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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for over 30 years the people of Fort Smith have had as a dream another southern access through the Wood Buffalo National Park down to Garden River and Vermilion and south.

Mr. Speaker, recently, thanks to the hard work and the understanding of Minister Copps, the federal government and our MP Ethel Blondin, and the hard work of the Thebacha Road Society and Mayor Martselos, approvals were received from Parks Canada for the road right of way and to begin construction. Unfortunately, as tends to occur in these kinds of situations, there was a court challenge by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. It was to the good fortune of the road society and the people of Fort Smith that the court ruled in favour of the Thebacha Road Society and Minister Copps, that they had made the right decision, they had done all the things necessary so that the road should proceed.

Mr. Speaker, there is one more legal hurdle to be surmounted. Hopefully that will be done this week, after which there are people trained and ready in Fort Smith and in Garden River to begin the brushing. There are the temporary bailey bridges ready, and hopefully this winter we will have, after 30 some years, a road through the park, at least on a temporary winter basis.

I would like to commend all the people for their perseverance, hard work and dedication on this issue. It has been a very frustrating and slow process. The wheels of government grind slow and fine and in this case, this proved to be true yet again.

Mr. Speaker, once this road is through, then we as a community will be able to turn our attention to other valuable links that need development. Those are our links to Fort Chipewayan and Fort McMurray. This is going to be a good news story for this winter. There has been a lot of work done and many people deserve credit. Soon, the dream will come true. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate one of my Range Lake constituents and a well-known personality within this Legislature, Ms. Lynda Sorensen, who was honoured by the Governor General on October 18th as one of five women in Canada to receive the 2001 Persons Case Award.

Mr. Speaker, today, with the equal rights of women enshrined in the constitution, it is difficult for us to fathom a time in Canadian history when our Supreme Court ruled that women were not to be included in the word "persons" for appointment to Senate. It took five determined women to take the case to the judicial committee of the Privy Council in order to obtain the self-evident judgment that women were indeed persons with all the rights and privileges under the law.

Named after this decision known as the Persons Case, with this award we celebrate not only the right of women to serve in Senate but the enormous contribution women make in all aspects of our nations work. For us in the North, Mr. Speaker, the Governor General has recognized Ms. Sorensen's contribution through her 25 years of distinguished public service, as the director of nursing at Stanton Hospital, a consumer advocate, the first woman MLA from Yellowknife and a tireless worker at every political campaign at all levels since the mid-70's.

From the time I saw her campaign poster on a telephone pole on Franklin Avenue back in 1979 as a 14-year-old girl, she has inspired me as a woman leader in so many ways. I know she has inspired many others into political participation, men as well as women, due to her energy, wisdom and conviction.

Her record of service demonstrates her unflinching commitment and respect for our political system for its important responsibility to serve all our citizens at all times with integrity and a sense of fairness.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as the second woman MLA from Yellowknife, albeit 20 years later, it is with great pride and joy that I recognize her today as a great person, a mentor to political leaders, women and men, and a very deserving recipient of the Persons Case Award. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week was Family Violence Awareness Week in the Northwest Territories. I know that many of us participated in activities marking the event. Today, I would like to recognize the work of front-line workers involved in family violence such as shelter workers, counsellors, police officers, social workers and the people offering victim services.

Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago, along with the Minister responsible for overseeing this government's efforts to combat family violence, I visited Alison McAteer House, located in my constituency. It is unfortunate that we still need shelters like this, and even more troubling that shelters in the Northwest Territories are so busy that they regularly have to turn moms and their kids away.

Mr. Speaker, one solution to reducing the number of times victims are turned away from shelters is an act such as Alberta's Protection Against Family Violence Act. The Minister with responsibility for family violence has clearly indicated that yes, she would support such family legislation.

