Thank you, Mr. Allen. Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Social Programs Committee, I will soon get a chance to go through the Cuff report in detail and have a chance to analyze many of the recommendations and comment back to the Minister, but I wanted to take this opportunity, as I may not get another before the August 15th deadline for responses, to discuss some of the problems I see with the Cuff report at just a cursory level.

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a lot of data and a lot of information on problems within our existing health care system in the Territories but not enough, as usual, on how we might address these problems. There is also no evidence that a new organizational structure, as proposed by Cuff, will improve the present situation.

Boards as well, Mr. Speaker, are really singled out in the report as being problematic. There seem to be too many of them. They do not understand their roles. They do not understand their responsibilities. They are not accountable. They lack training.

There has not been much talk about the extent to which outside factors have probably influenced a lot of this, Mr. Speaker. What about the inability to recruit health care professionals? What about the difficulty in providing service in remote areas?

Mr. Speaker, I cannot imagine that additional board training at the Stanton Regional Hospital would have had any impact on how quickly we were able to recruit professionals with the recent nursing shortage and closure of the surgery ward.

Mr. Speaker, the most significant shortcoming that I can see, just at first view of this report, is there does not seem to be a real look at self-government, Mr. Speaker, and its present and future impact on governance and service delivery.

The development of some of our boards was seen as an intermediate step to self-government. I think of the Dogrib Community Services Board, for example, Mr. Speaker. Can we really have talked about partnerships and capacity building for the last ten years and then turn around and recentralize all of the service delivery?

One more point, Mr. Speaker. When asked about consultation, the report writer and the Minister always insisted 300 people were consulted in the process. Mr. Speaker, I think when they were consulted they were asked to comment on the current state of health care service delivery in the Northwest Territories. They were not posed with the idea that sweeping change was imminent and, "How do you feel about that?" I think it is one thing to ask them in crafting the report for comment and another now to shop this around in the communities and at the regional government level. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to touch on the issue of special needs, an issue that touches many families in the Northwest Territories. It touches every school and every DEA and DEC.

Mr. Speaker, in my constituency there is concern and evidence that, in fact, services for special needs seem to be diminishing. I have had issues raised with me by constituents of parents and grandparents having to pull together their hard-earned money, trying to help pay for special needs assistants for special needs children.

I know that as a government we have committed millions of dollars to speak to the issue of student support and special needs. However, Mr. Speaker, somewhere between here, the schools and the families, the funds do not seem to be getting through.

Mr. Speaker, every year this issue comes up. I do not think we are making the inroads we should be in terms of providing support. It is not just my constituency that I am aware of that is dealing with this problem and what seems to be the lack of resources for special needs children in the classroom.

This is a very fundamental issue that affects the special needs children, the special needs family, but it also affects the effectiveness and ability of teachers to do their jobs in the classroom when they may have a whole range of special needs children as well as children who are operating at the appropriate grade level.

Mr. Speaker, later today during question period I will be asking the Minister of Finance some questions about how we can better deal with special needs in the communities and why it seems to be, to me at least, that the number of concerns and complaints I am receiving from families about the lack of resources are increasing, or at the very least, not diminishing in spite of the millions of dollars that this Legislature has appropriated specifically to deal with special needs issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for several years now I have been working with the communities of Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson to consider the possibility of privatizing petroleum products in that community. Several proposals have been submitted to the Minister over the years, yet to date, there has been no movement on the proposals.

Mr. Speaker, what alarms me the most is that I just received a letter from the chief of Fort McPherson, Mr. Abe Wilson, regarding the department clearly stating that the GNWT has recognized that its current agenda is too busy to address the issue at this time. Consequently, it will defer the decision and that no commercialization of petroleum products revolving funds will be considered prior to April 1, 2003.

Yet, Mr. Speaker, two years ago privatization of petroleum products took place in Tuktoyaktuk with no problems. They met the requirements. Two years later, this proposal has gone back and forth. A lot of time, effort and money has been spent to develop these proposals to put forth to this government. The Tetlit Gwich'in Co-op in Fort McPherson and the Tetlit Gwich'in Band Council have been working together to find a way to provide petroleum services in Fort McPherson, and the same with regard to the band in Tsiigehtchic.

