Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just returned from a meeting held in Ottawa yesterday afternoon with the Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert Nault, the Gwich'in Tribal chairman and the board of directors, along with Bob Overvold, divisional director.

Mr. Speaker, in regard to that meeting, there were several issues we dealt with in trying to find ways of working through the different areas. One of them was the land use planning process, which has been stalled and has not been ratified by the Minister of Indian Affairs. Hopefully through the meetings that were held yesterday afternoon, we can come to a conclusion to this effort within the next couple of months.

The other concern that was raised was in regard to the Yukon ADAP process and the Yukon overlap, the new Yukon Act, which has been introduced in the House of Parliament, and the effects of that act in the Gwich'in land claim and their rights in the Yukon. Note there again, we are hoping to work in conjunction with the Minister and the Premier of the Yukon to try and find a solution to this problem through dialogue.

The other issue we worked on was the whole area of governance. As we all know, the Gwich'in self-government agreement has been initialled by the Gwich'in, Inuvialuit and this government, and the federal government is in the process of doing the same thing. Again, there are some questions on the next stage, which is the final negotiations which are taking place. We are hoping there again, through working together with the three parties, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit in the Beaufort-Delta region, and the Minister of Indian Affairs, we can find a solution to that problem.

Another area that I think is most important is the regional priorities we have to look at, especially with what has happened in the Mackenzie Delta and the Beaufort Sea areas, the whole area of economic development and trying to prioritize some of those developments and find ways to deal with the effects that come with it. We also have to realize the social envelope that we have to look at. What are the health and education requirements? Training is one. The other area is looking at how we can work together to formulate some of these training programs, develop the different economic opportunities and projects that will come, and trying to find a partnership arrangement between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Minister of Indian Affairs, through the federal programs, and the Aboriginal First Nations governments to coordinate these efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, I think it is imperative that we build on these partnerships in cooperation with governments, aboriginal First Nations and the different jurisdictions, the Yukon Government, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government.

I think it is important that this government, especially from the Premier's office, meet with the counterparts in the Yukon to help us resolve some of these outstanding issues, especially in regard to the devolution process that is taking place with the Yukon to ensure that rights of First Nations people in the Northwest Territories who have bilateral rights over the Yukon boundary, especially in the Gwich'in settlement area and the claim itself, that we have to work on that relationship.

With that, I have heard from the Minister of Indian Affairs that he is going to pass that message on and hopefully through the dialogue between our Premier and the Premier of the Yukon and the Minister of Indian Affairs we are able to accomplish these efforts. With that, thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a statement about HOPE. HOPE is the acronym for Human Organ Procurement and Exchange. This program is administered by a committee with the Stanton Regional Health Board through an educational committee, which promotes the national organ and tissue donor awareness campaign.

This program is a voluntary donation program that allows people to say, "Yes, I want to donate certain or all organs for use for transplants by individuals in need." In most parts of Canada, they do so by indicating it on their health care card or driver's license.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories does not have a specific donor identification format like those found in other provinces and territories. Therefore, temporary donor cards were created. Unfortunately, there are a number of different donor cards being used and it gets quite confusing as to which one to sign. One kind is this kind that I have that I have signed and had witnessed by my wife. Once that is done, you must make sure you carry it at all times. Unfortunately, because people in the health care system may not know what to look for, they may not be able to find it when it may be appropriate.

Our jurisdiction needs to have a simple donor identification system put into place. We should be able to indicate on our driver's licence or on our health care card that we wish to be organ donors.

Mr. Speaker, as of December 31st last year, 26 residents of the Northwest Territories had benefited from transplants. Nearly 3,700 Canadians are waiting right now for organ transplants that could enhance or even save their lives. In the year 2000, 147 patients on transplant waiting lists died when no organ became available.

Mr. Speaker, Canada's present donation rate is 13.7 per million population, one of the lowest in the industrialized countries.

Mr. Speaker, living donation is increasing as one way to close the gap between the number of people on transplant waiting lists and the number of available organs, but cadaveric donation is still the most typical source for organ transplants. That requires that a person's heart be beating and still transporting oxygenated blood around the body even though the brain may be dead.

Mr. Speaker, even in other circumstances, people may make donations because things like corneas and bones and muscles -- Mr. Speaker, I see that I need to request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Indeed you do. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, honourable Members. Mr. Speaker, even in those circumstances where the heart may have stopped beating, donations can still be made because corneas, bones, muscles, pancreatic and nerve cells, for example, can survive for a limited time after the body stops breathing and the heart stops beating.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians overwhelmingly support the idea of organ donation. In a 1999 Angus Reid survey of more than 1500 Canadians, 81 percent were willing to donate any organs, or certain organs, for transplant at the time of death but only 65 percent of Canadians have ever discussed the idea of organ donation with a family member. In most parts of Canada, families make the final decision on organ donation, even if their loved one left a signed consent.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that northern citizens are made aware of and have the opportunity to participate, contribute and support this health care issue. Northerners, I believe, want to be part of this and our friends need us to be involved.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the Minister of Health and Social Services to make residents aware of programs like this. I would urge the Minister of Transportation to provide an avenue for them to participate by implementing a policy allowing NWT residents to indicate their willingness to participate in the organ donation program by signing their drivers' licences or health care cards to indicate that they do wish their organs to be used. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in light of Minister Steen's statement today, I would like to say something about the highway toll legislation that we have been reviewing for the last number of months.

