Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some written questions for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, although the Minister for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development may have already provided an answer.

1. What was the average price the Corporation paid for fibreglass water and sewer tanks F.O.B. Yellowknife for the years 1985 through 1989; and
2. What was the average price the Corporation paid for fibreglass water and sewer tanks F.O.B. Yellowknife for the years 1995 through 1999?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 7, written questions. Item 8, returns to written questions. Item 9, replies to opening address. Item 10, petitions. Item 11, reports of standing and special committees. Item 12, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 13, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have two documents to table today. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Government of the Northwest Territories Departmental Business Plans 2000-2003.

As well, Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Government of the Northwest Territories Results Report 1998-99. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 13, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled It Takes a Community: A Report to the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services on Child Welfare Services in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 13, tabling of documents.

I wish to table the summary of indemnities and expenses for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000 for the Members of the 13th Legislative Assembly for the period ended April 1, 1999 to December 6, 2000.

In accordance with section 35 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to table the Annual Report respecting Members' indemnities and expenses for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000 for the Members of the 14th Legislative Assembly. This report covers the period from December 7, 1999 to March 31, 2000.

In accordance with section 19 of the regulations made pursuant to the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to table the declarations made by Members setting out their place of residence.

In accordance with section 164 of the Elections Act, I have the pleasure of tabling the report of the Chief Electoral Officer of the Northwest Territories entitled Modernizing our Electoral System, on the conduct of the 1999 general election of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

Item 13, tabling of documents. Item 14, notices of motion. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, July 7, 2000, I will move the following motion. Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that the government immediately undertake the development of a comprehensive literacy strategy for the Northwest Territories.

And further, that the development of the strategy be a cooperative effort of all departments, particularly those in the social envelope, with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment as the lead department. Furthermore, that the literacy strategy be directly linked to the aboriginal languages strategy currently under development, specifically in relation to the preservation of aboriginal languages in both the written and oral forms.

Furthermore, that the strategy address the need to measure and increase literacy levels in all official languages in the Northwest Territories. And furthermore, that the active involvement of applicable agencies, appropriate non-government organizations, literacy practitioners, aboriginal organizations and communities are engaged in the development and implementation of the strategy.

Furthermore, that a key component of the strategy be a mechanism to address the need for multi-year funding of the literacy program delivery groups and organizations. And furthermore, that the strategy include an effective, accountability framework to provide timely and accurate results measurement and evaluation. Furthermore, the strategy framework be completed and presented to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight for review no later than November 30, 2000. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 14, notices of motion. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. Item 14, notices of motion. Item 15, notices of motions for first reading of bills. Item 16, motions. Item 17, first reading of bills. Item 18, second reading of bills. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 10, An Act to Amend the Adoption Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Adoption Act to:

• • provide for the appointment of a deputy director of adoptions and a deputy registrar of the adoption registry;
• • enable the director of adoptions to withdraw his or her approval of a proposed placement or of an applicant prior to the placement of a child;
• • require adoption workers to endeavour to provide information to a person who places a child for private adoption before the person consents to the adoption;
• • require that the director of adoptions be notified when a child is placed in the permanent custody of the director of child and family services for protection reasons and the plan of care for the child does not preclude placement for adoption so that an adoption worker may explain the adoption registry to relevant persons and take their personal histories;
• • require that copies of court documents, except those ordered sealed by the court, are provided to the director of adoptions and deposited with the adoption registry when an adoption order is made;
• • provide that the registrar may request copies of court documents or information from the court file and deposit them with the adoption registry;
• • provide that the records and microfilm of the records of the Superintendent of Child Welfare must be placed with the adoption registry so that registry information may be complied from the records and disclosed to the natural parent or the adopted person in specified circumstances;
• • include a transitional provision which deems the director to be the Superintendent of Child Welfare and an adoption worker to be a child welfare worker in respect of those adoptions which are governed by the Child Welfare Act;
• • include a transitional provision to enable an adoption worker to explain the adoption registry to relevant persons and to take their personal histories where a permanent custody order has been made under part 1 of the Child and Family Services Act or any predecessor act and the child is placed for adoption under this act; and
• • make minor corrections or clarifications in a number of provisions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. Question has been called. All those in favour, please signify. Thank you. All those opposed? The motion is carried. Bill 10 has had second reading. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to a committee. Item 18, second reading of bills. Item 19, consideration in committee of the whole of bills and other matters. Bill 1, Bill 4, Bill 5, Bill 6, Committee Report 1-14(3), Committee Report 2-14(3), Committee Report 3-14(3), and by the authority given the Speaker by Motion 4-14(3), the House is resolved into committee of the whole to sit beyond the time of adjournment until the committee is prepared to report, with Mr. Lafferty in the Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to recommend the committee resume consideration of Bill 1 and concurrently Committee Report 1-14(3), Committee Report 2-14(3), Committee Report 3-14(3), specifically to start by considering the budget for the Department of Transportation, followed by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and perhaps Aboriginal Affairs.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Members of the committee, it is my pleasure to be here today to review the Department of Transportation's appropriation for 2000-2001.

