Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Assez vous. Bonjour, mes amis. It is the nice weather. It takes one's mind off legislative business. Speaking of legislative business, item 2, Ministers' statements. Déclarations de ministres. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Merci, Mr. Antoine. Déclarations de ministres. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Déclarations de députés. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue that has been raised by a constituent of mine. The issue I am referring to, Mr. Speaker, is the provision of public weather forecasts by community aerodome radio stations. Mr. Speaker, this issue has wide-ranging implications for many residents of the Northwest Territories, especially those whose livelihoods are heavily impacted by present and future weather conditions.

Mr. Speaker, public weather forecasts and up-to-date weather information was previously provided to the general public by Nav Canada. Mr. Speaker, on June 28, 2000, community aerodrome radio stations, or CARS as they are referred to, commenced operations in Hay River under contract to Nav Canada.

Mr. Speaker, in Hay River, for example, CARS has a three-year contract in place from Nav Canada with a two-year extension option. CARS is mandated only to assist in the safe operation of air traffic. This does not include weather forecasts.

Mr. Speaker, I have a concern that the safety of hunters, trappers, fishermen and outfitters that are out on the land and water on a regular basis may be compromised. Mr. Speaker, their safety depends on reliable, accurate weather forecasts. These forecasts can only be provided in communities that are served by Nav Canada.

Mr. Speaker, in smaller centres where Environment Canada does not provide immediate weather forecasts and where people may not have access to the Internet, these people are at a very real risk to public safety.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have further questions to the Minister responsible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just returning from my constituency, I have had the opportunity to hear from a number of constituents, and the concerns being raised regarding the Fuel Rebate Program that has been discussed in this House and raised by a number of Members.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents, hearing that there is this rebate, are concerned as to how and who would qualify. A particular point being raised is that the working class will lose out on this subsidy because they will be squeezed out on the top end of the limits that are being put in place. In fact, it is not clear if people in low income housing and public housing will end up getting a rebate if this government carries forward. In a sense, they are already covered because they are included in the government's housing program for public housing units.

Those other families who are on the higher end income -- so far as we have heard to date as it has been set out according to the Housing Corporation's policies -- will lose out, even though in some cases it is a one-income family. They will hit the ceiling and still have to pay and bear the brunt of the increased costs of homeowners in Inuvik.

The concern is that some people living in rental accommodations who are subsidized, or paid through income support, for example, will qualify for that. There are a lot of questions out there as to who is setting up the standards. We are aware that the Housing Corporation will be the delivery agent, but I believe it is the Department of Finance that is putting the policy together as to how it will actually be implemented.

There is a concern about the actual details and how they will flow. Right now, as people from my constituency are hearing, there is not a lot of detail to that, and there is a lot of concern because of the lack of detail. With that, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister during question period. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about pension legislation. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement on February 21st, I called on this government to lend its support to a private member's bill presented in the Canadian Parliament.

Bill C-203 proposes to amend the federal Bankruptcy Act so that unpaid wages and payments with respect to pensions are given first priority over the claims of ordinary creditors. These amendments will help ensure that other workers across Canada never have to face a reduction in pension benefits, similar to those suffered by former Giant Mine employees.

Mr. Speaker, I also stated that our territorial legislation should be amended. For example, I believe that we could bring in legislation similar to that already in place in Ontario. The Ontario Government has a Pension Benefits Act that authorizes a pension benefits guarantee fund. The fund was established to increase the statutory protection offered to pension plan members in the event that a pension plan is wound up in whole or in part.

Mr. Speaker, in Ontario, when certain criteria are met, the fund guarantees payment of pension benefits. The administrator of the guarantee fund can file a claim against the employer who underfunded the pension plan to recover any amounts paid out by the fund.

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that in terms of protection of wages and pension plans during bankruptcy, our territorial legislation is both outdated and inadequate. We were unable to provide any relief or protection for the Giant Mine pensioners. It is also obvious, Mr. Speaker, that we cannot rely on the Government of Canada to protect our workers in the North.

Mr. Speaker, we must consider amendments to our own legislation to ensure that a situation similar to Giant Mine does not occur again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is the Year of the Volunteer and I have been contemplating doing a Member's statement on this very important issue for some time. As I was walking to work this morning, I came across the causeway and there was a nice warm wind blowing. As I got closer to the causeway, I could hear all the flags snapping of all the communities that are represented here from across the Northwest Territories.

It gave me pause to think about the quality of life we have in the Northwest Territories. A quality of life that I would not trade with anybody else in the world. It is something I think we tend to take for granted, or we lose track of, as we in this House debate day in and day out, trying to get good things for our constituents and point out issues that need to be better addressed.