I find it awfully alarming, Mr. Speaker, that all this work and effort has been put together and now the arguments are that because of the review of the Power Corporation everything is in jeopardy, because part of that review calls for the Power Corporation to consider taking over petroleum products in all of our communities.

I find it awfully alarming when we talk about working along with communities, trying to develop economic opportunities, giving them the opportunity to do things for themselves, and getting government out of the lives of the people in the communities. This is an opportune time to do that. Yet, Mr. Speaker, from this letter, received July 11th, and for myself to have it faxed to me just today, it is alarming as a Member of this House who is not aware that this is a decision made by this department without telling any Members of this House that there has been a delay in a process where everyone else had an opportunity. I will have questions for the Minister on this matter later. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this moment, there is a very serious crisis involving a missing 14-year-old boy, Bosco Homes in Alberta and our Department of Health and Social Services. The crisis also extends to the boy's family here in Yellowknife and sadly, to the almost total lack of compassion and information our government is able to give to the boy's mother.

Mr. Speaker, Bobby's case, and of course that is not his real name, goes back to last fall when he was apprehended and taken over as a ward of this government under the Child Welfare Act. He was referred to Bosco Homes for assessment and has been kept there since for treatment.

Two days ago, Bobby was reported missing from the Bosco Treatment Ranch outside of Edmonton. His mother got a phone call from Bosco simply telling her Bobby was missing and that the investigation was in the hands of the RCMP.

Since then, Mr. Speaker, she has received only one other phone call -- this morning, in fact -- from our child welfare office, asking if she had any other information. I have contacted the Minister's office, Mr. Speaker, and insisted that somebody directly involved with the search contact Bobby's mother and at least tell her what they know and what they are doing about it. However, as of this moment, after more than two days, even that simple gesture has not been acted on.

Mr. Speaker, most of us in this Assembly are parents. I would ask what would be going through our minds now if we knew that our teenager was missing a thousand miles away and nobody was telling us what was going on. I have talked to the boy's mother several times today and yesterday. She is distraught. She is desperate. She feels totally abandoned and helpless.

Mr. Speaker, this boy is a ward of this government. He is in our care. Why have we not involved the parent and the family in this distressing event? What are we doing to make sure that every available resource is put to work to find him? Beyond this, Mr. Speaker, just what is the level of care and treatment Bobby is involved with in the Bosco Ranch? Even this information has not been made available to the parent. Why not?

Mr. Speaker, this disappearance follows other allegations over the past month of physical abuse and mistreatment while in the care of the Bosco Home. These allegations are already under investigation by the Department of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I ask for 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. I would ask, do we have other kids under care at Bosco Homes outside of the Northwest Territories? If so, I must call into question how they are being treated. In light of Bobby's situation, I must call into question whether we should be bringing all of them home to the NWT.

This is a disturbing case. It involves people in our society who have so little and do not have the resources to help themselves. I will be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services later today for help in getting answers for the family. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about land leases, land taxes and the confusion and unfairness surrounding this issue in the community of Fort Providence. Mr. Speaker, this has been an ongoing issue for many years now and is resulting in a considerable burden of outstanding arrears to the land division. Many of these people are low-income earners and do not have the ability to pay.

I have constituents, Mr. Speaker, who live in houses built by Indian Affairs 30 or 40 years ago. These people have lived in the same house, on the same piece of land all these years without having to pay leases or taxes, and lately they have been told that they are living on Commissioner's land and they have to pay for living on these lands.

Mr. Speaker, the situation is very stressful for my constituents, especially when the territorial and federal governments seem to be confused on this issue. They cannot tell us when the lands in question were transferred from Indian Affairs to the GNWT. The GNWT claims that they are trying to straighten out their files and they cannot find the records of transfer yet. The federal government tells us that their records are in a mess and they want time to sort it out. In the meantime, the people in my riding have to live with the possibility of eviction from property they thought belonged to them.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, as everyone is well aware, the lands in the Deh Cho are currently the subject of negotiations between the Deh Cho First Nations and the Governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories. The lands in question could very well be part of lands that are selected by the Deh Cho First Nations.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge this government to put a moratorium on charging First Nation residents of Fort Providence taxes or lease payments until this matter is sorted out. This, I think, would show respect for the people of Fort Providence in the bargaining process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. 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 speak about a concern that one of my constituents has with respect to the support being provided for her child, who is in need of special needs assistance at Range Lake North School.

