revision to the Wildlife Act itself, as well as to look at legislation to protect species at risk.

We have conducted consultation meetings and discussion throughout the regions to identify issues this proposed legislation should consider. We should have the first round of discussions and consultations concluded by the end of this month. We will take the information that is gathered through this phase and use that as a basis to put together a discussion paper, which will then be distributed to the public once we have this first phase completed. We will have a better idea of what type of discussion paper should be sent to the public, and that will give us some idea of what type of consultation we should have for beginning the drafting of the legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering if the Minister could provide the House with an outline of what the timetable is expected to be for appropriation of the consultation paper, the draft discussion paper. Subsequent to that, after getting the responses back, when can this House expect to see new legislation for wildlife?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, the Honourable Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will commit to doing that. I think it is important to recognize that much of the legislation has to be done in partnership with the aboriginal communities, leaders and organizations. In many cases, they have constitutional rights, rights through their claims legislation, through treaties and other instruments that require us to proceed in partnership with them.

The timetable and extent and form of consultation is to be decided in partnership with them. I will undertake to do that as soon as the initial round of consultation is concluded at the end of this month.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand we have a number of partners that have important roles to play in this whole process. I am trying to get a sense from the government, is the expectation that this can be done within the next year, within the life of this Assembly, or is this going to take us ten years to conclude this legislation?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Minister Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to believe that all parties are interested in having an updated, revised Wildlife Act that would be recognized and supported by all interested parties. We will move in an expeditious way, respecting the rights of all parties involved, everyone in the Northwest Territories, and it will be done in a timely way. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I was trying to get was whether or not I should be pushing for an amendment to the existing Wildlife Act, or if I can count on changes coming forward fairly quickly. I did not get an answer to that, but I would like to ask the Minister if he will commit to ensuring that in the discussion paper, there is some discussion of a waiver for people like Canadian Forces members and Royal Canadian Mounted Police members, who are moved by their employer to the Northwest Territories in the service of the people of the Northwest Territories so they could be considered for resident hunting license status in less than two years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Minister Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fact is the Armed Forces and the RCMP have their own policies. Very often, they move people far too quickly, before they really get to enjoy and appreciate this wonderful part of Canada they are given to serve.

The exemption for the residency requirement has been an issue for a number of years. We have looked at it. I believe it is important to get the support of the public, of the aboriginal groups before we proceed with an exemption. To include such an exemption could, I believe, violate the provisions of the Charter of Rights. It does have some legal implications. We have chosen instead to seek support for a way that would allow certain members of our public, such as the RCMP and Armed Forces members to enjoy this through revisions of the Wildlife Act. It would probably be a lot faster if they just extended their stay, so they would not have to leave the Northwest Territories before enjoying the hunting privileges everyone else enjoys through their extended stays. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question will be directed to the Minister responsible for the Department of Finance. I will do this in the same way I did my Member's statement.

Mr. Speaker, we are out of the training camp stage. We have now set up our first line and second lines. I hope we are on the same team. I see that Mr. Handley's role, the Minister responsible for Finance, is that of the goaltender. He has to prevent us from losing the game.

I would like to know, since he is the one that has signed the letters that directed the departments how to prepare their interim appropriation, did he in fact deliver the message that it would be a "stand-pat" budget based on the 1999-2000 fiscal year? Is that the case?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. I see the Minister responsible for Finance has his helmet on, his stick ready, and his pads on. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would first like to compliment the Member today on his choice of tie; it is very striking. In answer to the question, the departments were given five criteria under which to develop their interim appropriations. They were asked to:

• • identify the amount of compensation benefits for staff for the four-month period;
• • provide the portion of grants and contributions that must be paid during the four-month period;
• • identify any existing contractual commitments or contracts that must be initiated during the four-month period;
• • provide the full amount of any contracts that must be committed at the beginning of the year; and
• • with regard to capital requirements, to include projects of an urgent nature, projects that were begun in the previous fiscal year, or projects where the commitment must be made because of shipping deadlines or other circumstances.

