Good afternoon, Members, and welcome to a new week. This week, Yellowknife is playing host to a group of hardy golfers. However, most of us know that it will be several weeks, if not months, before the golfers amongst us can actually take to the greens.

The group includes a long time friend of the North, Peter Gzowski, and other celebrities including the Northwest Territories own Joe "Pinto" Dragon, Paul Andrew, Rene Fumoleau, Suzette Montreuil, Diane Brookes, Fran Hurcomb and Pat Braden, the younger brother of our colleague, the Member for Great Slave, Bill Braden.

All are here to take part in the annual Peter Gzowski Invitational Golf Tournament being held March 29th on Frame Lake. This annual event raises money for literacy in the Northwest Territories and is hosted by the Northwest Territories Literacy Council.

The Council was founded in April 1990 to promote literacy in all of the official languages of the Northwest Territories. The money raised during this event is used to help fund projects that promote literacy in our communities across the NWT. Equally important is the awareness of literacy that this golf tournament creates by bringing celebrities such as On the Road Again's Wayne Rostad and Ernie Coombs, better known as Mr. Dress-up, into communities to promote reading and literacy.

This year's tournament is the 11th annual in the Northwest Territories, and it is the second time that Yellowknife has hosted the event. We owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Gzowski and all the celebrities who have participated in the 11 years, for the funding that they have raised for literacy and perhaps, more importantly, for the awareness they have created about this issue.

I have invited the celebrities to join us in the Assembly later today. During the break, they will join us in the Great Hall for tea and bannock. I have also arranged for a small putting range to be put in the Great Hall and I hope to see some of you golfers among us out there demonstrating your skills and swings. Thank you.

I wish to inform the House that I have reviewed the unedited Hansard for Friday, March 24th, and would like to make a correction for the record.

Under the item written questions, the Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger, addressed the same written questions to two different Ministers. The questions are in order. Therefore, I have ordered that they be recorded as written questions 11 and 12. This is to assist with tracking of the questions. Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the 14th Legislative Assembly first took office a little over two months ago, we were aware that we faced a difficult challenge in dealing with a looming $60 million deficit for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. The last Legislative Assembly had completed its term having done its best to leave future legislators with a balanced budget, but it had been unable to achieve this. The reasons the budget was not balanced were many, but the basic problem was that there was little or no revenue growth over the past few years while spending was increasing.

The solution to our financial problems must be to increase our revenues while reducing the growth in our spending. This sounds straightforward, but it is not. The last Legislature did a lot of cost cutting. Departments were combined, wages were rolled back, hundreds of staff were laid off, capital spending was cut, and programs and services were reduced. But even after all of this cutting, the budget was not balanced when the 14th Legislative Assembly took office. From this we can only conclude that just cutting costs will not solve our financial problems.

Mr. Speaker, governments must be run efficiently and they must be accountable. But it is even more important that governments be effective in achieving their goals. Our economic development policies and programs must create jobs and bring about economic growth and do this in a way that maximizes the benefits to NWT residents. Our social policies and programs must result in a measurable improvement in the quality of life in our communities and in the health of our citizens. If we do not achieve these goals, we will never balance our budget. To achieve these goals, we may even have to invest more resources in the short term to realize reduced spending demands in the future.

It is in recognition of these realities that the 14th Legislative Assembly set as its first task the development of an agenda that would set out what we wanted to achieve, what our priorities are, and how we planned to achieve our goals. This agenda is critical as a guide to what strategies and policies we should implement, where we should invest, and from where we should reallocate. The agenda is now in a form where we can share it with aboriginal governments and other NWT stakeholders to receive their input and guidance. Over the next few months, the agenda, and the feedback on it, will guide our decision making. The first major opportunity we will have to implement new direction based on the agenda will be in the June budget.

In the meantime, we have not hesitated to act when the issue was urgent and the Members of this House were in agreement about the immediate course of action. Specifically, I refer to the decision to support a reduction in the pupil teacher ratio and to increase funding for special needs in the education system. Members also supported maintaining the Working Together program and we responded with new funding. We have also invested in the intergovernmental forum initiative, in oil and gas development and in diamond manufacturing. Although our time in office has been short, we have acted on urgent issues and will continue to do so as they arise, but we must work hard as a Legislature to complete our agenda so that our decisions are made within an overall plan.