Mr. Speaker, last fall I spoke about my experience of job shadowing a special needs assistant at the Range Lake North School, her name being Hayley Morris, who has done an amazing job in giving support to two children with autism at the school. I thought that, and I said so at the time, the reason why these children have shown so much progress, and Kelton specifically was able to get a great deal of benefit out of the inclusionary policy, was that the teacher was very dedicated and their relationships were so strong.

It was for this reason that I was absolutely shocked when I found out that the Yellowknife #1 District has had to move this teacher to another school, and this was not known until five days before the end of the school year. I have tried all I can, along with the parents and the teachers involved, the administration and the Minister to see if this decision could be revisited, without any success at all. I am told that part of this has to do with lack of funding in this area and the budgetary problems that the board had experienced, as well as the fact that there are just not enough trained personnel within the district.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what else to do other than to say that we have to acknowledge that we have failed miserably in this process. My question is, when we have approved additional funding for special needs, why do I have to experience this over and over again?

I just got a letter saying that the district is reviewing the whole policy, when I would think they should have that in place before they had the money. I would like to urge the Minister to work with the board to address this very serious issue being experienced in all of the Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak on activities that are happening during the summer months, especially in the community I represent. Mr. Speaker, it has been an event that happens every year ever since I was born and I can recall that during the summer months many of the people of Inuvik and the Delta would travel out to their summer camps and to their whaling camps. A lot of families partake in that and take in some hunting to supply their needs over the winter.

I would like to wish them all the luck and wish them safe boating and hunting as they partake in their cultural activities. I miss the fact that I have not been able to get out on the land myself so far this summer, but I wish them all the best in their hunting and being able to survive and continue to promote their cultural activities with their children and grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we continue to do these activities that take us and slow us down, I would say to a certain degree, from our community jobs and the events that take place throughout the year. As well, I would like to encourage those who are new to the community and the Territories as well, to enjoy what this great land has to offer, and to join in with new friends and family to see what we can do to encourage and promote and cultural activities that go on traditionally.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to wish my family, my mom and dad who are out at the whaling camp, the very best and safe hunting.

-- Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in March I asked the Minister of Health and Social Services if she would make herself aware of family violence legislation in other jurisdictions. She agreed that she would and would consider bringing forward similar legislation if it proved worthwhile in those other jurisdictions.

Mr. Speaker, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Alberta have such legislation, and others like Ontario are moving to bring it in. Over the past four or five months I hope that the Minister has looked at this legislation in these jurisdictions and will soon tell the House that she is planning to bring similar legislation forward here.

Mr. Speaker, what is the big difference between what we currently have and what you will find in places like Alberta, where they have the Protection Against Family Violence Act? I think the biggest difference is that these acts tend to focus on protection rather than on punishment. I am speaking specifically about Alberta. The purpose of the act there is to provide effective and accessible protection for victims of family violence, while at the same time responding to concerns raised about due process and the need to guard against frivolous or vexatious applications.

A few features of this legislation in Alberta provide police officers with the option of a civil response to family violence calls rather than a criminal code response. The Alberta legislation provides three types of protection under the act -- emergency protection orders, Queen's Bench protection orders and warrants permitting entry. Mr. Speaker, police officers in Alberta can request by phone emergency protection orders from presiding Justices of the Peace on a 24-hour basis.

This Alberta legislation is seen as effective because it allows for more options for police officers and an immediate response to family violence. Victims often do not want to go to court but want out of the situation, so the emergency protection order is perceived as a very useful tool because it does not require a criminal charge. Mr. Speaker, the EPOs can also provide for the arrest of the perpetrator if the orders are breeched, and this is what provides the effective force in a situation.