However, Mr. Speaker, in correspondence with the Minister responsible for Justice, he has indicated to me that his department is reviewing current legislation and he will report to Cabinet by the end of the year. Mr. Speaker, my concern is that it appears that the Department of Justice is looking at this situation from a strictly legal point of view and this is not adequate.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, court orders may be obtained under our current legislation but that often takes too long. Current legislation does not permit immediate protection from family violence. Police cannot obtain immediate protection orders over the phone. Victims are victimized again by having to follow often overwhelming, cumbersome and time-consuming legal processes to obtain the protection they should have immediately.

Mr. Speaker, in 1999-2000, 54 percent of women escaping abusive situations were admitted to shelters with their children. Sixty-eight percent of these children were under ten years of age. This is an abhorrent situation for a child to live in.

Shelters are full. They are turning women away. Last year, in one month alone, 46 women and children were turned away from Yellowknife shelters. Remember, like all shelters in the Northwest Territories, they serve a much broader population than just the local community. More than half of the clients served by Alison McAteer House come from outside of Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, these people need immediate protection. They must feel safe in their own homes. The police need better tools to react quickly. An act similar to the Alberta Protection Against Family Violence Act would provide this. We need it now, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, honourable colleagues. Welcome back after a short summer break. Mr. Speaker, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all those delegates from the communities who are taking part in the official language conference, in particular, those delegates from my riding of Nunakput.

They are Agnes White of Tuktoyaktuk, Agnes Kuptana of Holman, Roger Kuptana of Holman and Emily Kudlak of Holman. I am sure they are raising the concerns of the people of Nunakput and are bringing forward good suggestions as well.

Mr. Speaker, our aboriginal languages and different dialects in Nunakput are all alive and still used substantially in some of our communities. Many people not only speak the language but live it as well. We hope the results of this conference will see much improved recognition of this fact. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. McLeod on July 24, 2001 regarding community forest fire protection plans. The Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has completed site and structure assessments for over half of the communities. Additionally, satellite vegetation analysis for all communities has been completed as well as mapping and street layouts for 80 percent of the communities. Our forest management program expects to have most of the work on site and structure assessment completed by the end of 2001.

Following assessment, the next stage is analysis of the fire protection plans for each community to determine the extent of the protection problem and develop reasonable and practical solutions which may be applied for effective protection of the community.

Of the 31 communities in the forest area of the Northwest Territories, only one, Wrigley, has submitted a practical proposal for further work to the department. Fort Smith, Fort Providence and Tsiigehtchic are working with department staff to complete their preliminary work and evaluate the problem in preparation for a proposal submission. The community of Fort Simpson has retained a contractor to develop a proposal on their behalf for the Wild Rose Subdivision.

For the remaining communities, department staff are completing those assessments and analyses in preparation for planning in their areas. Regional staff have been in contact with the communities, keeping them informed on the progress of these efforts.

The department will be continuing to work with communities and other departments such as Municipal and Community Affairs to move this important task forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 4, returns to oral questions. 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. Welcome to the Assembly, Ms. Williams. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a former mayor of Fort Smith and now the new director of the Energy Secretariat, affectionately known already as the new energy czar of the Northwest Territories, Mr. Dennis Bevington.

-- Applause

Welcome, Mr. Bevington. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the president of the UNW, Georgina Rolt-Kaiser, in the audience. It is nice to see her back here.

-- Applause

Thank you. Welcome back. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize David Murphy. David is the president of the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association. I would also like to recognize Bob Galipeau. He is with our department and in charge of language services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Bob Haywood and Steve Peterson from the NWT Federation of Labour. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome, gentlemen. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a long-time Yellowknife resident who enjoys being here and watching us, Mr. Ed Jeske, and next to him, Barb Hood. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. A former constituent, Mr. Jeske. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, my question this afternoon is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes. It is a follow-up to an issue that was raised in June and I believe again in July. It relates to information gathered in the process of the review, Mr. Speaker, for the income support program in the Northwest Territories.

My question at the time -- and the answer that I believe the Minister gave -- was that this information would be made public. It has not been received, at least by me so far, and I want to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, when will the information be publicly released from the income support review? Thank you.