Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week I congratulated Ms. Glenna Hansen on her appointment to the Commissioner's Office. Today, I would like to thank the current Commissioner, Mr. Dan Marion, for his service to the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Marion served four years as Deputy Commissioner until April of last year, when he became the first Commissioner of the new Northwest Territories.

Although he currently resides in Rae-Edzo, Mr. Marion has, over the years, lived in many other Northwest Territories communities. In each place he has lived, he has participated in community life and contributed to the well-being of those around him.

Before his appointment as Commissioner, Mr. Marion already led a very active public life. He has served the people of his community and the Northwest Territories in a number of capacities.

He has been elected eight times to the Rae-Edzo Hamlet Council, serving as mayor of Rae-Edzo for three terms. He is a former member of the Rae-Edzo School Society, a past executive director of the Dene Band Development Corporation and has served as a member of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation's board of directors.

Through his own business interests and through business organizations in which he participated, Mr. Marion also contributed to the economic growth of his community.

Mr. Marion's life experiences prepared him well for his duties as the first Commissioner of the new Northwest Territories. During his travels last year, Mr. Marion was known in every community he visited. His familiarity with the people, history and geography of the North has enriched the activities of his office.

Mr. Marion can relate to people on a one-to-one basis. When you are talking with him, you know that he is focused on what you are saying. This personal touch carried through in his duties as Commissioner. He cares about people.

Mr. Marion, like most Northerners, has also learned to adapt to changing conditions and make the best of any given situation. I can recall an event in Deline where he was asked to represent Canada in his role as Commissioner.

As the day unfolded, circumstances beyond anyone's control resulted in Mr. Marion representing not only his country but also two absent federal Ministers.

Faced with the task of delivering three speeches, Mr. Marion decided instead to combine them into one. He then proceeded to pick and choose the best parts of each of the speeches on hand, careful to give credit where credit was due, all while standing at the podium making his presentation. I thought he was a very resourceful Commissioner indeed.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, all of the Ministers and myself, I would like once again to thank Mr. Marion for his years as Deputy Commissioner and for his time he served so well as Commissioner. I wish him the best in his future endeavours. Mahsi.

-- Applause

Thank you, Premier Kakfwi. Later today, the House will be showing its appreciation to Commissioner Marion in a presentation. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the United Nations had designated March 22nd the World Day for Water. Since 1993, World Day for Water has drawn attention to the importance of water to human life.

It is important to consider how we must protect the world's water resources. Water is an important part of our daily lives. We need water to drink, for cooking and for cleaning. Water is also needed for agriculture and industry.

In Canada, we are fortunate to have an abundance of water to meet our daily needs. Sometimes we take water for granted. Other countries are not so lucky. There are many people around the world who do not have access to safe and affordable drinking water. Many more do not have access to basic sanitation for their water sources.

Between three and four million people die every year from water-borne diseases. This is not always a problem somewhere else. As Canadians, we must keep that in mind.

The Northwest Territories has an abundance of fresh water resources, but this does not mean we will always have access to clean, safe water supplies. Recently, problems with THMs in Fort McPherson's water supply show us that we must continue to take great care of our water resources in the Northwest Territories.

The World Day for Water recognizes the importance of safe water in our lives. The theme for this year was "Water of the 21st Century". This theme was chosen because we have to make decisions on how we protect future water resources. Drinking water must be treated to protect us and keep everyone healthy. Waste water must also be treated before it is disposed, to avoid pollutants in our water supplies.

Careful and effective management of our water supply today...

Mr. Krutko, your time has expired.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Careful and effective management of our water supply today will help ensure continued access to safe water for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, access to safe water is an important issue in our communities. I would like to invite my fellow MLAs to join me today in recognizing that water plays an important role in all our lives, and we must take care in protecting that resource. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the committee of the whole discussion yesterday, I voted against a motion to reduce the government's supplementary budget by $160,000. Due to a procedural misunderstanding on my part, I missed an opportunity to explain my position. I would like to take this opportunity to do so.

Mr. Speaker, the stated reasons for this motion were: to reinforce the importance of fiscal responsibility; and as a symbolic gesture, to force the Premier and the Executive to lead by example.

I carefully listened to both sides of the argument on this motion in and out of this House. In the end, I concluded that I could not vote for it for a number of reasons. At the outset, Mr. Speaker, I want to make it clear that I respect the right of all Members of this House to introduce and pass a motion. But I also respect my right to disagree and state the reason.

Simply put, Mr. Speaker, in my view, this motion was not rationally connected to the stated reasons. With respect to the need for a symbolic gesture on the part of the Premier and the Executive, I note this was already accomplished by the reduction of $100,000 made in the interim budget. There was no further rationale for asking for another symbolic gesture.

On the issue of fiscal responsibility, Mr. Speaker, I want there to be no doubt that I believe in this government's need for fiscal responsibility in all manners of spending. But I also believe that this cannot be achieved by a piecemeal approach of a miniscule reduction of an arbitrarily picked number from a small section of one department.