Again, I hope the Minister will agree that she is going to move forward with the lead that we have seen in these other jurisdictions like Alberta and I will be asking her later today during question period if we can expect to see such legislation soon. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time of year it is hard not to think about tourism and people enjoying this time of year out in their campers, enjoying the summer. People, as we know, from around here and the travelling public have favourite places that they like to go to camp.

During the last session I brought up the issue of Escarpment Creek campground being closed to the public. This campground has been closed for two-and-a-half years now. Residents of Hay River have been complaining of not having access to that campground. In checking with the tourist information booth at the border, I have been informed that the numbers of tourists coming to the Northwest Territories via the highway is roughly the same this year as it has been over the past couple of years. For the month of June, Mr. Speaker, the numbers were down by about 100, but they figure that in total it will be close to what it had been the past year.

It is nice to see, Mr. Speaker, that the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is putting more money into tourism, but one wonders about first impressions when it comes to tourism. The very first campground encountered when coming to the Territories and the first information booth is located right at the border. The staff at the border have been asking for years for money to be spent to fix up that campground and make it look presentable for tourists coming in, but funds are very slow in coming across. I think that is important for the travelling public to have a good first impression of our campgrounds.

One of the questions, Mr. Speaker, that is being asked at the information booth is, is Escarpment Creek open yet to the public and to the tourism industry? Of course, the answer is no. One of the reasons that is being given for the campground to be closed is that there are no washrooms there. This coming from the same department that found it necessary to instruct the staff at the border to close the washrooms, lock them up at 8:30 in the evening until 8:30 in the morning, so I do not see that as being a big issue as far as washrooms are concerned.

I have also been told, Mr. Speaker, that Hay River is not an impacted community and has no input into what happens at that campground. I think, Mr. Speaker, the last time I checked, that is a territorial campground and tax dollars are being expended in that campground. I know that Hay River, being a tax-based community, does have to pay taxes and is therefore an impacted community.

Mr. Delorey, your time for your Member's statement is over.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaking on behalf of residents of Hay River and the travelling tourists, again I ask the department to look at opening the gate at Escarpment Creek and allowing the people to enjoy that campground. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Yellowknife South on June 8, 2001. The Member asked me some questions about the detailed costs of the permit fees proposed under the Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act. I was unable to give him specific examples at the time and took the question as notice.

The following week, on June 14, 2001, I tabled an information package on the Highway Strategy and the Commercial Vehicle Trip Permit Act that included a map of the proposed public highway permit zones, the truck axle configurations and the zone to zone permit fees by truck type. The information package allows a person to work out the amount of the highway permit fee for any kind of truck carrying a load between any two points on the territorial public highway system.

Since the information package was tabled, I hope the Member has found it helpful in showing how the permitting system is intended to work and the amount of the permit fees applicable to the different communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to an Oral Question asked by Mr. Dent on Thursday, June 14, 2001, regarding the privatization of laundry services at Stanton Regional Hospital.

Representatives of the Stanton Regional Health Board met with representatives of the Union of Northern Workers on January 30, 2001. Consistent with section 38.02 of the collective agreement, the Union of Northern Workers was given notice by the Stanton Regional Health Board that they were considering plans to contract out laundry services.

With respect to the rationale provided, the Union of Northern Workers was informed that for the fiscal year ending March 2000, the Stanton Regional Health Board had a deficit of approximately $1.6 million. In an attempt to address this situation, the board had developed a proposed deficit recovery plan which outlined several initiatives aimed at decreasing operating costs without affecting service delivery to residents. One of those initiatives was the privatization of laundry services. The privatization of these services involved the elimination of four positions at the hospital.

Stanton did not receive any feedback from the UNW following the January 30, 2001 meeting. In an effort to ensure that the UNW has every opportunity to be part of this process, Stanton provided written notice of the intent to contract out laundry services on June 20, 2001.

Since that time, human resources staff at Stanton have been working with affected employees to ensure they are aware of and able to access all the options available to them under the staff retention policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the staff in my office, Stephen Dunbar, who is a summer student attending university but who is serving as my full-time constituency assistant. I would also like to recognize Ryan Chenkie, who is a grade 9 student at Sir John Franklin High School. They are both constituents of mine, and they are proving to be excellent staff in my office. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Welcome to the Assembly. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, in my statement I relayed the information I know of a missing boy at the Bosco Treatment Facility in Alberta. My question is for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. What information can the Minister provide us now about the search for the missing boy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member has already stated, he is aware that information regarding specific child welfare cases is strictly confidential so it would not be appropriate to respond to the particulars of this case. However, it might be helpful to talk about the situation in somewhat more general terms.