Mr. Speaker, the issue to me is that in large part, the quality of life that we have is due in no small measure to the work done by the many hundreds and thousands of volunteers in our communities. The people who work in the area of sports and recreation; with children; those who do Meals on Wheels; fire departments; those people who work with Brownies, Cubs, Guides and Scouts; the service organizations like the Legion, the Lions Club, Rotary and the Elks; those societies like the seniors societies; and the Society for the Disabled.

Mr. Speaker, I would estimate that they put in hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and raise countless dollars through their fundraising efforts. They work quietly, tirelessly and continuously for the communities they live in. For me, and I think for everybody else, we owe them a debt of gratitude because the quality of life that we have would not be the same if we did not have volunteers throughout our communities who labour in all these critical areas for our communities.

As we debate our budget, I think it is important not to lose track of the fact that we have a good quality of life here. I for one would really like to thank the volunteers who labour in all our communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak on the new financing formula that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has proposed for the community of Enterprise.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot accept the department's rationale that the new funding formula will be easier to administer because it is simpler. The only reason I can see for the funding being easier to administer is because there is less funding to administer.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Enterprise will be drastically affected by the new block funding formula. The department has stated that the new formula will make it easier for communities such as Enterprise to do long-term planning.

Mr. Speaker, when a community sees funding reduced over the life of the agreement, the only long-term planning the council can do is to decide what services to cut and what projects to delay.

According to the information I have, under the proposed funding formula, Enterprise will see its core funding reduced by nearly $91,000 by the year 2002-2003. Similar sized communities such as Trout Lake, Nahanni Butte and Jean Marie River will see increases of between nearly $79,000 to Trout Lake to a high of approximately $135,000 in Nahanni Butte over the same period. I ask, Mr. Speaker, where is the fairness in this approach?

The community leaders in Enterprise have been working to improve community infrastructure in order to attract businesses to their community. Projects may have to be deferred because of the funding decreases that will be imposed on Enterprise under the new funding formula.

Mr. Speaker, there is merit to providing block funding to communities such as Enterprise that allows communities to make their own long-term decisions when planning for the future. However, Mr. Speaker, we must also have the flexibility in any funding system to address circumstances communities such as Enterprise present. I will be following up with questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. February is known as heart month across this country. Today, February 28th being the end of the month, also marks the end of the annual fundraising campaign for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Since 1950, the Alberta Heart Foundation has been responsible for providing information, awareness and results to the Northwest Territories on heart and stroke disease. In 1990, the foundation's name was changed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta and the NWT to reflect the work and involvement of Northerners.

Their mission is to fund heart and stroke research, provide public advocacy and promote healthy lifestyles. Mr. Speaker, despite a decrease by 50 percent since the foundation began, heart disease and stroke is still the number one killer in Canada. In the Northwest Territories, such diseases can claim approximately 39 percent of all deaths, which is in fact slightly higher than the rate for the rest of Canada.

Funding for the foundation comes from a variety of activities, Mr. Speaker, many of which you will recognize. Some of them are such things as Jump Rope for Heart, Dress Red for Heart, The Mother-Daughter Walk for Heart and Stroke and the all-important door-to-door fundraising campaign.

Locally, Mr. Speaker, there are 32 staff in the foundation and 40,000 volunteers who contribute to the support of 65 research projects within both Alberta and the North. It is interesting to note, Mr. Speaker, that the government does not provide funding and support for this initiative. It is all public fund raising.

In the NWT, there are eight schools that participate in the Jump Rope for Heart. I would like to specifically point out Ecole St. Joseph in Yellowknife. These folks have been the foundations top fund raising school for the last two years throughout Alberta and the NWT.

The NWT raises approximately $1.50 per capita. I understand this compares very favourably with that of Alberta.

On behalf of fellow Members, I would like to thank the residents of the NWT who have contributed to the fight against heart disease and stroke. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I wish to speak on the issue of power generation and the new Northwest Territories Power Corporation. The corporation was created in 1988, Mr. Speaker, to bring ownership and control of the utility from Ottawa and Edmonton into the hands of its northern customers.

Its job was to rebuild the old utility into a modern power system that is safe, reliable and self-sufficient. It has done so. In doing so, Mr. Speaker, it has paid off a $54 million debt for the purchase of the corporation and has returned a dividend in the form of valuable power subsidies worth over $40 million to the people of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

The business partnerships it has established with three First Nations, including the Dogrib, Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in, are also very significant.

