Thank you, Ms. Lee. Please be seated. Good afternoon, Members. Before we begin, I have a ruling on a point of order. At this time, I wish to provide that ruling on the point of order raised by the Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent, on Monday, October 29th, 2001. Mr. Dent's point of order was raised under Rule 23(m) for comments made by the Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes, on Friday, October 26th.

Rule 23(m) states:

In debate a Member will be called to order by the Speaker if the Member introduces any matter in debate that offends the practices and precedents of the Assembly.

The comments that the Member for Frame Lake feels that Mr. Ootes used that gave rise to this point of order are contained on page 1079 of unedited Hansard. I quote:

The Supreme Court Justice commented to me a while back, Mr. Speaker, his feelings of disgust that we still have leadership elections by secret vote. Poignant words from someone of the stature of the Supreme Court Justice.

I heard from the Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes, on the point of order and his comments are contained on page 1134 of unedited Hansard. I quote:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do want the transcript of the tapes checked because it is my belief that I said "a" Supreme Court Justice stated and I did not identify a Supreme Court Justice as being a Supreme Court Justice of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

I have had the tapes reviewed and, for the record, it is not clear if it is an "a" or "the", and in my view it does not change the context.

In considering this point of order, I was unable to find a specific rule that Mr. Ootes may have breached. There is, of course, the sub judice convention, which is an unwritten rule that during debate, restrictions are placed on the freedom of Members to make reference to matters awaiting judicial decision in the interests of justice and fair play.

This is not the case in relation to the point of order before me today. However, there is also an understanding that it is not appropriate in the House to make reference to conversations

that took place outside the walls of this Chamber. It might also be inappropriate, out of respect to the judiciary, to attribute comments on a political issue to a Supreme Court Justice, whether they are a Justice resident in the Territories or not.

Therefore, I do not find that Mr. Dent has a point of order. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.