Thank you, Mr. Handley. Please be seated. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jake Ootes will be absent from the House today to attend a meeting with the Honourable Jane Stewart in Ottawa. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister Antoine.

Mahsi, Minister Antoine. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Towards A Better Tomorrow, we state that in order to support our overall vision, we will make "self-reliant individuals, families and communities working with governments towards improving social well-being" a priority. This means supporting caregivers and focusing on how best to meet the needs of people in our society who need assistance. We are fortunate to have a number of organizations in the NWT working in partnership with us on this.

On that note, I am pleased to advise that the Yellowknife Foster Family Association hosted the Canadian Foster Parents Symposium 'Fostering Our Future' for foster parents and child welfare professionals June 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The symposium allowed delegates from across Canada to share information on best practices in fostering. The NWT had the honour of being the first northern territory to host this conference.

Mr. Speaker, the agenda was filled with learning opportunities. Information on PRIDE (which stands for Parent Resource Information Development and Education Training) was shared at this conference. The 'Looking After Children' accountability tool currently being piloted by three boards in the NWT was also discussed. As well, information on specific conditions such as FAE/FAS, ADD and other therapeutic issues was provided. Workshops on self-care, safeguarding, the need for cultural awareness and input from the client were held. As you can see, there were many learning and sharing opportunities available at this conference.

The Yellowknife Foster Family Association worked hard over the past year to organize this conference, which was attended by over 130 foster parents and professionals from across Canada, including 93 from the NWT. I would like to commend the Yellowknife Foster Family Association for their hard work and dedication to make this conference a reality, and for their 10 years of service and support to foster families in Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, community based foster care is the backbone that keeps children and youth safe when their family cannot provide for their needs. In the Northwest Territories, there are foster homes in most communities. Foster parents encounter many challenges, but continue each year to provide support to our children and youth in need.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would once again like to congratulate the Yellowknife Foster Family Association on their ten years of service, and along with all foster families in the NWT, thank them for their labour of love in caring for children.

-- Applause

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as Minister of Transportation, I wish to inform the Legislative Assembly that the Departments of Transportation and Justice have been working intensively on preparing new, tighter legislation to deal with impaired driving in the Northwest Territories.

New legislation is required to establish an administrative procedure that allows enforcement officers to deal promptly with people who continue to endanger the lives of others by driving motor vehicles while impaired. At the same time, the new legislation must respect the rights of an individual to fair treatment and due process under our system of justice.

Other Canadian jurisdictions have been challenged in their attempts to create an effective environment that penalizes those drivers who disregard the law and continue to drive while impaired. New legislation for the Northwest Territories must be sound and must achieve the result for which it is intended; making our roads and highways safer for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, I want to confirm with the Assembly my commitment to bringing forward tighter impaired driving legislation for its deliberation. I am equally committed to good legislation that can withstand the scrutiny of the courts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a Member in this House is marking a special day today, a birthday. This special birthday is his 60th, making him an elder, certainly a most respected elder.

Mr. Speaker, this person was born in Fort Smith on June 11, 1941. He was raised in Fort Smith and worked on the tugboats that moved barges in and out of Fort Smith until he was 17. He travelled on one of those tugs to Yellowknife in the late 50s and decided to stay here and enrol in Sir John Franklin High School, becoming a resident of Akaitcho Hall.

After completing high school, he became a mechanic and returned to Fort Smith to work, where he met his future wife, Elaine, who was a social worker in town. I note that his wife is in the gallery with us today, Mr. Speaker. They have been married for over 30 years.

He worked as a member of the town council in Fort Smith, which was his first introduction to politics in the North. After their marriage, he and his wife moved out to Taltson River Dam, where he worked as a diesel mechanic. During this time, they had three sons, Warren, Blair and Ian, all of whom I note are in the gallery today, Mr. Speaker.

In the 1970s, he decided to return to school by attending the University of Calgary and he completed a degree in social work. I must say that his abilities in counselling are often called upon in this House. After completing his degree, he and his family moved to Yellowknife in the late 1970s. For a while, this person worked as the executive assistant to the then Commissioner John Parker.

In 1988, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly as the Member for Yellowknife South in a by-election. Mr. Speaker, that was a particularly memorable by-election for myself, seeing as I came in a distant second. You might say this Member kicked my...

-- Laughter

He returned to office in 1991 in the 12th Assembly and served as the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. Prior to his election as the Member for Kam Lake in 1999, he was the executive assistant to the then NWT and now Nunavut Commissioner, Helen Masagak. He was also the Sergeant-at-Arms for the Assembly for two years.

Mr. Speaker, this person has an extensive history of community work, including being a long-term member of the Rotary Club. He is particularly noted for his involvement in preparing the dog track during the days the Rotary Club was looking after the dog derby, and he has continued that work with the new organization.

