Thank you, Mr. Braden. Bonjour, mes amis. Déclarations de ministres. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Minister Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Déclarations de ministres. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that later today I will be tabling the code of conduct respecting conflict of interest for employees of the public service, a new policy recently approved by the Financial Management Board.

In a time when government is being called upon to demonstrate greater accountability, it is important to clarify for our employees and the public the high standards of professionalism that guide the public service.

In developing the code, the Government of the Northwest Territories consulted with a number of stakeholders, particularly our own employees, the Union of Northern Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers Association.

Feedback from employees was a key component in developing the code. As an employer, we sought to create a document that is understandable and fair to employees as individuals while preserving the integrity necessary for the proper functioning of our organization. Our consultation process with employees included mailing a copy of the proposed code to every employee with an invitation to provide feedback. We received a number of excellent suggestions, comments and concerns which were then researched and, where possible, integrated into the final version.

This code sets out disclosure requirements and guidelines respecting conflicts of interest for Government of the Northwest Territories public service employees both during and after the termination of their employment. It also outlines what steps employees should take to ensure that they do not place themselves in a situation of real or perceived conflict and provides mechanisms for determining whether a conflict of interest exists and, if so, for dealing with it. The guidelines are clear, concise and all in one place which will ensure a common understanding of the rule and expectations by both the government and our employees.

Employees will have the assistance of their supervisors to understand and interpret this code, as they would with any policy of the government. In addition, an ethics counsellor will be retained under a contract administered by the secretary to Cabinet to make rulings relative to a number of code provisions.

As part of the implementation process, each employee will have the opportunity to participate in an information session to review the code and its requirements. These sessions will be organized for employees in all government departments and agencies. In addition, each employee will be provided a copy of the code.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is entrusted with the protection for the public interest in many significant areas. It is therefore essential that the high standards traditionally demanded of and adhered to by our employees be recognized, documented and understood. This code of conduct will do this and further, it will help ensure continued public confidence in the impartiality and integrity of our public service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Déclarations de ministres. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to inform the House that on Friday afternoon, February 23, 2001, the Department of Transportation officially opened the new winter road linking the communities of Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. This newest section of winter road is the first addition to the winter road system since it reached Fort Good Hope from Norman Wells in 1985. With this latest addition of 165 kilometres, the territorial winter road system now has a total length of 1,469 kilometres.

Mr. Speaker, the construction of this new winter road has been a good example of local initiative and cooperation amongst community groups and between communities as well as substantial material and financial contributions from private sector companies.

I want to congratulate Chief Richard Kochon and band manager Joseph Kochon of the Behdzi Ahda First Nation of Colville Lake for taking the lead in this project from the original proposal through to Friday's opening. The Behdzi Ahda First Nation was awarded a contract for $195,000 to build the road and has acted as the department's principal contracting agent throughout. The project included the coordination of crews working at either end from Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope to speed the work along.

The success of the project required the positive cooperation and contributions of Chief Delphine Pierrot of the K'asho Got'ine Charter Community Council, as well as the Ayoni Key Land Corporation, the Yamogo Land Corporation and the Fort Good Hope Metis Local No. 54 Land Corporation.

The opening of the Colville Lake - Fort Good Hope winter road was also a remarkable first for the constructive and generous participation of the two exploration companies working this winter road in the area; Paramount Resources and Canadian National Resources, both of Calgary, Alberta. The two companies agreed to contribute approximately $100,000 each towards the construction of the road, either in actual money or the equivalent dollar value in equipment and labour. With the private sector's substantial participation, the department was able to carry out twice the work it had expected to accomplish in preparing and improving the right-of-way in the first year of the road's operation.

Once again, I would like to congratulate all those who were involved in building this successful new extension to the Northwest Territories' winter road system. Weather permitting, the Colville Lake - Fort Good Hope winter road will remain open until Saturday, March 31, 2001. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Minister Steen. Déclarations de ministres. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday over 60 representatives from the media, oil and gas industry, aboriginal governments, municipal governments and this Legislature met in Inuvik to celebrate the onset of drilling at the Petro Canada-Akita Well at Swimming Point and the return of the oil and gas industry to the Mackenzie Delta. There is good reason to celebrate. This winter, the oil and gas industry has hired 800 people and is spending $160 million in the Mackenzie Delta.

Over dinner, my colleagues, the Honourable Vince Steen, Mr. Dent, Mr. Roland, Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. Krutko and Mr. Bell heard about the differences between this economic boom and 25 years ago. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that change has taken place and the oil and gas industry is working in true partnership with aboriginal governments, our government and communities. Together, they are expanding the traditional range of benefits from employment and business development to training, equity participation and community development.

