Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Déclarations de ministre. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the context of the document Towards a Better Tomorrow, the 14th Legislative Assembly will continue to support and work with all youth organizations to achieve their goals. Today, I am pleased to share with you a fine example of this ongoing work.

As the Minister responsible for Youth and a Member of the 14th Legislative Assembly, I wish to congratulate the new partnership forged between Canadian North and the Territorial Youth Association (formerly the Native Women's Youth Association). This new partnership will provide the youth of the Northwest Territories an outlet where they can access either complimentary airfare and/or discounted airfares, enabling youth to travel throughout the North for productive and beneficial events. Canadian North, a northern-owned and operated company, has agreed to enter into this two-year agreement with the Territorial Youth Association, which I truly believe will prove to be a worthy investment in the youth of the Northwest Territories. To further highlight this, I wish to quote Canadian North's mission statement:

"Our mission is to better meet the needs of northern travellers and the North by investing time, energy and resources to help develop the communities we serve."

The Youth Exploration Program is one way Canadian North is realizing their mission. Through this Youth Exploration Program, youth will be provided with support so that they can participate in addressing the following youth priorities identified by the Territorial Youth Association including: alcohol-drug abuse prevention, youth development and training, racism and cultural education, youth justice and crime prevention, and sports and recreation.

At the break, I wish to invite each of you to the Great Hall. Along with representatives from Canadian North and the Territorial Youth Association, I will be officially launching this special youth initiative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Déclarations de ministre. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, seeing as it is Friday, I want to take this opportunity to write a good news Member's statement. Mr. Speaker, the good news I am referring to is recognition of some recent accomplishments by residents of Hay River.

First, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize two pages from my riding who have been here all week. They are Stephanie Johnston and Nathan Taylor. These two young people are very fine individuals who I am sure will succeed in whatever paths they choose for the future. I would like to thank them for coming here this week.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize some Hay River residents who have been inducted to the 1999-2000 Northwest Territories Apprenticeship Honour Roll. These are Jason Coakwell, Bruce McCarthy, Earle Dumas, Kevin McLean, Travis Peterson, Michael Mahussier and Austin King. Mr. Speaker, special recognition should go to Michael Mahussier, who is the top graduating apprentice in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, from January 18th to January 21st, the Hay River Curling Club hosted the Northwest Territories Championships. It gives me great pleasure to announce that my son Darcy's team was one of the two teams representing the Northwest Territories at the NWT-Yukon playdowns held in Whitehorse. His team consisted of Mike Mageean, Bruce Hunt and Brian Lodge. I also had the pleasure of coaching Darcy's team.

Mr. Speaker, from February 2nd to February 14th, Hay River hosted the Territorial Figure Skating Championships. These championships attract the skaters from five northern communities. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that Heather Stevely of Hay River received three gold medals and Carisa Broadhead received two gold medals. There were a number of other skaters who received other medals too numerous to mention here.

Mr. Speaker, the territorial wrestling championships were held in Hay River from February 9th to the 11th. I am pleased to report that all of our Diamond Jenness High School wrestlers won medals.

Mr. Speaker, special recognition should go to the following Hay River wrestlers who were appointed to the Northwest Territories Canada Games Team as a result of good performance at the territorials. These wrestlers were Ricky Leonard, Danny Jackson and Shane Latimer.

Mr. Speaker, Jack Keefe, one of the Northwest Territories premier wrestling coaches, has been appointed the manager of the Canada Games Team. I know that...

Mr. Delorey, the time for your Member's statement has expired.

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

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Member for Hay River North is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that Jack devotes a tremendous amount of his time to our wrestlers and he is to be commended for this. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize Kim Klassen, a Hay River teacher who was instrumental in organizing the Cager Basketball Tournament in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Déclarations de députés. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to take the opportunity to recognize two pages who are presently here from the Deh Cho. Mr. Speaker, I feel this is a great opportunity that we as a government can offer our youth. The experience of participating in the paging program is an important task for students to experience our legislation firsthand. The knowledge that we instill in our youth today will go a long ways. These students may someday likely become our future leaders.