The budget we are reviewing today is a modest plan that demands the Department of Transportation manage carefully within the tight limits of the government's present financial position. The department is requesting a total budget of $68,496,000 consisting of $46,670,000 for operations and maintenance of the transportation system and $21,826,000 for capital acquisitions.

The department plans to deliver its mandate to operate the territorial system of public transportation infrastructure safely and reliably; our airports, ferries and highways. The department's proposed appropriation for 2000-2001 stays pretty much the same as its 1999-2000 budget. There are no significant increases nor any significant reductions. With the stable budget proposed here, the people of the Northwest Territories can count on the department to maintain the transportation programs and services they rely on and expect.

As set out in the document, Towards a Better Tomorrow, it is this government's intention to lay the groundwork in the Northwest Territories for a more stable and prosperous future for all Northerners.

The recent expansion in the Northwest Territories' resource industries has placed greater demands on the territorial highway system. To keep pace with this heavier, industrial traffic, the Department of Transportation has planned capital improvements for Highways No. 3, No. 4, No. 7 and No. 8 where the impacts of the increased traffic have been heaviest.

The reconstruction of Highway No. 3 should progress by another 8 kilometres this year at a cost of $6 million. The department is involved in provincial-territorial discussions to apportion the $600 million National Highway Program announced by the federal government earlier this year. The new federal money for highways will be applied to accelerate the reconstruction of Highway No. 3.

In anticipation of continuing oil and gas industry development in the Liard Valley, approximately $500,000 is scheduled for grade stabilization and surface improvements on the first 50 kilometres of Highway No. 7 from the British Columbia border north to Fort Liard.

On Highway No. 8, the $2 million reconstruction program for 2000-01 includes the installation of a new bridge at Campbell Creek south of Inuvik. The bridge replaces two large diameter culvert pipes and should prove more habitat-friendly for fish stocks in the stream.

This year, the Department of Transportation intends to continue with its bridge program on the Mackenzie Valley winter road into the Sahtu. The completion of the Ochre River bridge at a cost of $960,000, by allowing the winter road to open earlier, should extend the winter road season by as much as a week. The longer operating season is important not only to the Sahtu communities but also for the oil and gas exploration programs in the region.

The Non-Renewable Resource Strategy maps out an investment program that would help bring our non-renewable natural resources into production, expand the territorial economy and reduce our financial dependence on the Government of Canada. Improved surface transportation access to our resources is, of course, central to realizing this economic potential. The Non-Renewable Resource Strategy incorporates much of the work the Department of Transportation has done on the technical feasibility and economic cost-benefits of new highways anti-transportation corridors. The completion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley to Tuktoyaktuk and improved access to the Slave Geologic Province are two of the strategy's principal recommendations for stimulating strong economic growth.

Mr. Chairman, these are the principal highlights of the Department of Transportation's program for 2000-2001. In line with the government's financial position, this is a modest budget. The few capital projects I have mentioned are important, but I know from the Members' comments here in this House, there is so much more that could and should be done to preserve and maintain our past investments in the territorial transportation system. We all look forward to better economic times that would let us catch up with some of the work we have had to put aside in these leaner years.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I conclude my remarks. Thank you.