Mr. Speaker, I also saw evidence that the tourism industry is growing. An Oilman's Curling Bonspiel was held for the first time in 15 years while we were there and brought in people from Calgary and Edmonton. As well, when we landed, the airport was full of red jacketed, Fulda representatives. Fulda is a German company that is promoting its tires by hosting an adventure competition that traveled along the Dempster Highway and ended in Tuktoyaktuk. I believe that the international media coverage of this event and the experiences of the competitors, especially with our exceptional winter weather, will result in increased tourism for this area.

As the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, I was very encouraged with what I saw and heard in Inuvik. The department will continue to work with its many partners to ensure that the economic activities in the Mackenzie Delta continue to grow and provide maximum benefits to northern residents and businesses.

-- Applause

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Déclarations de députés. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the fuel rebate. Last week, the Minister of Finance said, and I quote from unedited Hansard, "The reasons for having a flat rate are to keep the administration simple and efficient for us to administer." Mr. Speaker, the Minister also said that we need to get assistance to the people of the North who need it most and get it there quickly and there has to be a cut-off somewhere.

Mr. Speaker, I think we would all agree when we are talking about a subsidy or rebate for homeowners and renters for fuel that there will have to be a cut-off somewhere. However, Mr. Speaker, if we had a sliding scale for this support, we could assist more families and, Mr. Speaker, we could do it for no bigger cost.

Yes, some families would receive less than others, but we would at least provide some help to more than the 3,300 families now being targeted. Mr. Speaker, that is almost 25 percent of the households in the Territories.

Mr. Speaker, last week I questioned the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation about programs administered by that department and he confirmed that the Housing Corporation does administer programs on an income-tested basis. The amount of support varies by community and by household income. Mr. Speaker, the administration would not be more difficult than what the Housing Corporation now provides if we were to administer this new fuel subsidy by the same methods. It would take only a simple chart if a person applied for a rebate and demonstrated that their income was between "x" dollars and "y" dollars, then they would qualify for a subsidy amount of a certain amount of dollars.

Later today, I am going to ask the Minister of Finance which side he is on. Is he going to be on the side of fairness for Northerners or for ease of administration for government employees? Mr. Speaker, I hope he comes down solidly on the side of fairness for Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a statement today on the feedback I have been receiving from my constituents on the recently announced fuel rebate. Mr. Speaker, we all know that there is never enough money in government to go around for everyone's needs. For that reason, we were very grateful to hear that the government is going to put some money back into our pockets to help us deal with the rising fuel costs. So for those who are eligible to receive this assistance, this is very good news.

However, the question is how many people would actually be eligible for this assistance and I can advise you, Mr. Speaker, that on the basis of a cut-off at the combined household income of $72,500, almost no one from my riding of Range Lake would qualify for this rebate. This income cut-off basically nullifies any benefit that could come from it, because most families could not afford a mortgage for Yellowknife houses at that combined income.

This is unfair criteria because we all pay for the high cost of fuel, at the pumps as well as heating fuel. This does not depend on how much money we make. Mr. Speaker, Yellowknifers should not be penalized over and over again for the high housing prices in our city. We pay high housing prices and high fuel prices like everyone else, so we should all have a share of the rebate.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister of Finance has great pressure on him for his use of the government dollar, but I would urge the Minster to reconsider the cut-off income level of this rebate so as to open the room a little wider for average income families in Yellowknife.

At the same time, I would request that the Minister consider dropping the rate of Northwest Territories fuel tax by a minimal amount to ease the cost at the pumps. This would benefit every user fairly and equally, whether they be business or resident consumers.

Another option may be to consider an across-the-board tax credit so that every resident in the Northwest Territories who pays taxes and consumes fuel can receive badly needed relief. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 2, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to briefly talk about a sector of our economy that has not received much attention as of late with all the talk of diamonds, oil and gas and hydro. That is the arts and crafts sector of our economy.

Mr. Speaker, very clearly this is acknowledged as an important part of our economy, but it has laboured in obscurity, outshone by the glitter of diamonds and oil and gas and hydro. It is a sector of our economy that needs attention. It is struggling.

Mr. Speaker, when we looked at maximizing northern employment, one of the questions I will have for the Minister is how does this tie in and effect the arts and crafts sector of our economy? What kind of discussions will be held with the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development to make sure that there is a combined and joint coordinated effort to try to support this key and critical sector?

Mr. Speaker, the NWT Arts Council, for example, since division has laboured with a static budget of $140,000 trying to address the requests from dozens upon dozens of struggling artists and those in the craft area. Mr. Speaker, over two years, they have had 130 applications and over $1.5 million worth of requests, but a meagre $280,000 over two years to address the concerns and try to support this struggling sector of our economy.

So later today, I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to demonstrate in this House what is being done to assist this area of our economy that everybody acknowledges is critical in the traditional values it portrays, and the need to have an expanded, strong and vibrant arts and crafts community. When question period comes, I hope the Minister can demonstrate that in fact they are acknowledged and they are working in this area, and they will be able to tell us how they are doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. Déclarations de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today concerns training and education for jobs in the oil and gas industry, and I would like to point out some of these issues surrounding this topic.