Mr Speaker, while the development of the agenda is being finalized by the 14th Legislative Assembly and while the June budget is being prepared, the business of government must go on. That is why all Members agreed that we needed to bring in an interim appropriation. By its very nature, an interim appropriation does not reflect new direction and policy shifts. The interim appropriation is simply intended to allow us to maintain existing programs and services while we work on a new agenda and budget. However, in recognition of our fiscal situation and the fact that the interim appropriation had to include some full year contract commitments, I felt that we had to base this interim appropriation on reduced capital spending. As a result, the interim appropriation is based on a capital plan for 2000-2001 that reflects $10 million of projected deferrals from what had been originally planned by the last government.

Mr. Speaker, this $10 million in capital project deferrals, along with some other small improvements in our revenue and expenditure outlook, has reduced our anticipated deficit for 2000-2001 from $61 million to $42 million. It is my intention to reduce this deficit even further when I bring forward my June budget. But this does not mean we will try to cut our way to a balanced budget. We have learned that this will not solve our fiscal problem and will only make matters worse

When we bring in the June budget, we confirm our support for education and such priorities as maintenance of a quality health care system. We will also implement efficiencies where they make sense, but just as important, we will adopt the strategies and policies and make the investments that will lead to real economic growth, real job creation and real social improvements. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide the House with an update on the Second International Rough Diamond Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel. That event brought together 90 percent of the world's diamond producers. Tu Nedhe MLA Steve Nitah and I attended as part of a delegation of about 30 Canadians.

I had the opportunity to give a half-hour presentation on the diamond industry in the Northwest Territories. I also took part in a panel discussion on the "World of Rough Diamonds." I described this government's initiatives to ensure the development of our diamond industries benefits Northerners and northern businesses. We want to develop a viable self-sustaining industry that will contribute to the economic well-being of the people in the North. And to do that, the industry must include northern people.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that my presentation solicited tremendous response. The world is interested in what we are doing to develop value-added industries. Just a few years ago, Canada was not even mentioned at events of this calibre. Now, it is widely recognized that within the next few years, Canada will take its place among the top five or six diamond producers in the world. Many delegates asked how they could become involved in the NWT. They were particularly interested in this government's support programs such as training-on-the-job and loan guarantees, as well as our college pre-employment, diamond training and certification programs.

The NWT delegation had a private meeting with a number of Israeli officials and the executive directors of the Israeli Diamond Institute and Israeli Diamond Manufacturers' Association. They were able to give us some insight into the challenges of developing a secondary diamond industry. Mr. Speaker, it is through participation in events such as this that the Northwest Territories builds its reputation in the diamond world. The contacts that Mr. Nitah and I made in Tel Aviv are another step in the progress of the northern diamond industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Larry Elkin to the position of chairperson for the Stanton Regional Health Board. Early in his career, he worked at both the community and regional level in the NWT. Through extensive northern travel and work, Mr. Elkin developed a keen understanding of community needs, priorities and aspirations, knowledge he has applied to all his work.

Mr. Elkin has over 30 years of policy and management experience with both the NWT and federal governments. For 20 of those years, he served as deputy minister for a number of departments, including: Planning and Program Evaluation; Local Government (now Municipal and Community Affairs); Public Works and Highways; and the NWT Housing Corporation.

In addition to his career credentials, Mr. Elkin has participated in the work of various boards and agencies. Recently, he was the regional chairperson for the Capital Equipment Campaign undertaken by the Stanton Regional Hospital Foundation. In this position, Mr. Elkin developed a great appreciation for the health services provided by Stanton Regional Hospital and other health and social services boards.

I am confident that Mr. Elkin, as chairperson of the Stanton Regional Health Board, will work in close co-operation with the other health and social services boards to ensure the best quality care for all residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues have noticed the Territorial Bookworm display in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly. If you take the time to examine this worm closely, you will notice that its segments come from communities across the Northwest Territories. The Territorial Bookworm display recognizes Education Week, which is being celebrated in the NWT from March 27th to March 31st. This is a time set aside for all of us in the NWT to recognize our achievements in education.

This year's theme is "Literacy, Language and Learning." The Bookworm Challenge celebrates all three aspects of this theme. The Territorial Bookworm Challenge went out in January when the Department of Education, Culture and Employment sent a kit on how to construct a bookworm to every school, college campus, library, career and learning centre in the Northwest Territories. The rules of the challenge were simple. Each time a story was read or shared with another person, a segment listing the name of the book, the author and the residents involved was added to the bookworm growing in that community.

