Thank you. Good afternoon. Please be seated. A point of order has been raised by Mr. Krutko. Mr. Krutko.

Point of Order

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order under rules 23(h) and (i) and Rule 24, concerning words spoken yesterday by the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Mr. Speaker, my point of order is contained on page 556 of the unedited Hansard of June 28, 2000. During question period, I asked the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation a question concerning the Corporation's adherence to the Business Incentive Policy. Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister the following question, and I quote from the unedited Hansard:

"Does the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation support the Business Incentive Policy or the Manufacturer's Directive that this government has in place? Why are you not following it?"

Mr. Speaker, the Minister, Mr. Allen, in answering my question indicated, and I quote, also from page 556 of the unedited Hansard:

"Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do believe the question is misleading."

Mr. Speaker, my point of order is that the Minister, Mr. Allen, is imputing motives that I am misleading the House with my question. As you know, Mr. Speaker, misleading the House is a point of order. It could also be a point of order for using the word "misleading" as being unparliamentary language. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. If I recall correctly, this is one of the first formal points of order that the Speaker has been asked to hear. Prior to proceeding with the point of order, and for the benefit of new Members, and perhaps to remind not so new Members of how points of order are dealt with by the Chair.

A point of order is a question raised by a Member who believes that the rules or customary procedures of the House have been incorrectly applied or overlooked during the proceedings. Members may rise on points of order to bring to the attention of the Chair any breach of the relevance, repetition, rules or unparliamentary remarks.

Points of order respecting procedure must be raised promptly. As a point of order concerns the interpretation of the rules of procedure, it is the responsibility of the Speaker to determine its merits and to resolve the issue.

In raising a point of order, a Member should only state the rule or practice he or she considers to have been breached. The Speaker has the duty to preserve order and decorum and to decide any matter of procedure that may arise. The Chair is also bound to call the attention of the House to an irregularity in debate or procedure immediately, without waiting for the intervention of a Member. In addition, the Speaker decides questions of order once they arise and not in anticipation. When a point of order is raised such as the one that we have before us now, raised by the Member for Mackenzie Delta, I will attempt to rule on the matter immediately. However, if necessary, the Chair may take the matter under advisement and come back to the House later with a formal ruling.

I felt it was important to clarify the procedure for dealing with a point of order prior to hearing debate on the point of order raised today. In hearing a point of order, and if it is not clear to the Chair whether there has been an infraction, I may permit debate on the point of order.

Our Rule 24 permits the Member who has been called to order, in this case, the Minister for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen, to explain.

Therefore, to the point of order before me today, the House has heard the point of order raised by the Member for Mackenzie Delta. I would now permit the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen, to speak to the point of order. The rules also allow the Speaker to hear from other Members who may wish to speak to the point of order.

To the point of order. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen, do you wish to speak to the point of order?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do wish to point out that when I said the question was misleading, I did not intend to imply that Mr. Krutko had done anything misleading. If that has offended the Member, I would gladly withdraw my remarks. To clarify for the record, Mr. Speaker, I think Mr. Krutko and I have a different interpretation of the issue that was being discussed at the time. That is probably a better way to describe the incident. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. To the point of order. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the point of order, my question to the Minister, I made it clear that the question was coming from a meeting I held with colleagues in this House, with Members of the Manufacturers' Association. They raised the point that many of them were concerned they were not being fairly treated by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation regarding the opportunity to bid and have their products, which have been produced in the North, and are able to market them in the North, that several projects did not have the same opportunity for applying on some of these initiatives.

Specs on different contracts were purchased from southern Canada with no consideration for northern manufacturers. That is the reason I raised the question, does the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation support the Business Incentive Policy...

Mr. Krutko, to the point of order only, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my point of order is I was just doing the job I was elected for. I was just following the direction of the Manufacturers' Association, who felt they were not being fairly treated. That is why I presented the question.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. I believe what we have here in question in the point of order is the remark made about the question of being misled, or misleading. I think the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes has withdrawn that remark, and offered an apology. Is the Member for Mackenzie Delta prepared to accept that the word misleading has been withdrawn in the matter? Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in no way, shape, or form have I ever attempted to mislead this House. I still feel offended by that comment. Knowing the Minister is new, I will accept that, but if this were to happen again, I will definitely take it up to a higher level. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko, for that acceptance of Mr. Allen's suggestion to withdraw that. I believe that this matter is now resolved and concluded. It needs no further attention.

I would just like to remind the House that, on occasion, the Speaker will hear a word, but has the option of recognizing and interrupting immediately, or it can wait until...we learned from this first experience on a point of order. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Point of Order

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the point of order. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in this particular instance, I think the facts speak very clearly for themselves. I was very careful in considering my comments. I qualified that. I did not state emphatically or definitively. I said it could appear or it may appear. Mr. Speaker, in the minds of the constituent I represented, very clearly the government is not funding and using this money for the purposes for which it was voted.

It is unfortunate that the Minister and Cabinet have taken such an exception to this, and would choose to devote the House's time to this issue rather than meeting the needs of my constituents. It is unfortunate they have chosen to take it this way. The reality is very clear, Mr. Speaker, in the record. I think, when you rule on this issue, I hope you will take that fact under consideration. It is qualified and based on the discussion and the hard reality of the numbers.

I was not imputing motive. I was making reference to a possible perception of appearance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. To the point of order. I will take this matter under advisement and report back to the House later. Thank you. Any further points of order? Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi and the Honourable Jim Antoine will be a little late for the House today. They are on route from Fort Simpson and should be here momentarily. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Handley, may I inquire as to whether this is an emergency statement you are making? It was not filed with the Clerk prior to the start of proceedings. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes, this was an emergency statement. They had planned to be here by 1:30 p.m., but are running a little late. Thank you.

Thank you. That falls within the rules. Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, all Members of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight will be making the case for literacy in our Members' statements and during oral questions.

Mr. Speaker, in discussing the definition of literacy, the Literacy Council has suggested, and I quote,

"We live in an information based society which demands increasingly sophisticated literacy scales. Literacy is no longer defined by the basic ability to read, but rather how people use written information to function in society. This changes our assumptions about literacy and its links to broader social, economic and political issues."

Mr. Speaker, not long ago, Members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs met with representatives of the Northwest Territories Literacy Council, along with a broad cross-section of literacy advocates and practitioners. They presented us with a paper, which outlined why this government needs to develop and adopt a comprehensive government-wide literacy strategy.

They showed us the need for the Government of the NWT to really make a commitment to, and an investment in, the people of the Northwest Territories by making literacy the keystone of all of our initiatives.

Literacy is strongly linked to social development in terms of reduced crime, reduced unemployment and poverty, and reduced reliance on income support. Mr. Speaker, there is also a very strong tie between literacy and the economy, in terms of higher employment, income and increased productivity.

Our strategy must run through all departments, but those on the social envelope in particular should take the lead and pull everyone together in the development of the strategy, making sure the coordination is strong.

Above all, there must be meaningful consultation with practitioners like the Northwest Territories Literacy Council, other NGOs, communities and aboriginal groups.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard that project based funding has actually destabilized the whole area of literacy training. The only practical solution is to establish multi-year funding for programs. Obviously, this also requires an effective accountability framework, which includes a meaningful evaluation and monitoring process.

Without a long term commitment to literacy skills development, as part of an economic and social development strategy, a large number of Northerners will be unable to take full advantage of the opportunities just on the horizon right now.

If Northerners do not have the skills to take advantage of new job opportunities, they will simply be filled by southern workers. That is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, we need this government to commit now to a healthy and literate population. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

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