First of all, there are no college programs for oil and gas training in the Northwest Territories. There are only safety programs being offered. There is no community-based training. People currently have to go south for oil and gas training, and there has been no new funding for oil and gas training this year. The $500,000 that has been committed is essentially the same as last year -- this at a time when $22 million has been committed to support the diamond industry.

Mr. Speaker, it is my fear that the window of opportunity will have passed us by the time the Government of the Northwest Territories establishes meaningful northern training programs that will help Northerners get jobs in the oil and gas sector. Residents of the Deh Cho need quality training now in order to be prepared for oil and gas exploration. When exploration happens, it happens quickly, and it may then be too late to provide proper training programs. We will then witness an influx of workers from southern Canada, while our northern work force struggles to find low paying jobs in the industry.

Mr. Speaker, surely money cannot be an issue here. Look at how much money was poured into the diamond industry by this government in a short period of time. Contrast that amount with the small amount of funding allocated to oil and gas training and preparation. We have been waiting for renewal of oil and gas exploration activity and development in the North for over 20 years. Now that the activity is here, it seems that this government intends to sit by idly and renege on its responsibilities for the provision of meaningful training opportunities for northern residents.

Mr. Speaker, it is essential that this government take a creative and immediate role in providing resources for training people for upcoming jobs in the oil and gas sector. We cannot afford to wait for the federal government to fund our plans. We must allocate funds ourselves before the opportunity is lost. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it has been very noticeable that the Minister of Health has been before us all this week defending her department's budget. As a Member of this House, I do not apologize for the many questions that I have been asking the Minister concerning her department. They are very serious issues that we were speaking about. They are concerns that touch each and every one of my constituents deeply and meaningfully.

As the Minister knows, the recent report, Tuberculosis Controls in the Northwest Territories, was profoundly connected directly to my constituents. Recent news reports and the results of the TB report all point towards a worsening problem that is in our many communities.

Mr. Speaker, I will be questioning the Minister later concerning the report. The report contains 26 recommendations and points towards more need for training, awareness and resources to deal with this alarming health problem in our communities.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I will bring to the attention the alarming statement contained in the highlights of the TB report which notes that "It is unacceptable that the rates of TB in parts of the Northwest Territories are 10 times the rate in the rest of Canada." Mr. Speaker, I will repeat the fact again. In some parts of the Northwest Territories, the rate of TB is 10 times the rate of the rest of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Fanning, the consultant who wrote the report, points out that TB is a common disease that has affected other countries world-wide today. The disease has a 90 percent rate of being curable. At that rate, Mr. Speaker, I think that ourselves as a government have to realize that there is no reason in the Northwest Territories that people should be dying of a disease that is curable.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I will be asking the Minister of Health questions with regard to this report. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, like several of my colleagues here today, want to continue to make the case for equitable fuel rebates.

Mr. Speaker, I really think we need a fair program. We have heard it argued that graduated rebates might be one way to achieve this, and they be inversely related to income. I think the idea here, Mr. Speaker, would be that those who need the help most are going to get the most help. The government's program as we have seen it so far, the existing criteria, some of them seem to make sense. For instance, you must be paying for home heating oil or propane without other subsidization in order to qualify. They have told us that this does not include the recent federal rebate. That is reassuring, Mr. Speaker.

However, your employer cannot be offsetting the cost of home heating fuel either. How will our government tell, Mr. Speaker? Are we going to look at federal government employees receiving isolation pay which offsets the cost of living and decide that, indirectly, this is a subsidy?

Mr. Speaker, we also know that renters are going to receive a $150 benefit, but what if their rent has remained stable over the past year? Many people are into one-year leases. Will this end up being a fair and equitable program? Mr. Speaker, our government seems very concerned that we have a program to administer and a cheap program to administer. However, I think that if that was the only criteria, certainly the Finance Minister would just write cheques to every man, woman and child in the Northwest Territories. Certainly simplicity is important, but not as important as getting the money to those who need it. We have to remember this, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Allen indicated last week that the Housing Corporation already collects enough information to implement graduated returns, but in the interest of speed, I presume, a simple pass or fail test is being set up at $70,000 or so per year, per household.

Mr. Speaker, only 25 percent of households in the Northwest Territories will qualify for rebates, but I can assure you that more than 25 percent of Northerners are struggling to make ends meet this winter, due in large part to the cost of fuel. Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, a fuel rebate is a worthwhile initiative, but let us not turn our backs on 75 percent of the households in the Northwest Territories.

I think the Minister is going to have to decide what is most important to him, Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Dent has indicated. Does he just want to quickly put out a million dollars to get government critics and media off his back, or does he want to set up an equitable rebate program? Time will tell, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.