By demonstrating the significant role literacy, language and learning plays in our daily lives, the challenge symbolizes the strength we acquire each time we read, write or share our stories. As you can see in the display, it was a huge success. More than 20 communities have taken part and over 6,000 books have been read. The annual two-day Peter Gzowski Golf Tournament for Literacy is also taking place this week. Known simply as the PGls, these tournaments, which feature national and local celebrities, have raised millions of dollars for literacy programs across Canada. This year's PGI will take place Tuesday and Wednesday in Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, the importance of education cannot be overstated. Each day, educators across the NWT face and meet the challenge of preparing our young people to become productive citizens of our northern society. In this week set aside to celebrate education, I would like to pay tribute to all the dedicated people working in our education system, as well as the many hard-working students who make the job worthwhile.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jim Antoine will be absent from the House this week to represent the Government of the Northwest Territories on a trade mission to the Yukon and Alaska. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker we have heard many times of this government's work in trying to provide programs and services for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Issues that have been raised in this House, Mr. Speaker, have been in the area of prevention versus treatment. In this forum, we have heard about the cost of delivering health care to residents of the Northwest Territories. Much of those expenditures are spent on delivering health care after someone has become quite ill.

The disappointment, Mr. Speaker, is that we could reduce a lot of our expenditures in health care by being more preventative. As a government, we need to focus on prevention. We need to make a shift and move from dealing with fires that are existing today and challenging ourselves to deal with prevention. There is a saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". I think that the government has taken it very literally and took some silver coins, as they say, and put them on the weigh scale. A pound of silver on dealing with the after-effects of things like smoking and drug and alcohol abuse and an ounce trying to deal with the prevention side. Mr. Speaker, we need to focus. We need to change the way we look at things and start delivering programs in the area of prevention.

If we are going to make a difference in the Northwest Territories with the fiscal situation we have, we have to make some difficult decisions on how we are going to treat things as prevention. Are we going to focus on dealing with things before they become full blown? Mr. Speaker, I think we need to put more emphasis on prevention. We have seen some work and I hope to highlight that in my questions to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services later. But I think we need to put more emphasis on the prevention side of the scale. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk today about some concerns I had with the digital communication network and specifically how it relates to Telehealth. I think we have discussed a few times in this House that there are inefficiencies and problems with available bandwidth. I think Mr. St. Germaine mentioned the other day that Telehealth requires about 380 kilobytes of bandwidth in order to become operational in the Territories. This is clearly a problem that we have to address. There are also concerns with lags in relay times,

I think the thing that has been lost here and the thing that we have to get back to realizing is that four years ago, when this government looked at this initiative, they had concerns they felt needed to be addressed and could be addressed with the DCN. I think it was assumed this program could save the government and the Northwest Territories a lot of money and would also improve the level of service, specifically in the communities.

There are a few areas where I think this is very possible. We know we have recruitment and retention problems with physicians and nurses. I think if Telehealth became a reality, we would need fewer physicians overall. This would certainly help us. We would also reap the benefits of reduced medical travel. Currently, nurses are fairly quick to refer patients back to the regional centres in Yellowknife, for very good reasons. They may not have the expertise to deal with the problems or may not feel comfortable with dealing with the problems in the smaller communities where they do not have the facilities.

Reduced travel is another issue. Certainly there would be reduced travel for Yellowknife physicians who would not have to do as much of a tour of duty of the communities as they currently do. This would both save the government money and help to alleviate the shortage of physicians we currently face in Yellowknife.

Access to specialists in communities is another issue. It is one thing to send a general practitioner around, but certain specific ailments and concerns need to be dealt with by specialists.

The last item I would like to talk about is something that has been lost here: the education aspect. We know that on-line, direct internet service from the south would certainly help nurses and physicians in the smaller communities. It would help keep them current, up to date, and certainly improve the level of service in the communities and in the North. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time today, I will be questioning the Minister responsible for Health about the DCN and specifically Telehealth. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a statement today regarding the cost of Medivacs to this government. I refer to the service that we have provided in the smaller communities, where time and time again individuals go to the health centre complaining about having the flu or a cold. Then it adds up to pneumonia and they are sent out of the communities to either a regional centre or, if it is an emergency, they are medivaced to Yellowknife or Edmonton. Mr. Speaker, that costs this government and the cost continues to rise.

