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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the course of the summer, I am sure that all Ministers and many Members of the Assembly took the opportunity to attend the general assemblies of the First Nations across the Northwest Territories. I wanted to tell the Assembly a bit about one of those visits that I and my daughter Carmen were privileged to make to Tulita early in July to the Annual Assembly of the Dene Nation of the Northwest Territories.

This was a memorable and an adventurous trip for us, Mr. Speaker, because we were able to make the trip, at least partly, in the traditional way, on the big river, the Deh Cho, the Mighty Mackenzie, along with a number of other boats, primarily with members of the Dogrib Nation. I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Lafferty, for making room for Carmen and I on his craft as we made our way up in the journey from Fort Simpson to Tulita.

We were led most ably and safely by Chief Joe Rabesca. I think there were seven to nine boats in our flotilla at various times. As I said, it is an adventure that my daughter and I will not forget. It gave us a new respect for that river, for the land and most importantly, Mr. Speaker, for the people who have lived on it for generations.

We arrived in Tulita safely and in sunshine with a traditional volley of gunfire from the boats. The whole community and assembly came down to greet us. We learned some new skills. I, for instance, learned the Dene way, or the proper way, to put up a tent and keep dry. Unfortunately, I learned it a day too late but that is my problem. We enjoyed immensely the traditional and cultural events of the assembly, the drum dancing, the stick gambling. We saw for the first time a fire ceremony, a very moving part of the culture.

The hospitality, Mr. Speaker, of the Dogrib people on our trip and of Grand Chief Bill Erasmus at the assembly was very, very much appreciated and has given us a new respect for these people. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to raise awareness of a very important non-profit organization that indeed has representation across the entire Northwest Territories. The organization is the NWT Literacy Council which, Mr. Speaker, was founded in 1989.

Each region of the Territories is represented on their board and their goals are to promote and support literacy in all the officials languages of the Northwest Territories. Funding by the council is provided by the National Literacy Secretariat, the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment and also through corporate donations and membership dues, Mr. Speaker.

Every year, the council highlights the importance of literacy by hosting an NWT Literacy Week. This year it was September 29 to October 5, and this was the week in which literacy was highlighted and reading was promoted across the NWT. In advance of this week, Mr. Speaker, the council distributes a kit to all schools, literacy programs, learning centres, early childhood and family support programs, libraries, friendship centres, community health and various other community groups. The purpose of the kit is to get people involved in reading and to raise the awareness of the importance of literacy.

This week, as part of Literacy Week, I was invited to actually read to a class at Ecole St. Joseph in Yellowknife. It was a kindergarten class and I read them a story and then opened up the floor for questions. They had a lot of relevant questions like, for instance, was I allergic to cats? Even though the story was not about cats, it was so interesting that it very much engaged the young men and women.

Other functions of the council include assisting communities to develop local literacy projects, developing and providing necessary resources and programs to literacy and community workers. Mr. Speaker, they also monitor and report on various federal and territorial literacy policies, as well as encouraging reading and writing for people of all ages.

In addition to public awareness events such as the week they sponsor, other public events include writing contests, presentations to the government, businesses, labour and the public on literacy. They also host literacy conferences and provide literacy information throughout the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, they play an instrumental role in our lives in promoting and enhancing the level of literacy in the Territories. I would like to congratulate them on the progress they have made since 1989 and wish them every success in the future. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about the self-government process that has been ongoing in the Beaufort-Delta region.

As one of the updates we were given by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs pointed out recently, the negotiation process in the Beaufort-Delta has come to what we call the agreement-in-principle stage, where initialling was to occur by all the parties involved. I think it is time that, with this process and as it starts to evolve from here, we start to try to inform our constituents a little more -- in my case, the residents of Inuvik and Inuvik Boot Lake.

I know that the negotiators and those staff working in the community for the self-government process, that is a combined public and self-government process, have been very busy and trying to make sure they meet the time lines that they have established. It has been very difficult at times, but I think there is an opportunity where we can raise more awareness so that our own constituents can be aware. Sometimes when things are so busy in a community, we can often forget and not make the different meetings, public hearings and scheduled meetings that are set up to make ourselves aware of that process.

Later on in question period, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs to try to bring more of this information to light. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to briefly talk about an example of inter-jurisdictional cooperation; cooperation between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Alberta government, the Town of Fort Smith and some recreational user groups.