The students we have with us are Rosalie Martel and Rosemary Buggins. Both of these students are from the Chief Sunrise Education Centre in the Hay River Reserve. I would like to thank them for their services in the House this week. Also, Mr. Speaker, next week, March 1st, is the opening day of the 18th K'amba Carnival. One of our pages, Rosemary Buggins, is a K'amba queen contestant. I would like to wish her much success.

I would also like to thank the principal, Brent Kaulbach, the teachers of the Chief Sunrise Centre, chaperone Ms. Kim Beaulieu, the Sergeant-at-Arms and the staff of the Legislative Assembly who assisted in bringing these students for this prestigious task. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Merci, Mr. McLeod. Déclarations de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to address the issue of the road through Dogrib country that my colleague, Mr. Lafferty, has raised in this House. This issue was before the 13th Assembly as well and was raised repeatedly by Mr. Lafferty's predecessor. I thought it was a good idea then and I think it is an even better idea now. The circumstances have changed and improved the need for such a road.

We have three diamond mines. I understand there is also a mine being proposed at the old Rae Rock Mine. It is looking for a lot of power, eight megawatts of power. We have the potential for significant hydro development in the South Slave.

As we look at what to do with that power, the issue of coming north with a grid to hook into the Snare grid to feed the mines becomes, in my mind, very attractive and should be looked at. It is a natural extension of that kind of resource development when you look at the road.

Mr. Speaker, this road would benefit not only the industry, but if it were put through as proposed by my colleague, we would have the benefit, after the resource development is over, of permanent roads connecting the communities who are currently there and are land locked, except in the winter.

I would hope that the government and the Minister of Transportation would look at this issue once again. I think there is even greater impetus for this as the economics develop as they have with rising fuel prices. However, with the pressing resource development, I think it makes good sense.

Like my colleague for the North Slave, I would hope to see some recognition of the need for this road in the planning of the government in the months and years ahead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Merci, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Constituents of Inuvik, my wife and children, today I rise to give notice that I will not be in the House on Monday, February 26, 2001, and will miss part of February 27, 2001, as I will be attending the official opening of the Swimming Point Camp Site, as well as touring the Akita's Equtak rig.

Mr. Speaker, it has been some time since the Beaufort Delta has seen the activity that is starting to increase again. I can recall as a child travelling down the east branch of the Mackenzie River many times, and going past the camps that were established and operating in those days, and Swimming Point that also used to have a camp. As things turned down in the Delta, those camps disappeared. For years, as we drive by to the summer camps, we would see an area that had been abandoned. You would see the gravel pad, there was nothing left besides a place where the barges used to go to shore.

Mr. Speaker, once again in the Delta, we see activity starting and growth happening. It has been a long time and at this time, Mr. Speaker, the people of the Delta are more than just workers and labourers. They are partners in businesses. They are taking advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead. This time, I think and I hope, that truly in the Northwest Territories we will see some growth, not just by jobs and pay cheques, but by true partnerships and by northern businesses. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last Monday I questioned the Minister of Health and Social Services as to whether or not we have, as a government, contravened the conditions placed upon us by the Canada Health Act in the way we deliver health programs and services. The Minister replied that she felt that the department had lived up to the obligations under the Canada Health Act.

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Health Act requires the provinces and territories to fulfill certain criteria in order to qualify for full cash contributions. The criteria is in the areas of public administration, comprehensiveness, universality and portability and accessible programs.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday the Minister stated:

"Significant downsizing in the department over the past years by previous governments has eroded our capacity to monitor and enforce standards, and provide administrative and clinical leadership to oversight".

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that we realize that we have in some ways by that statement, violated the Canada Health Act.