Time and time again, Mr. Speaker, I have stood in this House and talked about the service that is being provided to individuals in the communities, and the fact that they have gone back to the health centres four or five times before the ailments are dealt with. The same thing applies to the Regional Hospital in Inuvik, where individuals have gone from the communities to Inuvik, some cases on their own, to see the doctors and have been told that there is nothing really wrong with you, come back in a couple of weeks. Then they find themselves going back again three or four times later, being medivaced to Edmonton or Yellowknife.

So something has to be done with this picture, Mr. Speaker. We have to find ways of being more responsible in preventing these illnesses, which could be dealt with through medications at the community and regional level. We do not want to find ourselves paying more in the long run for medivacs for an individual who becomes so ill because of a common ailment such as the flu, which becomes pneumonia, so they have to be sent to either Yellowknife or even southern Canada.

The same thing applies to the concerns I raised in this House about early detection for cancer. People complain of aches and pains in their stomach and are later diagnosed with having bladder cancer. There again is another example of the cost to this government. If we spend more time dealing with preventative measures and prevention of illnesses, I think it will result in a saving to this government. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister questions on this matter later today. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to briefly touch on the issue of governance, specifically community services boards. Mr. Speaker, community services boards are a method of governance that are being looked at in a number of regions in the Northwest Territories. It has worked for the Dogribs. It is being looked at in the Beaufort Delta as well as in the Deh Cho. The question I have is, what are we going to do in the South Slave, which itself has four health boards?

History has shown us, Mr. Speaker, that in the South Slave, regional structures are not very successful. The regional council that was in place a number of years ago failed mainly because Hay River did not want to take part. As well, there is pressure on the South Slave Divisional Board of Education to be disbanded once again because there is unhappiness with how the communities are being served.

Mr. Speaker, the challenge to the Department of Health and Social Services is going to be, what do we do about governance in the South Slave? I have been pushing the concept of community services boards. I think it is one that has some merit that should be looked at closely, especially in the communities like Fort Smith. I believe they would work in Hay River, Lutsel K'e, and Resolution as well.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will be asking the Minister when and how the government intends to proceed on the issue of governance in the South Slave. I know it ties into a number of issues, such as education and housing. But very clearly there has to be a broad, comprehensive approach of how we are going to do this that recognizes the regional differences, but also the fundamental pressure to rationalize some of the services and governance structures we have in the region. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been much comment in the media about the shortage of doctors. I have heard from my constituents that they are concerned about that, in particular the impact that may have on emergency services.

As we heard last week from the deputy minister of Health and Social Services as we were reviewing the interim budget for the department, this is an issue that affects not only Yellowknife. We heard that because of the shortage of doctors, they can no longer travel to the outlying communities. That has reduced the number of clinics that are being held in the smaller communities.

Mr. Speaker, we recently heard the government announce there was an agreement made with the Alberta Medical Association on locums for doctors for communities outside of Yellowknife.

This is good news for the communities, because it allows doctors from the other communities to take extra training, or to take vacations. But Mr. Speaker, there is no such agreement for within Yellowknife. There is no deal for locums here.

While I understand, as the deputy minister said last week, that there is no crisis right now, I am concerned more doctors may decide to leave. Then where would we be?

Mr. Speaker, Northerners want to know that this concern is being addressed. We heard last week the first step, according to the department, is to stabilize the doctor situation. Mr. Speaker, I encourage the government to do more than just stabilize the situation. I want to know the government is working on a plan that will deal with the shortage of doctors in Yellowknife. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister questions on that issue this afternoon during question period. Thank you.

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

Mr. Lafferty, your time has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for North Slave is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement today is about youth.

In a society and world that often seems to be too big, and too uncaring for any chance of making a change, there are young people striving to do just that.

These individuals help us realize that no matter what the odds, nothing will happen until someone with the will and the commitment takes a first step, and others join in.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize two young people who are endeavouring to make a difference and who can serve as an inspiration to us all.

Janet Wong, a 17-year old student at Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife, joined in the national "Stop Racism Youth Challenge" last year. Along with some schoolmates, she helped create the anti-racism mural at the YWCA here in Yellowknife, a project in support of tolerance and understanding of all races around the world. Janet is also a busy volunteer in causes that include Students Against Drunk Driving, and the Terry Fox and Run for the Cure cancer runs.