He is a notary public, a marriage commissioner, and is well known as a volunteer auctioneer and fundraiser. This person is often seen attending the movies with his wife. Now that he qualifies for the seniors' discount, I am sure that we will see him on days of the week other than Tuesday.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank goodness the Speaker cannot say nay to this request, but I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement -- an important statement, I must admit. Are there any nays? There being no nays, Mr. Dent, you may conclude your statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this person was elected as Speaker of our 14th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories on January 17, 2000. Mr. Speaker, his wife Elaine's birthday was yesterday, so happy birthday to Mrs. Whitford. Family and friends gathered for brunch yesterday to celebrate for both of them.

I understand, Mr. Speaker, that there is a rumour that he was anxious, this person, to receive a new vehicle, as his current one is on its last legs. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, he did not receive any new keys yesterday, although I have heard he did receive many great gifts. Mr. Speaker, there will be a celebration at the break this afternoon, but no, Mr. Speaker, there is no point in digging through the cake, there are no keys in this one either.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand here today and, on behalf of all of the Members and staff of the Legislative Assembly, offer you happy birthday greetings.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. I do not know where you got all of that information, but it is certainly accurate. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address the Assembly today on the aspect of storytelling. It is something that we in this Assembly try to do. We spin the odd tall tale, and the odd fantasy sometimes, but there are a couple of events that have recently happened that I would like to draw attention to.

As you entered the Legislative Assembly through the Great Hall, many of us would have seen one very interesting and very innovative aspect of storytelling, and this relates very much, Mr. Speaker, to our concern and belief in literacy and capacity building in the Northwest Territories.

I speak of a display set up by the Northwest Territories Literacy Council. It is called the Story Sack display. It is a hands-on reading activity that started in Great Britain and has spread around the world. Each story sack is a large cloth bag containing a good children's book, toys, puppets and other child-friendly items that parents can use to make the book come alive.

With this project, Mr. Speaker, the Literacy Council hopes that parents who have trouble reading and do not often read with their kids, can get one of these story sacks and get right into the enjoyment of discovering and reading books together with their children.

The Literacy Council has established 20 of these projects in Yellowknife and hope to spin this out more into the communities. Two generous businesses, the Yellowknife Book Cellar and Northland Utilities, have helped to make this a success.

While on the subject of storytelling, Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I recognize the 50 years of outstanding service of the Third Anglican Bishop of the Arctic, John Sperry, to the people of the Northwest Territories and the Kitikmeot region. John Sperry's book, Igloo Dwellers Were My Church, was presented to Yellowknifers this weekend at the Baker's Centre. The book was designed by Outcrop Communications, a northern company, and it chronicles his stories and outstanding photographs of the traditional life of the central Arctic Inuit from the 1950s and 1960s while he served as a missionary.

This is a first-hand perspective of someone intimately involved in the transition of Inuit lifestyles from nomadic to community life. John Sperry became so proficient in the local language that he translated the New Testament, the Book of Common Prayer, and more than 200 hymns into...

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 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. You may conclude, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. Indeed, along with translations of the New Testament, the Book of Common Prayer, and more than 200 hymns into Inuinnaqtun, this all allowed the Inuit of the area to read and worship in their own language. He was one of the early promoters of literacy and aboriginal languages, and is indeed an excellent example for subsequent literacy projects. I congratulate Bishop Sperry on the publication of his inspiring story of Inuit life through his book, Igloo Dwellers Were My Church. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. 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 talk about the need for this government to develop action fire protection plans for the communities we represent. Fires in the Slave Lake region near Alberta illustrate the need for such a plan. If proper fireguards were in place, loss of property would have been less.

It is simple, Mr. Speaker. Fires do not burn if you remove the source of fuel. I thought the government had learned this lesson after nearly losing the community of Tulita in the 1990s, but that does not appear to be the case.

At the time, Mr. Speaker, the government prioritized some communities and provided funding to build fire breaks and clear brush. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, there has been no follow-up since that time. These communities were not a priority and are still waiting on government funding.

I stand to be corrected, Mr. Speaker, but myself and the people I represent are not aware of any programs that would assist a community in developing a fire protection plan. There is no funding available at the community level to implement such a plan. The Government of the Northwest Territories must provide these funds to the communities so they can develop fire protection plans.

Mr. Speaker, there are communities in the forest fire hazard areas with no fireguards or protection plans. This is not acceptable. With all the money that this government spends on developing infrastructure in the communities, would it not make sense, Mr. Speaker, to spend a little bit of money to protect our schools, our recreation facilities in our communities?

We have been lucky so far. Forest fires have threatened communities and people have been evacuated. Other than that, there has been little lost due to forest fires in recent memory. I want this to remain a fact.

Mr. Speaker, I have many questions. Will it take a major catastrophe for this government to act? Will the government spend money now to protect our residents' future? These are the questions I intend to ask the Minister of RWED during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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