Mr. Speaker, I must say that I am alarmed by the red herring included in the Minister's statement, which says that if we do not agree with another tax initiative that we may have to contemplate cuts in programs and services in health and education. I do not believe that is necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I think the government has to be made fully aware that there is absolutely no tax base in a jurisdiction with a population of 40,000 people. We simply cannot draw blood from stone.

Mr. Speaker, everyone agrees that the cost of living is already too high. The cost of fuel has created a great hardship not only for the residents of Yellowknife but for residents all over the Territories. Any kind of taxation on the road will result in increased costs for gas for the trucks or vehicles and increased costs of building homes. I have already received complaints from constituents who are saying that the rent is going up. Airfares have already gone up and there is no guarantee that groceries and all essential items will not go up as well. I think simply that the message we have been hearing is we just cannot take it any more.

Mr. Speaker, the government has been saying that the tax credit will address this. In my opinion, no tax credit could make up for the cost of living that would be incurred by any kind of taxation. Any tax credit that the government would introduce would only make up for the loss from a number of years that we have gone without a cost of living credit, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the government should also realize that any increase in cost as a result of a highway toll would make the government the biggest loser. Just this year, just in this supplementary appropriation in this session, the government is asking for $2.7 million extra dollars to make up for the cost of fuel. This is not including some $30 million that the government is already paying for the fuel.

Mr. Speaker, any kind of highway taxation will send the wrong message to the resource industry, which is already paying upwards of $6 million...

Ms. Lee, your time has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, any sort of taxation that would increase the cost of living will send a terrible message to small businesses. Their cost of inventory will go up and they would have a more difficult time attracting people who are already facing a shortage of housing and the high cost of living, and discouraged from moving.

Mr. Speaker, highway taxation will have a terrible impact on back hauls of crushed cars or recycled items, or those who are manufacturing and exporting. Mr. Speaker, there is also clearly an uncertainty about the clawback implications of any taxation given that the federal government takes 80 percent of any tax revenue.

Mr. Speaker, this initiative is also administratively very cumbersome. We do not have weigh scales and it would require that we build weigh scales. That would cost millions and more money for manning them.

Mr. Speaker, I believe this government has had it good for the last two years. We know that it has had upwards of $150 million extra and it is time for them to buckle up, clean their house up before they hold their hands out to the people and keep saying that if you want tourism, you have to pay for it through a tax, or if you want the road, then you have to pay through a highway tax.

It is time to stop that, Mr. Speaker. If the government is having a hard time, people are having a hard time and we need to look within first before we go out and ask people to buckle up some more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in this session, I asked Members to support and circulate in their constituencies a petition on behalf of children living in poverty. This petition was sponsored by the Yellowknife Women's Centre, the Status of Women Council of the NWT and a constituent of Great Slave, Ann Marie Giroux, an advocate on behalf of children living in poverty.

Mr. Speaker, children live in poverty across Canada and in the NWT. Some schools, a very few, are fortunate to have community programs such as the Rotary Club's Kids Ahead that help out in this area. I know that many schools and teachers are expressing growing concerns that when children come to school, they do not have very much in their lunch bag because parents do not have enough to afford food. We hear the plight of our local food bank here in Yellowknife and organizations like the Salvation Army and the Yellowknife Women's Centre are working harder and harder to meet the needs of some residents.

There is particular concern among low-income families on income support about the clawback by this government of the National Child Benefit Supplement.

Mr. Speaker, the National Council on Welfare has expressed its deep concern about this clawback on many occasions. The council states: "Any program that is intended to support poor families but bypasses the poorest has missed the boat." Mr. Speaker, is our government missing the boat on this one?

Under federal-territorial arrangements, the GNWT claws back the National Child Benefit Supplement from income support assessments. The government then uses the clawback for a variety of programs for low-income families, including the NWT Child Benefit, the Working Supplement, and the Healthy Children's Initiative.

According to the National Council of Welfare, other jurisdictions, Newfoundland and New Brunswick, have chosen not to claw this back while still providing other programs for low-income families. This means, Mr. Speaker, more money in the pockets of the poorest families.

Mr. Speaker, as inadvertent as it may be, this government perpetuates children living in poverty in the NWT through its clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement.

I would urge Members and residents across the NWT to seek out this petition, Mr. Speaker, sign it and get it in before the deadline of November 19th. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for the Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays, Mr. Antoine, you may conclude your statement.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the approach of November 11th, I would like to invite this House to join me in giving recognition to the Canadian Rangers and junior ranger groups serving in the communities of Nunakput.

Mr. Speaker, these volunteers are always the first to be called out at times of on-the-land emergencies, such as search and rescue events. The rangers are also expected to act as guides when the armed forces hold training exercises in the Nunakput area. A periodic inspection of DEW Line sites is also one of the duties performed by these all-weather rangers.

Mr. Speaker, on November 11th, I invite the Members to give recognition to these hardy, local servicemen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Bell on October 30, 2001, regarding the rationale for the closure of the youth addictions program.

A review of this program undertaken in October 1998 recommended its closure. Serious issues pertaining to client safety and the program's success rates were raised during the review. During the year prior to the closure, the program was also experiencing very low occupancy rates, approximately 56 percent.

Beginning in January 1999, the department, in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, embarked on an alternative programming initiative. The intention was to work with Northern Addictions Services (NAS) to develop alternative programming to address the underlying issues of addictions for both adults and youth. In March 1999, NAS advised the department in writing that they were no longer interested in participating in this process of change. They indicated that the NAS board had a different vision and would pursue options with Justice Canada. All contractual arrangements between NAS and the department were terminated effective June 30, 1999. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.