Her younger sister, Helen, has been the top fundraiser for the past three years in her school class effort to raise money for UNICEF, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Helen's hope for the new millennium, Mr. Speaker, is simple and powerful; that all children have a chance to go to school.

These two young people have been honoured as Millennium Dreamers for their outstanding contribution. They will be joining 80 other youth from across Canada as ambassadors for their country in May.

Along with their parents, they will be guests of UNESCO, McDonald's Restaurants, and Walt Disney World in Florida, where more than 2,000 young people from 100 countries will participate in a three-day symposium called, "Kids Inspiring Kids for a Better Tomorrow".

Mr. Speaker, for me, this is all about how kids can make a difference. I invite this Assembly to join me in acknowledging their work, and the efforts made by many other young people across the Northwest Territories who believe they too can make a difference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the pages that are here from the Deh Cho. We have four pages from my home community of Fort Providence. They are all students from the Deh Gah School in Fort Providence. I would like to thank them for coming and sacrificing one week of school to be here with us. The pages that are here from Fort Providence are Ashley Arychuk, Julie Elleze, Robyn McLeod and Victoria Constant.

On behalf of the 14th Legislative Assembly, I would like to say welcome, and I hope they enjoy their stay here in Yellowknife. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Welcome, pages. We had the pleasure of meeting the pages not that long ago while we were in Fort Providence. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, and for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to a question asked by Mr. Nitah and Mr. Delorey on February 25, 2000 on aboriginal education rights and designation of financial assistance funding.

The Government of the Northwest Territories does not receive funding from the Government of Canada specifically earmarked for aboriginal post-secondary students. The Government of the NWT devotes an allocation for programs, but does not specify how much goes to aboriginal post-secondary students. Specifically, the money devoted for the Student Financial Assistance Program does not specify allocations for Dene students, Métis students, Inuit students or non-aboriginal students.

The only education support program administered by the Government of the Northwest Territories in which money is specified for certain aboriginal groups is the University College Entrance Preparation Program, which is actually a federal program. We administer the federal guidelines for the program that allocates grants to status Indian and Inuit students, who require one year or less of academic preparation prior to post-secondary studies. I have several other returns. Would you like me to carry on?

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Yes, you may continue with your next return.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have two more returns. The next one was asked by Ms. Lee on February 25th on the Student Financial Assistance Program. What is the total number and proportion of students accessing the NWT SFA Program by student category?

There are 1,244 students who are accessing student financial assistance during the current academic year. This includes 362 Dene students, 114 Inuit students, 154 Metis students and 614 non-aboriginal students. This means that Dene students make up 29 percent of the students, Inuit students make up 9.2 percent of the students, Metis students, 12.4 percent, and non-aboriginal, 49.4 percent of the student population.

My next return was asked by Mr. Miltenberger on February 29th. It was on the effect of division on the NWT Power Corporation Headquarters. The impact of the division of the NWT Power Corporation on the Hay River headquarters is not yet known.

The decision to divide the corporation was made in November, 1999. Before the final impact on headquarters can be determined, the corporation must know what the Government of Nunavut's intentions are with respect to a systems manager contract to provide services to the new Nunavut Power Corporation. This request for proposals was issued in October, 1999, but no decision has been taken yet. Should the corporation win the system manager's contract, or a contract to provide services, this will have a great impact on its post-division staffing levels in Hay River.

In response to the decisions to divide the corporation, a review has been initiated of its organizational structure, in both the head office and in the field, to determine the optimal post-division structure. Until this review has been completed, no final determination can be made as to the impact of division on the headquarters. The corporation is also exploring new business opportunities, and the success of these ventures and the timing will impact on headquarters.

It is likely that there will be some job losses as the result of dividing the corporation, although the extent cannot be determined at this time. This subject has been discussed with the employees through their union, and the corporation is taking steps to mitigate any potential impact in its normal staffing activities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a comment on returns to oral questions. Return to Oral Questions 37-14(2) and 41-14(2) should be made separately. While I recognize the questions are closely related, I also recognize they were asked by two different Members, both of whom deserve a response. It will also ensure that the public record on Hansard is maintained accurately and without unnecessary confusion. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge two outstanding young people and their parents from my riding, Helen Wong, Janet Wong and their parents, James Wong and Christine Siu.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery, The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

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

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Time and time again in the last Assembly, I raised concerns my constituents had about the medical escort travel policy. I feel this policy is unfair, particularly for aboriginal people who find themselves travelling south to Yellowknife or Edmonton and who have a hard time speaking English.