Mr. Speaker, we concur that it is very worrisome when children run away from a treatment facility, and there is a process that is followed when something like this occurs. When children are admitted to southern treatment facilities they usually are displaying fairly serious behaviours. They are in the south because they need treatment that we do not have available here in the North.

We do have, as a department, contractual arrangements with three licensed provincial facilities and these facilities do specialize in more severe emotional and psychological problems. At any given time I can tell you that there are about 30 children who are in the south for various reasons, and in cases where children do run away from the facility, the RCMP, social worker and the family are informed as well as the legal guardian. That is the process that is followed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the answer and the information which the Minister can provide and I understand that there are some limitations. I would like the Minister to explain why the department and the family has not been involved any further with information and updates about the search.

I will grant that notice was, as I understand at least, given to the mother, but in the two days, no further information has been provided. This does not seem appropriate. Again, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain why the department and the family has not been involved with information about the search?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is the standard practice that the department would be advised if there is a child who has run away from a facility, and they would also be regularly updated on the status of the attempts to return the child to the facility.

This is done both through the caseworker and the facility itself, in this case the Bosco facility. The caseworker would be involved in also informing the family of the status. Certainly, I have asked officials in my department to speak with the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Board and the caseworker to be as accommodating to the parent as possible. If this has failed to occur, that is of concern to me and I want to assure the Member that we will ensure that the superintendent of child welfare follows up on this. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask in more general terms, what are the conditions of service that our government has with Bosco Homes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. It may require a long answer, but just bear in mind what I said yesterday, that long answers cut into the time allocated for question period. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department currently has a contract with Alberta Bosco Homes for access to up to ten beds. There are assessment beds and also treatment beds. I would be pleased to provide the Member with an additional package of information on this resource which we use. I also want to assure the Member that the contract is reviewed and monitored regularly, including individual case audits and general site visits by both boards and staff from the department. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will look forward to receiving further information. In my final question, I would like to ask, in light of the distressing way that this case has been handled in terms of the information flowing back and forth, will the government be reviewing that contract with Bosco and taking steps to have these children removed and returned to the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since Member Braden has brought this concern to our attention, people within the department have agreed to undertake to check into the circumstances around some of the concerns that have been raised to determine the details so that we can be satisfied that this in fact is an appropriate placement. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the deadline for responses to the Cuff recommendations has been extended. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the deadline is now August 15th. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we felt that the consultation that took place prior to the recommendations being put forward by Mr. Cuff and associates was fairly extensive. We had also asked this firm to consider the fairly expansive amount of material which had been previously collected through public consultation, through the Minister's Forum on Health and through the Med-Emerg report, so that they would not be starting from ground zero.

In addition to the 300 people who were interviewed by Mr. Cuff and his associates for this particular report, a lot of prior work in consultation was taken into consideration. Certainly we do not want to restrict people from having input. I believe we have heard back from at least four of the assemblies that have been scheduled over the summer that have already taken place, through motions and responses from them.

Other regions have contracted people to put together comprehensive responses for them. We have met with and heard from board chairs and CEOs. I think that the quality of feedback -- there have been community visits. I am planning to visit Fort Smith, I believe, on August 1st to meet with their board and community leaders. I think the quality and extent of post-report release has been fairly extensive. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the report is entitled It's Time to Act, and I believe that, as I have already stated and I do not want to be repetitive, but there has been quite an extensive amount of consultation. Many of the 300 people who were consulted were representative of other larger groups. I would say that their comments would be representative of people that they would either be elected or appointed to speak on behalf of.