The Power Corporation has achieved its original objectives. It is time for a new mandate and a new vision.

With the separation from Nunavut, there are new political and economic opportunities for energy management and development in the new NWT. The majority of our power is now created by cleaner, cheaper renewable hydro and natural gas over diesel. In addition, my colleagues, the Members for North Slave, Thebacha and Tu Nedhe, have repeatedly pointed out the tremendous hydro opportunities for community, industry and export.

There are many options as to how we can manage our energy future. The GNWT review of electrical service is generating thought and discussion on a wide range of recommendations. Some of my constituents have said that we should first address our own needs for alternate hydro and gas generation. I heartily agree. This objective is doable and may be enhanced by expanding these new generation options in tandem with sales to other customers outside of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, on November 9th, I spoke about initiatives to reorganize the Power Corporation in light of the separation from Nunavut. At that time, I indicated that the UNW was involved in planning the reorganization. I have since learned that was incorrect.

For the record, Mr. Speaker, I want to state that while the union was kept informed of the reorganization, it was not a participant. The reorganization was the prerogative of management to prepare the corporation for its new role while the Nunavut Power Corporation comes into being. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. As we approach the creation of two new electrical generating companies on April 1, 2001, I wanted to take this opportunity to recognize some of the NWT Power Corporation's achievements, highlight some constituents' concerns regarding power generation and, Mr. Speaker, to wish both corporations, the employees and their families well as they continue to keep the lights on and move to fulfill new mandates and new visions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I received several phone calls regarding the matter of children being taken from their homes and apprehended and put in other homes in other places.

Mr. Speaker, I feel that we as a government must do more to help families find solutions to deal with problems in the homes and also finding ways to improve the lives of the people and families who live in our communities.

In cases of alcoholism, unemployment, social problems that we see in many of our aboriginal communities, we must find solutions, not ways of breaking up families. I strongly believe that family treatment in regard to family counselling and other initiatives are the way to go.

You cannot heal a family by taking one child or one person out of the family. You must deal with the problem as a whole in which you must deal and heal the family together.

I believe children can no longer be taken away from their homes or taken away from their communities and say that we are solving the problems in our communities. I feel that this government has to enact the responsibilities we take on as a government to provide good health care, good education, improve the social conditions in our communities. Simply taking our children away is not the solution.

Mr. Speaker, I have been receiving calls regarding how children have been taken away. In some cases, it has been very violent and very frightening to the child to have your door beaten down with a sledgehammer. People you do not know or who do not know what is going on with you, grab you and take you out of the home without having an opportunity to say what the repercussions are going to be on that child.

The shock alone of having to go through that experience is unacceptable. We see these situations on television in places like Detroit, Russia and other places in the world, but why do we use that method of abducting children in the Northwest Territories?

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions to the Minister on this matter later.

-- Applause

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

Mahsi. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to clearly state my position on the new Highway Investment Strategy and the highway toll being proposed. Mr. Speaker, if successful, I believe this initiative will prove to be one of the most important legacies that this Assembly will leave behind. I would really like to kick-start a full debate in and out of the House. I believe, Mr. Speaker, any good debate requires a good, strong position to kick-start. For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I would like to state the reasons for my support, as other Members have indicated what is wrong with this proposal of late.

Mr. Speaker, I like this plan because it is a well thought out, comprehensive plan to address the capital needs of our highways in our territories, not just the highway from Yellowknife to Rae.

This is a "what can we do" instead of an "excuse for what we cannot do" plan.

This is a plan to tap into new money in the mining and oil and gas industry, which would otherwise fly right over us.

This is a plan to finish the road from Rae to Yellowknife in four years instead of ten to 11 years as currently planned. In other words, we are looking at 2005 instead of 2015. More simply put, when I am 40 instead of when I am 50.

This is why we do not want to wait until the federal government gives us money for resource revenue or devolution plans.

This is a bold plan to deal with the reality that many of our highways cannot handle the burden of mining and oil and gas development.

This is a courageous plan that accepts and acts on the reality that some parts of our highway are so worn out that it is hazardous to our residents.

This is a plan to deal with the fact that our government's capital budget has been decreasing steadily for the last ten years and that it is our duty and responsibility to find the money now and in a creative way.

Finally, this is a forward-looking plan to invest in our economic development before we lose this rare opportunity.

Most of all, Mr. Speaker, the thing I like most about this one is that this is the first one where Mr. Miltenberger from Thebacha and I are going to be big allies.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Return to Oral Question 367-14(3) asked by Mr. Roland on February 22nd, 2001, concerning the standards for water and sewer replacement.