Mr. Speaker, time and time again, I have brought to the attention of this House certain concerns related to my constituents who have had problems accessing health care services until it was too late. There again, Mr. Speaker, I believe it is in contravention of the Canada Health Act with regard to the accessibility of programs and services.

Mr. Speaker, there have been numerous attempts to restructure and reorganize our health care system, but we must never lose sight of the fact that there are certain rules that we may follow. We have health boards who do not have a system in place for accountability, or ensuring public input to ensure that the boards have a process to evaluate the conditions of the programs they deliver, and I for one, Mr. Speaker, feel that the department has to seriously look at the federal obligations that we have under the Canada Health Act.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister questions on this matter today. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I rise to speak about the recent Flight of Dreams fundraiser. Mr. Speaker, most children have all their lives to make wishes come true, but for those children who may never have a tomorrow, there is the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada. The goal of the foundation is to provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for children suffering from high-risk, life-threatening illnesses. In order to qualify, a child must be between three and 18, and their wishes can be as simple as a visit to their grandparents or a tour of Disney World.

Last Saturday, Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife hosted its third annual Flight of Dreams, a fundraising gala event where all the proceeds go towards the Children's Wish Foundation, Alberta-NWT Chapter. Approximately 400 people gathered at the Great Slave Helicopters hangar at the airport dressed in formal attire. Guests were provided with an evening of exceptional food, socializing, dancing, along with opportunities to bid on a variety of items, all donated for a silent auction. The event raised $30,000, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the many volunteers and sponsors of this event, it has been an extremely successful endeavour. I am proud to say that the Northwest Territories has raised over $90,000 this far towards making wishes come true. In fact last year, the staff of Diavik Diamond Mines raised over $6,000 at their mine site and the RCMP contributed over $15,000 from their charity golf tournament.

On average, a child's wish works out to be approximately $6,000 or, to date, 15 wishes. In the first year of existence, our NWT chapter granted eight wishes. As the public became more aware of this foundation, so did the number of requests. It is pleasing to learn that not yet one child in the Northwest Territories has been turned away. Nationally, the Children's Wish Foundation has granted well over 5,000 wishes to Canadian children.

Mr. Speaker, the event was brought north by two residents of Yellowknife, Peter and Terry Arychuk, who have a son that was granted a wish in 1997. I am pleased to say that today he is a happy, healthy teenager, Mr. Speaker.

At the time of their son's illness, there was no coordinator for the Northwest Territories and Terry was asked if she would be interested in taking on this challenging position. Of course, she gracefully accepted.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the volunteers and the Arychuks for bringing this worthwhile charity to the North. As Terry Arychuk has said, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a child's face light up when they are granted their wish. Mr. Speaker, I ask my fellow colleagues to join me in...

Mr. Bell, your time for your statement has expired.

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 being no nays, you may conclude, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask my fellow Members to join me in taking this opportunity to publicly thank everyone involved who contributed to making this fundraising event such a huge success, and I suggest that you mark February 16th on your calendar for next year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mr. Nitah, your time for your Member's statement has expired.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. I think I prefer the solar wall over the hairy dog. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This being Friday, I would like to speak on something half-seriously and maybe with a personal touch. I would like to speak on the burgeoning aurora tourism industry in Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of taking part in a dinner hosting 14 Koreans who made a two-day trip to Yellowknife to learn more about the magic of aurora a couple of weeks ago. The group was made up of travel writers and photographers of three major national newspapers in Korea, whose combined subscription makes up almost 60 million people in Korea in newspaper and electronic media. Also in the group were major travel operators based in Korea, as well as an employee of the Canada Tourism Commission and Air Canada, based in Korea.

Even though I was there as a Yellowknife MLA, it was personally a very moving and emotional occasion for me. Of course, I gave this great speech on how when my family moved here from Korea to Yellowknife in 1978, no one in Korea knew where Yellowknife was and there was not a lot of contact from Yellowknife with that part of the world. The speech was very moving. It was in English and it brought tears to the mayor's wife, except that I realized only about two people in the crowd understood English enough to hear my very moving story. I repeated my speech in Korean.