For example, Mr. Nitah raises the issue of MLAs. MLAs were interviewed by Mr. Cuff and his associates. I think it would be safe to say that MLAs would have a good understanding of health and social services issues in their regions. It actually was fairly good quality input. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for Minister Steen, the Minister of Transportation, about tolls, taxes, those kinds of things. Specifically, the proposed highway truck toll and his response today. He indicated that the information package that he had developed would allow a person to work out the amount of the highway permit fee for any kind of truck carrying a load between any two points in the territorial public highway system.

This may in fact be the case, but I think what residents are interested in is a manner that they might be able to figure out what a certain pound of goods is going to cost them coming from the south and arriving at a certain destination, for instance, building materials coming from Edmonton and landing in Yellowknife. Unfortunately, the Minister could not tell us that because it entirely depends on what kind of truck they might arrive on.

Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if the Minister can give us some sort of response as to why there is not some sort of ability to figure out, on a per pound basis, what kind of impact the toll will have. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member indicated, there are different options that would be used and different types of configuration of a truck that could be used to bring in this pound of freight. So therefore, it would depend on what type of truck, what the actual configuration is. Based on that, then we would know what it would be per pound. I have no way of saying this unless there is a specific example given as to what type of truck is bringing in this pound of freight. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister not admit that is going to be a problem for a small business trying to estimate the impact of the toll on freight that they might be transporting? It really will depend on axle configuration and all these other kinds of things. When you are trying to make projections at the beginning of the year to determine what kind of impact this will have on your budget, this is a bit of a hurdle. Will the Minister acknowledge that? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from the start, the department has agreed that there are going to be some problems with the way people would attempt to figure what it would cost them to bring in the material. As the Member indicated, yes, there is going to be a hurdle for some people to try and estimate what it exactly is that they are paying. However, we are assuming that because the trucking industry is going to be trying to maintain as much of a full load as possible, it would then stand to reason that they would go with the type of truck that would suit the load that they have.

I expect -- the department expects -- that there is going to be some amount of confusion, you might say, from the public's perspective of what exactly it is they are able to be. I think that we have already received concerns of that nature from the trucking industry by letter, and we are in the process of trying to respond to them and indicate to them as clearly as possible how the configuration affects the rate that the end user would be paying. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did preface my question today by indicating that I wanted to discuss tolls and taxes with the Minister, so I hope you will allow me a little latitude. I am aware of a federal committee that has looked at gasoline taxes and specifically allocating these taxes to public transport and highways. I am wondering if our Minister has ever lobbied his Cabinet colleagues to do similarly, to try to get gasoline taxes put towards our road infrastructure, instead of opposing a commercial toll like this. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the short answer is no, since my term as Minister we have not used this approach. However, the Member might be interested to know that just recently we received the report from the Canadian Transport Review Committee and they basically have come forward with recommendations that toll systems be put in place. Based on similar things that we are doing now, such as distant kilometre and configuration of axles, rather than going with any other system, this is what they have come out with as a recommendation.

There are also recommendations, Mr. Speaker, that there be some system set up whereby the federal government would allow for expenditures of revenue collected under the fuel tax be directed to transportation facilities and infrastructure. In short, in my time we have not approached anyone with this but it has been done in the past.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In light of this commission's recommendations, I am wondering if the Minister will talk to his colleagues and specifically the Finance Minister to see if some manner of diverting gasoline taxes out of general revenues and specifically into highway infrastructure is something he will now look at going forward. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the report and the recommendations suggest that the taxes generated by your portion of the highway would be directed back into your portion of the highway. We would not receive very much money, much revenue, based on that type of a taxation. There is the possibility that we would receive back whatever the portion was that was generated by the traffic on our highways, but in general it would be nowhere close to what we need or are obtaining in this manner. That is why, I believe, the Transport Review Board also suggested that there be a toll system put in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to raise a question to the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development regarding an issue I have raised in the House before on the community fire protection plans. From the information I am getting, many communities are struggling as to what the process is and being able to put these plans in place and securing funds.

I would like to ask the Minister, since the funds were put in place for this program, I believe it was five or six years ago, how many communities have completed fire protection plans in the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I have to take that question as notice. I do not know how many have completed fire protection plans offhand. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. The Minister has taken that question as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are addressed to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment to follow up on my Member's statement on the case of special needs support in the schools.