Mr. Speaker, in this Session, we have reviewed and passed an interim appropriation upwards of $326 million. The capital spending had to take a cut of $10 million. We have heard the protest from every Member in this House for the cuts that had to be made in their own riding.

The fiscal situation of this government is in a dire situation. It calls for a big vision and big decisions, not small, symbolic gestures.

Mr. Speaker, we know we need more money than we have. For example, as I have stated many times in this House, the Highway No. 3 reconstruction that my constituents want so badly will cost $60 million to build. But the reality is, this is more than the total capital interim budget of this government. It does not take a math genius to realize that the way for me to find $60 million is not a small, miniscule, irrational cut of $160,000 from last year's budget.

I believe what we need is for this House to work together for a common vision and fiscal leadership.

Ms. Lee, your time 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 may continue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I believe what we need is for this House to work together for a common vision and fiscal leadership. That requires an honest and comprehensive debate between both sides of this House on all revenue options and spending priorities.

In the short time we have had, we have not had the opportunity to do this. Further, Mr. Speaker, until such time as we have a party system, we operate under a consensus system. For better or worse, this means there is no official opposition party in this House. I know my voters did not elect me to oppose everything in this House. They elected me to use all of my resources to make good decisions and to contribute to a good government for the good of all people.

I firmly believe, Mr. Speaker, as an Ordinary Member in a consensus government, I have a real opportunity to do that. I have a say on setting priorities and setting the agenda for the government. I will not forfeit the responsibility by a piecemeal approach. I will not give up that leadership role.

In my view, this motion was contrary to the real power and influence I have in this House in the overall decision-making process.

Mr. Speaker, I helped select this Cabinet. I want to see it work. At the very least, I want to give it a chance to work. I know the people of the Northwest Territories want this government to work. It has only been ten weeks since the Cabinet was selected. Personally, if I were given a job of governing, I would expect people to give me more than ten weeks to prove myself.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as we close this Session today, I know the Premier will be setting out soon to meet with the Prime Minister to discuss the need for investment in our people and economy in more detail. I want to express my support for his endeavour, and let him know I sincerely hope he succeeds in advancing this agenda. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, if he does not succeed, there is no doubt in my mind that everyone in this House will face a decision 100 times tougher than a motion to reduce a mere $160,000 from the government's budget. 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, I would like to discuss and speak to the issue of the PeopleSoft system. During the recent committee of the whole review of the Financial Management Board Secretariat, I started to ask questions about the PeopleSoft project. With each answer I was given, the whole situation looked worse.

Mr. Speaker, during the 1990s, the government used a home-grown human resource system to track people and positions, which also had the ability to track competitions. This was not a perfect system, mostly because departments did not keep up information. However, from what I have been told, the staff found it very easy to use and access information. It could be used without extensive training.

Someone decided we needed a better system. The Financial Management Board Secretariat came up with the pre-made PeopleSoft system. The project has been three years in the making so far and has cost millions of dollars and thousands of hours of time, at a time when we are trying to watch our costs and make the best use of our resources.

Based on the information we have received, Mr. Speaker, I have a concern that we may have bought a white elephant. The system was supposed to be up and running early in 1999. Health and social services boards are still not all on board. The project is $2 million over budget so far. Although the Minister indicated otherwise, when you look in the GNWT's phone book, it shows more than a dozen people still working full time in the Financial Management Board Secretariat on implementing this system.

I also understand it does not have the ability to track competition information. If it does, this information is not available to departments. The users complain, Mr. Speaker. I have been approached countless times about how complicated the system is and how non-user-friendly it is. The training alone is five days, with imported PeopleSoft trainers. This is even more money, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we also discovered the system runs a payroll, which the old system did not. However, when it does run a payroll, three days out of every ten, the system is unavailable for any other use. So for 70 percent of the time, no information on employees or positions can be checked, added or revised. If you have a problem with your benefits during that time period, you have to wait. It would seem we have a system that costs millions but can only do one thing at a time.

Mr. Miltenberger, you time has expired.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have also heard that any changes to reflect specific GNWT needs are very difficult and costly, and of course have to be done by the PeopleSoft company, which means more contracts. I point out that in the last contract document alone, there was $1.3 million in PeopleSoft contracts.

A clear reflection on how well this program works was made apparent when we talked about Nunavut. Nunavut was supposed to be a partner in this system, Mr. Speaker, but they were so dissatisfied that they pulled out and have left us holding the bag, and a leaking bag at that, Mr. Speaker.

The bottom line was supposed to be better information. The recent information and dispute over positions in this House, and the last document tabled by the Minister responsible for Finance, a document that is a masterpiece of equivocation and plausible deniability, shows the information is no better. The departments and the government cannot clearly define where all the positions or the resources are.

We have made a significant investment, Mr. Speaker, but we have to take a careful look at where we are going and what we are doing. Do we keep sinking our money into this PeopleSoft system, which can and may be, and all practical indications are that it is a black hole in terms of finances.

Mr. Speaker, we have to make sure this situation does not occur again. As we look at tangible asset systems and pension systems, we cannot afford to have $2 million cost overruns. During the next Session and business plans, I will have further questions for the Minister on this issue. Thank you.

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

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