I think the question they had was how I ended up in this part of the world and how was I able to get elected to an office when there were no other Koreans in the city.

Anyway, I ran into them again the next day and had dinner with them. They were very anxious to catch the aurora because they only had two days here. They had packed all of their suitcases and they were going to stay out every single second until they got on the plane so they could catch the aurora.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that I have heard from them and they did indeed catch the aurora. They wrote glorious reports in their national newspaper and on the web, although I cannot read Korean, because my computer is not able to do it.

Ms. Lee, your time for your Member's statement has expired.

Mr. Speaker, may 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. Ms. Lee, you may conclude.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to advise you that there is now a special club in Korea called the Aurora Canada Club. The criteria for this club is it is only for those who have seen the aurora in Canada. Right now, the membership is 14, and they have asked me to join that club as an honorary member. I understand that these tourism operators were impressed enough that they are organizing it to start the industry there.

I would also like to thank Raven Tours for hosting this gathering. I would also like to inform you that I have had time to visit Aurora Village and other places that cater to the aurora industry, just so I am not mentioning one group only. 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. I am pleased today to speak about the economic contribution of one sector of the tourism industry, and that is outfitters who conduct barrenland hunts for visitors to the Northwest Territories.

Members will have received a covering letter and report from Jim Peterson, president of the Northwest Territories Barren-Ground Caribou Outfitters Association just recently, Mr. Speaker. I would like to highlight a few comments from his correspondence and the report entitled Economic Benefits of Outfitted Hunts for Barren-Ground Caribou in the NWT, produced by the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

Big game outfitting is a growing business sector that creates jobs, earns foreign currency and contributes to the overall health of the Northwest Territories. This new study indicates that since the barren-ground outfitting industry was created in 1982, it has grown from five operators to 11 today.

In 1993, Mr. Speaker, the industry generated $1.92 million. Today, it has generated an estimated $3.13 million in 1999. Members provided hunts for 595 non-resident hunters and a harvest of 921 caribou. On this basis, Mr. Speaker, each caribou allocated to outfitting was worth $3,400 to the Northwest Territories GDP and each hunter contributed $5,300 to our economy.

Other significant benefits include some 880 weeks of employment, half of which accrues to communities outside of Yellowknife. As well, 57 percent of the meat goes to Northwest Territories communities.

Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged and optimistic with the successful steps being made toward the implementation of the Dogrib self-government agreements. There have been some issues in the past, Mr. Speaker, in terms of resolving the interests of the tourism operators, including the barren-ground caribou outfitters in this region. I understand that progress is being made through improved consultation, communication and trust between the parties, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to a satisfactory resolution of the issue. It is incumbent upon this government to make sure it takes forth its responsibility to recognize the interests of the broad public in negotiations. I think this is an example where progress is being made. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden . Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Merci, Mr. Dent. Bienvenue. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning I would like to recognize two important people who are going to be participating in the Youth Exploration Program: Dianna Beck, the youth coordinator for the Territorial Youth Association; and also from the corporate sponsor, Patrina McDaniel, who is the marketing sales analyst from Canadian North. Welcome. Also, two members to their left is Mr. Stanley Keevik and also Carol Ovayuak from our region in the Mackenzie Delta. Welcome to the gallery. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Minister Allen. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is always a pleasure to recognize constituents of the riding of Great Slave and also people who represent the media and carry the message out to the people. I would like to recognize Mr. Lee Selleck. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to recognize my constituency assistant, Deborah Pottle, in the gallery. I want to thank her for coming over this week to help me get through the constant flow of paper that goes through during session week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The Chair would like to recognize Ms. Kim Moreside and her students. Ms. Moreside teaches math with the Native Women's Association class. Ms. Moreside.

-- Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member's statement, I feel there may be a real possibility that the Department of Health and Social Services may have contravened the objectives under the Canada Health Act. My understanding is that the Canada Health Act makes the territorial government responsible for ensuring that agencies delivering programs on behalf of the government are accountable and that the administration and operations are also accountable to this government.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me what monitoring processes are in place to ensure that the boards and agencies delivering programs on behalf of this government are being adhered to?

Thank you. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated through my Minister's statements and through questions that have been asked in this House, it is my belief that our system is under considerable stress and strain right now. The delivery of health services in particular is something which we need to stay ahead of because it is an ever-changing field. There is constant medical research going on. There are new technologies, new equipment, new pharmaceuticals, new best practices and treatment.

We acknowledge that in order to operate the most effective and quality health care system that we can, there are modifications that we do need to make from time to time. Mr. Speaker, this is why we are undertaking the review that we are at this time. We are also conducting operational audits to ensure that we do have the kind of supervisions and authority reporting mechanisms in place to ensure that those quality services are delivered to our constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the Minister mentioned there were gaps in the system in areas like home care programs, TB testing, immunization programs and services to adults with special needs. She expressed concerns that those programs are not being delivered to standard and are not being delivered at all. Some of those programs, like TB testing and immunization, are there for the benefit of our communities to ensure the health of the population.

Having identified this, I would like to know, what is the Minister doing to correct these health risks so that the health of the people in the Northwest Territories will not come to harm? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as a department, we are working with the boards to ensure that these services are being delivered and delivered to standard. I think that it is important that when there are issues and concerns that do come up, that we are able to share those with the public and with the Members. Also at the same time, be able to assure them that we are able to do everything in our power to address those issues. I can assure the Member that we are very busily and actively pursuing those remedies at this time. Thank you.

Merci, Madam Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to know if the Minister has identified any additional resources to ensure that we are implementing programs like TB testing and immunization in the areas that we are responsible for, to ensure they are being implemented and that the residents are not being short-changed in not having these programs delivered to date.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. I have been in committee of the whole too long and I am in the chairman mode. I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are committed as a department and as a government to ensuring that boards are adequately resourced in order to deliver the programs that we need to deliver.

When we receive the results of our operational review, we will be in a better position to determine whether that resourcing, which we have in place now and the system we have in place for resourcing, is adequate. If it is not, Mr. Speaker, we do have a supplementary reserve which has been set aside until those determinations can be made, which would then be used in order to make sure that those services are in place and up to standard. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned on Monday that the department is aware that there are some deficiencies in delivering programs by health boards, and there is not always a clear means in which the department is required to account. So, Mr. Speaker, the Canada Health Act requires that agencies...

I would just remind Members that supplementary questions should not have a preamble. Certainly the final supplementary should not have a preamble. May we just have the question?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal government requires the boards and agencies of the government to administer operations and programs on behalf of the government. They must enforce...

I must hear a question, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister commit to ensuring that the existing standards that are in place are not breaching the Canada Health Act? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman...I did it again. I am sorry.

It must be something in the water.

-- Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Member that in the Northwest Territories, we are indeed living up to all of the principles of the Canada Health Act through our health care system and that all residents of the Northwest Territories are ensured access to health services. We devolve the authority for the delivery of many of these services to the board level. What we are looking at right now is the accountability framework, whereby we are able to monitor that those services are in fact being delivered after we devolve that funding and...

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen.