I have been receiving numerous complaints and concerns brought to me by constituents that in fact it seems schools are being forced to cut back because of insufficient funds in the budget to deal with this very critical issue that affects all of our constituents, all of our communities, and all of our schools.

I would like to ask the Minister, is he confident and satisfied that the money that has been allocated, the $4.5 million per year to address student needs and class size, is that in fact getting to where it is most needed? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was interested in hearing Mr. Miltenberger's comments. Naturally I am concerned when there are issues with regard to student needs. Early in our mandate, with the support and certainly the strong recommendations of Members, we increased the funding for support for the school system and we allocated for the PTR and student needs. We are tracking the PTR very, very closely because we can get instant figures on that.

In the area of student needs, which I think the Member is specifically concerned about, there were a number of recommendations made where the funding could be supported, and that was in trained classroom support staff, counsellors in the schools and direct support for students. There were a number of areas, about eight.

Our methodology, of course, is to provide funding, as the Member well knows, to the DECs and in turn to the DEAs. I think I am quite satisfied, Mr. Speaker, with the fact that the DECs are allocating according to those priorities. There may be specific instances perhaps where there needs to be some attention paid, but I think I am confident with the DECs and the reports they get back to us that indicate some success, certainly in lowering the PTR and addressing some of the issues. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the concerns I have is while the money that they are getting may be allocated properly, are they in fact getting enough money? My colleague, Mr. Bell, brought up in the prior sitting the fact that $2.8 million of the $4.5 million was not expended last year. My concern, Mr. Speaker, is that all of the money that is necessary and is there, is not getting through to the classroom, to the teachers and to ensure that there is adequate special needs assistance.

Can the Minister assure me in this House that in fact every dime of that money is going to make its way into the classrooms where it can do the most good? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are, on an ongoing basis, year by year, increasing the funding, as the Member knows. We ensure that this money is directed to the PTR and special needs. We get budget reports in return from the school districts. I have my department now, as I am just receiving the budgets from all the DECs, ensuring that allocations are being done in the area that we set out. So from that perspective I say to the Member, yes, I am confident that it is going into those areas on my level to the DEC level. Then we need to ensure, of course, through accountability reports back to us that it is going into the classrooms. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the second part of the question I would like to rephrase. Could the Minister also assure this House that, in fact, all the money that has been appropriated by this Legislature for schools, for special needs and class size, will in fact be expended in the classrooms and in the schools to the end that it was voted for in this House? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, I have just received the budget reports from the DECs and that was the intent, and that is my desire that that money go into that area, Mr. Speaker. From the reports I get we will ensure that that is where it is going. That was the original intent and that is where it should be going. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding between the Minister and I, and maybe I am not being clear enough. My concern is, in fact, that the Minister and the department in Yellowknife have not allocated the money. The money that lapsed was not because the schools did not spend it, it was because the department never gave it to the schools to spend. I just want to ensure that there is full expenditure of all the funds that have been appropriated and voted on by this Assembly for special needs, for student support and for class size. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it was my recollection that in the first year we allocated approximately $4.3 million, which would include the PTR, students needs and forced growth. That money was expended. We did hand that out. Additionally, this year, we added on to that. There was incremental funding, and the way it works was to ensure that we bring down the PTR from 18:1 to 16:1, and to increase the funding for special needs, student needs, from eight percent to 15 percent. That is taking place, so I am confident that the money that we intended to set out for this purpose is being allocated. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Colleagues, before we proceed on to the next question, I would like to use the Speaker's prerogative and recognize in the gallery a former elected Member of the Legislative Assembly representing the constituency of the Central Arctic at the time, Mr. Bill Lyall, and his wife, Jessie.

-- Applause

Welcome Mr. Lyall, Mrs. Lyall. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services and follows up on my statement today on the need for the Northwest Territories to have an act similar to the Alberta Protection Against Family Violence Act.

Mr. Speaker, since making the commitment in March, has the Minister made herself aware of family violence legislation across Canada, particularly that found in Alberta?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have gathered the legislation from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Manitoba and Ontario. We are right now in the process of reviewing this legislation to see how we might be able to draft something that would be suitable to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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