Those patients are frightened. In most cases, they are unfamiliar with the city. Also, they feel a need to have someone help them through one of the most drastic, if not horrible, times of their life: experiencing the effects of having to be diagnosed with cancer and other diseases.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. Is there a central policy or government directive that covers the use of medical escorts? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a policy with respect to medical travel benefits. I believe the Member refers to something that is called non-medical escort. Patients and families often wish to see family members travel with patients to give them the kind of emotional and language support Mr. Krutko speaks of.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very emotional issue, as the need for a non-medical escort is often not deemed to be a requirement by the medical staff making the referral. In fact, there have been many inconsistencies in the interpretation of this policy in the past. I believe the rule is that it is determined by the physician if patients require a non-medical escort to accompany them. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to this aspect, I know of a case where these individuals did receive letters from their doctor, later to be turned down by somebody at the senior level or at the regional director's level. Yet you say the policy is by way of a letter from a doctor? I would like to ask the Minister if that is in place, why is it being overlooked at this time?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Member is referring to specific case where I believe he is saying that a doctor's referral was overruled by a health board, I would have to know the specifics of that case. It is difficult to respond to something as specific as that.

I know that health boards are charged with the responsibility for implementing the policy and ensuring that their medical travel costs do not get out of control. That is part of their responsibility. I would have to have more detail from the Member as to the specific case in order to respond to it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find it pretty surprising that the Minister is not aware of the case. I hand-delivered the letter directly to her office. It has to do with Roxanne John of Aklavik. The Minister does have a copy of the letter and also the copy from the regional office.

Again, I would like to ask the Minister a question on medical travel. In most cases, we find that with medical travel, you get the people from the regional office escorting individuals, rather than having people from the communities. A lot of times they will get the nurse to escort these individuals, which is a cost to this government.

Through the policy, is there any reference on exactly who can escort individuals, if it is not the individual's family member?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Krutko has drawn this particular case to my attention in the past. I do not have the specifics of it in front of me, which is why I cannot refer to exactly what happened. I did read the letter from the doctor and it was somewhat subject to interpretation as well. It was not that specific. It is difficult to discuss individual patients by name in the House. Mr. Speaker, if the Member did not receive a response to this particular issue, we will certainly be happy to provide that to him.

As far as who is qualified to travel as a non-medical escort, it would appear that family members do qualify to serve as non-medical transport escorts. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister what exactly is the government policy for medical travel? Is there any reference on how you deal with people that might misuse the travel, where individuals who are named as an escort travels with the patient and does not assist that individual? For example, making sure that their needs are met in the hospital or even making an attempt to visit them while they are in the hospital. Instead, it becomes a free trip to go on a shopping spree. Some people find they go to a major city and the patient does not see these individuals after they are dropped off at the hospital. Is there anything in the policy that makes sure that is being monitored? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the medical travel policy includes exactly what the responsibilities of a non-medical escort would be once the patient has arrived at a destination and has been admitted to the hospital. I do not believe the policy is that specific. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is clear to me that mental health workers are the forgotten health care workers in the Northwest Territories. Proper mental health can be just as important to a community's well-being as taking care of the community's physical health.

Indeed, there is a greater and greater body of knowledge, Mr. Speaker, that tells us that a growing number of reasons for in-patient hospital admissions is those who have mental disabilities and mental disorders. In our correctional institutions, the impacts of stress and poor living standards is culminating in mental disorders that are crowding those facilities. Can the Minister tell the House whether there is a full complement of mental health workers in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am not able to tell the Member whether there is a full complement. I am not sure which communities have mental health workers in them. I did have the opportunity to meet with all of the CEOs of the various boards when I first took over this portfolio. Certainly around the table that was a common theme we heard, that there are emerging and increasing numbers of cases of mental health workers, particularly among children and youth.

There is a tremendous demand in the communities. As to which communities have these workers at the present time, I do not have that information available. But I would be pleased to get that information for the Member. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Related to that is a recent survey that was done of disabilities in the Northwest Territories. This was a very extensive survey. I do not know if the results have been compiled yet, but there was some controversy, Mr. Speaker, because the survey was not inclusive of mental disabilities and mental disorders in the same spirit and in the same philosophy as physical disorders.