-- Interjection

I would just like to remind responding Ministers that questions should be as short as possible in order to preserve the time in question period. The Minister did answer the question and then she went on beyond that. I will just caution Members. Your rules require that. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, Mr. Bell and I were questioning the government about the fuel rebate that is proposed to be delivered to Northerners, recommending that the government consider a graduated scheme. I have some questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation on the proposed fuel rebate.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard that as few as 3,000 of the 13,000 households in the Northwest Territories may benefit from this proposed rebate. Can the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation tell me if they have an estimate of how many households will receive the fuel rebate?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have been advised that approximately 3,300 houses will be receiving the fuel rebate at this time, although that is a preliminary estimate at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So only approximately one quarter of our residents will receive this rebate. Mr. Speaker, we were told that one of the reasons for not having a graduated administration scheme was the difficulty of administering it. Can the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation advise me, do clients of the Housing Corporation all receive exactly the same support or does the system vary according to household income?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a maximum amount that the individuals qualify for and that is based on their core need income thresholds. That is intended for the lower income families across the Northwest Territories. It varies across 32 communities. Each community has a different level. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if Housing Corporation programs are currently varied according to income, why could the fuel subsidy not also be varied according to income?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to confirm with the Members here that the Housing Corporation is responsible for the administration of the program. There is a policy side of it that has been determined between the Housing Corporation and the Department of Finance. We are still working out the various elements of the program. We had said in the last couple of questions raised to me that we would hopefully have something to the public as early as the first week of March. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Final supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since the Minister of Finance thought that one of the problems was the administration and it would be too complex to administer a varying program, will the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation talk to the Minister of Finance and let him know that current programs do vary according to household income and it would not be difficult to provide the administration of the fuel subsidy according to household income?

Thank you, Mr. Dent, The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are continuing to speak on this matter. We will be coming to some conclusion rather quickly on the issue of the fuel rebate for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to ask Minister Ootes, the Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, about his recent Literacy Strategy. Specifically, I am interested in the $400,000 he has earmarked for workplace literacy programs. Can the Minister tell me if the private sector was consulted in rolling out how this workplace literacy will be delivered and exactly what the budget would be as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. There were two questions there. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We released the Literacy Strategy yesterday. This was after a great deal of consultation that took place over the past several months. We had ten focus groups plus some 200 people who were consulted on the literacy thrust in the Territories. As well, there was a literacy workshop in Yellowknife last fall. We took into account some of the recommendations made on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this extensive consultation then, can he specifically answer if the private sector and private sector companies were consulted?

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether direct contact was made with specific companies. However, as I have said, we had a conference on workplace literacy last fall at which many industries were present. They put forward their issues and those issues were put together by the literacy council. We used that particular information and that conference as a data-gathering opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister indicates he is not sure if direct contact was made. I am pretty sure direct contact was not made, Mr. Speaker. I would like a commitment from this Minister that he will consult with the private sector now.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Speaker, we had a conference here last fall. Which industries would you like us to contact? Which businesses? We are very expansive in this Territory. This program is meant for workplace literacy. We will provide $400,000 based on application from industries. We know that large industries, for example, BHP has established their own literacy program. We know that other industries are establishing their own programs. We understand that there is a need out there. We have identified $400,000 for that purpose. Additionally, small businesses may apply for this as well as larger operations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, BHP has identified monies for workplace literacy. I think this is out of desperation as the government is not doing its job. I hope...

A question, please. Order, please. Mr. Bell, may we have the question?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we had a conference, Mr. Speaker, but surely it is not too much work for the Minister to call some of the major companies like BHP and Diavik. Will he do that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did personally meet with BHP in the fall to discuss their literacy thrust. I am well aware of that. As well, I have been in touch with Diavik's training group. Glen Zelinski is the head of that. I met with him not one Sunday ago.

Mr. Speaker, I am on top of this. I know what industry needs of this. I know what businesses need. It is not only large industries we have to be concerned about, Mr. Speaker. We have to be concerned about the smaller operations in the Territories as well, the aboriginal groups, et cetera. These all fall into this as well, Mr. Speaker.

With regard to why we did not meet our responsibility, we do not have that kind of money and we did not. That is why we are putting this money in, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Minister Ootes. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is not part of our policy in the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, but we have been involved with the Arctic Energy Alliance. We will direct our staff to begin to look at the cost-effectiveness of this question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.