Mr. Speaker, Fort Smith is on the banks of the Slave River, very close to the Alberta border. On the Alberta side of the border, we have what I think are some world-class facilities. We have rapids that people from all over the world come to paddle with their kayaks. We have a ski biathlon range that is very near national standards and, of course, our very own nine-hole golf course -- not quite up to St. Andrews, but we are working on it.

Mr. Speaker, a number of months ago, the people of Fort Smith, the user groups, myself and the town, approached Minister Allen and the Alberta government about the possibility of a partnership to further develop the resources that we already have in that part of the country.

The response from Municipal and Community Affairs has been excellent. The Minister from Alberta sent in some senior officials. We have had numerous meetings. We now have a consultant underway pulling together a discussion paper that will lay out, I think and I hope, the plans for what would be a multi-use facility used by Alberta and the Northwest Territories in the community.

Mr. Speaker, this is a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate how we can work together as a community with other levels of government, with Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

We have, for example, an opportunity with the Arctic Winter Games coming up in Fort McMurray, with a small investment from Alberta, to further develop this key biathlon range so that it can be used as part of the Arctic Winter Games in 2004, Mr. Speaker.

We have seen other jurisdictions like Greenland and Iqaluit, where they are splitting the Arctic Winter Games. This would save the Alberta government a significant amount of money and would leave Alberta with a legacy of a world-class facility.

I would like to thank the people of Fort Smith, the user groups who have put in the hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours over the years, the Minister and his department, Municipal and Community Affairs, and the Alberta government for all the support they have provided to help move this project along. It is going to be one we all benefit from. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to tell you about an old institution in the town of Inuvik in Inuvik Twin Lakes. Construction of this building began in 1974 and was completed in 1976. For the benefit of those who do not know, approximately 1,020 white spruce logs were rafted down the river from the Mackenzie River Valley area in Fort Simpson. Many Inuvik citizens were involved in the development of this building. This old building continues to bare the name of the Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre.

Mr. Speaker, for 25 years, Ingamo Hall has been providing social, cultural and recreational needs through a variety of programs and services to the elders and to the youth of Inuvik. The prime example of this service is that every second Thursday of the month, Ingamo Hall hosts an elders' luncheon where the youth assist in serving the food to the elders.

Ingamo Hall has organized and hosted elders' social gatherings. The Ingamo Hall Youth Group has been actively involved in providing awareness regarding community issues such as participating in Take Back the Night walks, a candle vigil. They also hosted the AIDS Awareness Walk. The youth group has accumulated many volunteer hours by assisting in a variety of activities held at this wonderful hall.

The Ingamo Hall offers cultural programming activities such as drum dancing, beading, sewing, traditional cooking and Arctic sports to the residents and visitors to Inuvik. Not to leave out perhaps the most favourite activity open to all residents of Inuvik, the regular Tuesday night bingo. This Saturday, October 27th, Ingamo Hall is celebrating their 25th anniversary and invites everyone to join them.

Mr. Speaker, Ingamo Hall is an old building, an old log building but yet is full of life. Its structure is strong and will last a long time and so will the services to the people of Inuvik.

I wish to applaud the efforts of the staff and volunteers, past and present, of Ingamo Hall. Without the dedication of the board and their staff, these programs and services will not exist. Ingamo Hall has improved the way of life for Inuvik residents and I wish, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, further success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, in particular in Tuktoyaktuk, I wish to take this opportunity to welcome Cal Mains as the Deputy Commissioner. He is well remembered in Tuktoyaktuk from the years back when he was serving as a police officer. I am sure many of my people remember him as a person who supplied the very efficient police services at a very critical time. There were not that many police officers there at the time with him.

I know people in my community will remember him for many years to come as a long, tall, skinny fellow walking down the street with a mean-looking look on his face, but nevertheless, he served us very well. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 3, Members' statements. Are there any other Members' statements? Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Rob Tordiff, president of the South Slave Metis Council. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I think you stole Mr. Miltenberger's thunder. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, the Executive is picking on Regular Members in one of our few opportunities to recognize our own constituents.

-- Laughter

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, I as well would like to welcome and have the honour to acknowledge and recognize Mr. Rob Tordiff and his wife, Sylvie. Two fine constituents and members of a very important organization.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, for the second day, I would like to welcome Mr. John Dixon, a constituent of ours. Thank you.

-- Applause