Can the Minister tell the Assembly what is being done in terms of evaluating our population for mental disabilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct that there was an initial survey conducted of needs assessment of persons with disabilities in the Northwest Territories. When it was pointed out that persons with mental health problems were not surveyed under the definition of a disability, a phase two needs assessment of persons with disabilities-mental health was undertaken. The department made a commitment to develop a second phase to the needs assessment to capture mental health information.

Consumer groups and non-government organizations expressed concern about the omission of psychiatric and mental health needs in the first phase of the survey, but a mental health needs assessment working group has been meeting since December 1999 to discuss the scope and methodology of this project. This will be launched soon, and this information will be compiled and analyzed. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister more about this phase two needs assessment. I am pleased the department has recognized that this needs to be done. My question is how inclusive is this survey, Mr. Speaker, of non-government organizations? There a large number of very well qualified and well skilled community and non-government organizations to help with this survey. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the working group that has been established includes representatives from Health and Social Services, the Northwest Territories Council for Disabled Persons, the Canadian Mental Health Association - Northwest Territories Division, Mental Health Consumer, Stanton Regional Hospital, Mental Health Clinic and Psychiatry Unit, Aurora College, the Independent Club House, the Yellowknife Women's Centre, and the Northwest Territories Family Services. That is the list of government and non-government agencies that are included in this working group. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, full marks to the department for including a very broad swath of community in it. I would like to ask, is the survey going to be one that goes across all ages, especially into the schools and the very young people? As we are learning more and more, early childhood development is an area where we can make a great impact, and do it very efficiently.

Is it going into the youth and young people as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in as much of any of the organizations I have just listed has information specific to youth and children, it will be included. It will be difficult to acquire information though, in the form that you can survey adults. You obviously cannot survey children. It will be hopeful that some of these organizations will have access to children and youth.

For example, the Stanton Regional Mental Health Clinic, I am sure the psychiatry unit would have statistics with respect to children and youth and how much that service is required here.

It is important to point out the department feels that we do not have accurate information on the number of people who are affected by psychiatric illness, their needs and what the service gaps are. Hopefully this information will be compiled and it will be very critical to the mental health system, reform and funding. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to thank Mr. Lafferty for bringing this to our attention. As the Member knows, our business plans are in the works as we speak, trying to develop the best way to address the issue of addictions.

I agree with the Member. There are certain regions which do not have adequate services available, which could provide services in their own languages, without them having to travel so far from home. It could include a family component.

Mr. Speaker, there are funds that were one-time funding that was provided to the Department of Health and Social Services for special initiatives. Certainly, the two areas that we have heard from so far who are requesting such funding for addictions treatment are the Inuvik region and the North Slave region. We will be responding to those requests. Hopefully, there may even be some significant funds available to announce at some time in the future. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I do agree with the Member, that support from community and family is very important. I think we have learned from past experience that many times when individuals go for treatment and are in treatment for 35 days, or whatever the length of the course is, and then return to their communities, that there is a significant rate of returning to the former behaviour because the community and the family were not involved in the case. The aftercare was not there at the community level.

I think what we have seen is perhaps our efforts have not been as productive as they might have been had the community and the families been involved. Yes, we do endorse that here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Northwest Territories, we all owe a debt of gratitude to those couples and persons who volunteered to be foster parents to the children whose lives are in crisis. Many of these children have been removed from situations involving violence or substance abuse. For aboriginal children, the problem can be compounded by the placement with non-aboriginal foster parents. We realize the department has no choice, because of the shortage of aboriginal foster parents.

Can the Minister tell the House what her department is doing to increase the numbers of aboriginal foster parents in the Northwest Territories?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The boards are responsible for the operation of foster care services in accordance with the Child and Family Services Act and regulations that are set out by the department. I know a number of jurisdictions have foster family associations who are actively involved in recruiting suitable foster homes for children, so in the event that children need to be apprehended, there are suitable homes in the community available for them.

One of the areas I would like to see more work done, and it is not only recruiting homes, but providing training and accreditation for various levels of care that children may need to receive in those homes. I do not know if specific initiatives are being undertaken to recruit homes at this time, but I could communicate with the boards and with the foster parent associations and find out what kinds of things they are doing.