Those were the terms which were given to each of the departments in preparing their interim appropriations. The question, in terms of "stand-pat" budgets, they were not told in any way to come up with "stand-pat" budgets. They have been advised that we have a schedule during which we will be developing our main estimates. It is the main estimates procedure where any new initiatives will be identified, and reductions and inefficiencies will be identified, finally.

Now, in doing that, we have asked them to indicate to us what they need during this four-month period in order to be able to function. Mr. Speaker, those were generally the guidelines that have been given to the departments. So far, I have not let a goal into the net. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must also compliment the Finance Minister responsible for upping his colour today. As a goaltender, he must have heard the post go "ping" a couple of times now.

If the Minister could inform us, was there an approach in the sense of overall government, when it came to government structures, when we talk about urgency or new initiatives, versus the regions and the communities, was there any direction in that form to the departments?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the departments are very aware of our fiscal situation. There were a number of initiatives that were started in the previous government that we have carried on, and for which we take ownership for the results. I believe the Member is referring to capital projects, and so on.

There was an exercise under the previous Minister responsible for Finance in the previous government to have departments identify a $10 million savings in capital. We have carried on with that. Departments are dealing with that issue. They have assured us that they will identify $10 million or thereabouts, reductions in the capital budgets. The details of how they do that is something that will come out in the main estimates. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say, Mr. Handley is a pretty good stick-handler as well. I would like to know, since the Minister said that in fact there will be this work done in the main estimates, then in the interim appropriation, is it more in line with a "stand-pat" or status quo, or in fact is there some of that work being done now? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While the general direction is for a basically a "stand-pat" budget, I expect that as departments prepare their interim appropriations, then they are keeping the whole year in mind. Realizing this is a four-month period of the year, then yes, I expect that there may be some reflection in their priorities as laid out in the interim appropriations, within the guidelines we gave them. That will reflect some of the direction they are intending to move in over the balance over the coming fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier and it relates to my opening comments. There have been obligations made by the former Premier of this government that they will seriously consider those land claim obligations that I had mentioned in my statement, especially the economic chapter, to ensure that this government will revisit it.

There is also an obligation to ensure that people within this government, the beaureaucrats, people in different departments, boards, agencies, will set a course on exactly what these land claim agreements really mean, and what the obligations of this government are. There are land claim agreements and treaty rights, yet this government still seems to have the colonial attitude that nothing has changed.

These land claims have been in place for a number of years, and yet aboriginal groups are having to claw their way through to get anything out of this government, especially when it comes to improving their economic and social conditions. We find our aboriginal people in a lot of our small communities in these conditions. I would like to ask the Premier, what is he doing as the Premier to ensure these obligations will be carried out, and that we will be assured that the land claim agreements will be lived up to? And that people who work within this government will be able to understand exactly what these land claim agreements are all about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that this is one of the potential agenda items for the intergovernmental forum, the recognition, the negotiations, and the implementation of agreements, whether they be treaties, self-government agreements, or land claim agreements. If it is a three-party agreement, the federal government, aboriginal governments, and the Government of the Northwest Territories, it requires a tripartite approach to deciding what the issues are and what the approach should be to deal with it. I agree with the Member, it should be something we all commit to making an improvement on, and it will be suggested to our government to be an agenda item with the federal government and the aboriginal governments. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are already obligations in place. I mentioned the land claim agreements. It is a constitutionally entrenched document. Those obligations supercede a lot of the policies and regulations that are in place by this government and people within this government have to understand that.

With that, there are also agreements in place like the political accord that was signed between the Inuvialuit, the Gwich'in, this government and the federal government to make sure that they are consulted on all aspects of the implementation of their land claim agreements, to look at the economic opportunities within those jurisdictions.

I would like to ask the Premier again, what is this government doing to ensure that those agreements are being adhered to and being carried out to the full wording of those agreements? Thank you.

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