The standards for the design of all water and sewer facilities/buildings are contained in the National Building Code of Canada. However, this code does not generally apply to the parts of water and sewer systems that are outside the buildings.

For these systems outside the buildings, the Government of the Northwest Territories and other provinces use guidelines based on good engineering practices. In the Northwest Territories, we use:

• • Water and Sewer Service Connection in Permafrost Areas of the Northwest Territories, published by Public Works & Services in 1987;
• • Cold Regions Utilities Monograph, 3rd edition, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1996; and,
• • Standards and Guidelines for Water and Sanitation Systems, published by Public Works & Services in 1995.

The Departments of Public Works and Services and Municipal and Community Affairs will update these guidelines with a completion date scheduled for 2002. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, several partnerships have been developed across the Northwest Territories, particularly the communities of Tsiigehtchic and Deline, where we have provided certain building supplies. They provide their own logs. We have partnered with the community and also with Education, Culture and Employment to provide certain training components to the log construction of homes.

The future of the program looks very positive. We are entering a number of discussions with various communities across the Northwest Territories to facilitate this request. As we go along, we will update the Member. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you recall last February, I submitted to this House a communications strategy that would promote and help people in the communities understand the direction the corporation is taking in terms of home ownership and the various programs we offer the communities. I believe that work has begun. If the Member requires further information, I am willing to provide that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen. It is with regard to the reopening of the surgical ward at Stanton Hospital. She committed to providing an update to this House. My constituents are very concerned about this. I would like to know from the Minister if we are looking at being able to reopen the surgery ward on March 5th, as was earlier indicated. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my most current information is no more updated than what I presented to the members of the standing committee, AOC, when we met with them to discuss this issue of the surgical ward at Stanton.

As I indicated then, the management at Stanton indicated they were seeking nurses to fill some vacant positions, approximately five positions. Once these positions where filled, they would see no other barrier to reopening the surgical ward. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was weeks ago. Surely, the Minister has an update as to whether we are any closer to getting the number of nurses we need to reopen? My constituents are in the dark here.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand that there has been a press release put out by the Stanton Board with respect to this subject, and it was contained in media reports that came out today. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to be briefed as to the current status of this initiative to reopen the surgical ward. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Media reports seem to indicate that while we have a recruitment effort underway, we are up against several stumbling blocks. A national shortage, I think, is the biggest one. I am wondering, in our recruitment effort, are we just trying to hire surgery nurses or will we take any nurse we can get, Mr. Speaker?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that question involves a level of detail which I would not be able to answer. I do not know the exact credentials the Stanton Board is looking for in their attempts to recruit these registered nurses for the surgical ward. I could attempt to get that information for the Member in a very short time frame. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following on my Member's statement regarding the fuel rebate that is proposed by this government, the news is spreading fast that there will be a rebate. My constituents have watched and listened to the process in this House when questions about that rebate have come up. They are confused as to the responses the Minister has been giving in this area because there is not a whole lot of detail.

My question to the Minister of Finance is, what is there now? What can the Minister give us that would lay out the detail of the fuel subsidy or rebate? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree, good news travels fast and a lot of people are very interested in the Fuel Rebate Program. Next week, the Housing Corporation will have the application forms out and all of the eligibility criteria for anyone who wanted to put in an application. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is there any opportunity for Members to look at the application form, to possibly have input that our constituents might be raising concerns about? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, this is a program that we have been working overtime on in order to try to ensure that we get the rebates out to those who are most in need. It is one we are working on as we speak.

The Housing Corporation will have the applications out. If the Member wants to see the drafts that are available, then we would be happy to provide those to him. However, we are still working on the application and refining the eligibility criteria. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would gladly like to look at one of these draft application forms. Will individuals within the Northwest Territories and all of the communities go to, for example, LHOs, to Housing Corporation offices, or to hamlet offices to get this application? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, as the Housing Corporation is setting it up, individuals who are interested in picking up an application form or having a look at the eligibility criteria will be able to go to the local housing organization next week. If there is a Housing Corporation office in their community, they could also get the same information there.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is the time line for this rebate? Is it a one-time grant for this year that ends in April or June or something like that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, our intention is to get the money out to the people as quickly as possible. Our objective is to have the cheques processed by the end of March. We realize people are facing high fuel costs and they want to get this rebate as quickly as they can. Again, if there are delays in getting their application in or getting it processed or it has to be reviewed, I am sure there is some flexibility on that March 31 deadline. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement, current, up-to-the-minute weather forecasts are an absolute necessity for our hunters, trappers and fishermen. Any unforeseen changes in weather may result in life-threatening situations for these people.