It is a very difficult task. The payment for foster parent homes and providing that service, is currently $24 per day to accommodate, feed and care for a child. There are not a lot of people interested in getting involved in that line of work. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has touched on an issue I would like to raise and that is the amount of money the department gives foster parents. This affects the ability of the department to attract aboriginal foster parents. What the department gives foster parents is not sufficient to meet the financial requirements of raising a child. In small communities, there are many parents that would make good foster parents. Unfortunately, they cannot afford to be foster parents. Can the Minister tell the House if the department has any plans to examine the rates paid to foster parents?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an area of not only rates but also, like I said, of training and support services to foster parents that I would like to look into.

I have heard from numerous foster parents since taking on this role, and it is easy to see that it does not take long when you are operating at a deficit in terms of caring for other peoples' children. It is a very important thing that we find homes. If we are going to take children away from their own parents, it is very important that we find suitable homes. I do not think $24 a day is going to attract people to do this job. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has indicated that she did not know what the department is planning to do to increase the numbers for aboriginal foster parents. I would like to ask when would she know and when will she have a plan for foster parents? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All I can do is commit that I will take this up with the department after this Session is over. We will address the issue of compensation. We will address the issue of homes that are culturally suitable for children in care and we will address the issue of training of foster parents. I cannot tell the Member when I will be able to report back on that. Perhaps in the June session. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask if the Minister would take into consideration a difference in rates for foster parents depending on which community they live in? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the present time, I believe the only things that are taken into consideration in terms of the range of payment is the needs of the child. A child without special needs is $24 a day. A child with very special needs could range up to as high as $90 a day. I do not think there is presently anything integrated in for location, but that is something we could also look at. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question also goes to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. I would like to raise an issue that was raised often during my campaign, which has to do with the shortage of doctors in Yellowknife and more specifically, a recruitment and retention plan.

As I recall, Mr. Speaker, there was an injection of multi-million dollars to retain and hire doctors and nurses last year. I wonder if the Minister could inform this Assembly as to what effect the injection of cash has had. Specifically, how many doctors and nurses and other health care professionals were we able to hire with that money? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the multi-million dollar injection the Member refers to is the $3 million for registered nurses under the recruitment and retention strategy. I am pleased to report that from January 1999 to January 2000, the vacancy rate for nurses dropped from 18.4 percent to 6.9 percent.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to hear that result. I wonder if the Minister could tell me what communities are under staffed at the moment in terms of regional health staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 have figures as of January 7, 2000, on the vacancy rates for nurses and social workers by health board. It refers to full-time positions. It has numbered positions and percentage of vacancy rates. This is fairly extensive because it includes registered nurses and social workers.

I would be happy to provide the Member with this most recent information. We continue to track this on an ongoing basis. This information is of January 7, 2000. If there is anything more recent than that, I could also provide that. It is rather long to read that out. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It makes Ordinary Members' jobs very difficult when the Minister comes so prepared.

-- Laughter

I appreciate that the Minister is going to give me that information. I am assuming that there are some sections in there where there are shortages of health care professionals. I do not assume that every community in the Northwest Territories is fully staffed with health care professionals. I wonder if the Minister could inform us as to what she is doing to address those communities where there is still a shortage of health care professionals? 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, although the workforce has stabilized right now with nurses and social workers, our efforts in the department for recruitment and retention continue. There are a number of initiatives and activities that we have undertaken to address this issue and to ensure that it remains stabilized.

There is quite a list of them. Again, I do not know how much of this you would want me to list off. I will just highlight a few of them here.

One of the things of which we are very proud of is the effort with Aurora College in terms of training a northern workforce. We have had very good success of the expansion of educational opportunities for people.

An interesting idea came up yesterday with the Northwest Territories Health Care Association, and that is perhaps looking at women. In particular, women who may have raised a family in their younger days, and now their families are grown and they may be looking at re-entering or entering the workforce for the first time. We were thinking that would be an interesting group to target as well. They may want to attend college. We usually think of college recruitment in terms of young people coming straight out of high school.

There are quite a number of initiatives here. Again, I could provide this list to the Member if she would like to have it. Everything from support to the people that are in the workplace already. There is also the development of a website so they can have an interactive communication between health care workers. The establishment of a three nurse educator consultant position to support nurses that are employed by the nine boards of health. That is another area where we provide support to these workers to ensure they are able to do the best of their ability. Thank you.