Could the Minister responsible for Transportation please explain what prompted the government's decision to take over the contract from Nav Canada, in light of the fact that public weather forecasts would no longer be available to the general public from their local airports? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that Nav Canada has stated that the weather services would no longer be available to the public for public weather information through CARS. Their directive suggested people who would like weather information direct their requests through Environment Canada. They also suggest that you could use the local radio and TV or private service providers such as the Weather Network. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my office contacted a CARS employee who was working at one of our Northwest Territories airports. We enquired as to what someone would have to do to obtain a current weather forecast. This employee provided my office with a Yellowknife number, and it was not a toll-free number either, I might add. When my office called this number in Yellowknife, they received a prerecorded message that provided a weather forecast for all regions.

Would the Minister please indicate to this House how often these prerecorded messages are updated? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the prerecorded message the Member is referring to does not have anything to do with transportation responsibilities. This is under Environment Canada. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister please indicate if his department has any statistics on the number of individuals or groups who access public weather information on a regular basis from Nav Canada prior to CARS taking over? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not aware that we have this information, but I can pass this request on to the department to see what we can come up with to assist the Member in identifying just how much the public was using this form of information to get weather forecasts. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Your last supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many of our hunters and trappers live in remote settlements and they do not have access to a telephone, radio or Internet access for weather forecasts. Would the Minister please indicate, in the interest of public safety, what measurements his department has in place to provide access to up-to-the-minute weather forecasts for harvesters who require them, in view of the fact that they have taken this responsibility over from Nav Canada? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think there is some clarification required here. Transportation did not take anything over from Nav Canada. Nav Canada simply stated they are not going to be having CARS supply public weather information. CARS still supplies that information to aircraft. Transportation's only responsibility that I am aware of is to supply information to aircraft. We do not supply the general public with weather information. Although this service has been available through airports in the past, it is the decision of Nav Canada that CARS would no longer be required to do this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It is with regard to my Member's statement and children being taken away from their families and put into other homes. I think we have to find new solutions to these problems. I do not believe taking children out of their homes is the right avenue. Yes, it could be the final decision that has to be made at the end, but I think government has to do more to find ways of helping families.

Are there programs available for families who have had their children apprehended? Are they able to access programs through this government to assist this either with alcohol programs or what not?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there are programs available through this government for parents to access counselling for various types of problems, which may have contributed to situations in their homes where their children may have been at risk and may have been apprehended. There are a variety of counselling services available to deal with these issues. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, are there programs specifically designed to assist families as a unit and deal with the problems within the family?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the child protection workers/social workers who work in all of our communities are there to assist with counselling and support to families. Unfortunately, in recent years, these front-line workers have been quite overloaded in terms of the number of cases that they are called upon to manage. It has not always been possible to work with families where problems may be indicated early before things get to a more crisis type of situation.

One of the things that our department is planning to do is hire ten more social workers with child protection expertise that will hopefully allow these kind of interventions to be made before things reach a crisis. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister tell me where these programs are? My understanding is we have 39 beds at a treatment facility here in the Northwest Territories. So where is it that families who are having problems are able to deal with their problems in the Northwest Territories?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a variety of resources available in various communities. These include things such as mental health workers, social workers and addictions counsellors. There are various programs that are set up community by community. It is our intention and hope that we would be able to increase/enhance these services through various initiatives. Certainly not the least of which is the inclusion and hiring of more social workers to deal with family issues. Thank you.

Merci, Madam Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the apprehension of children should be the last resort and we should look at workable solutions to deal with these family problems. I would like to ask the Minister how much effort is put in from her department to ensure we try to find workable solutions to resolve these family problems?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do agree with the Member that the apprehension of children should be a last resort. We do have an obligation to provide protection to children who are at risk, but we also have a responsibility as a government to families to ensure that proper support and counselling are available to them when they find themselves in difficult situations that may put their family at risk of being split up. Thank you.

Merci, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Justice. They are in relation to my statement earlier on pension legislation. Mr. Speaker, in the very near future, will the Minister of Justice review the Ontario Pension Benefits Act to confirm that we could pass such legislation in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's commitment to do that. Will the Minister also discuss the manner in which the Ontario fund is set up with our Minister of Finance to determine how a similar one could be established in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Merci, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Wages Recovery Act allows employees to sue employers for wages but it does not set out priority of claims. Will the Minister of Justice bring the Wages Recovery Act forward for amendment to correct this problem?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Merci, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Dent.