Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Do I hear from him that he is going to disregard all of the letters in that petition and all the people who are telling him that class sizes are too big? Is that his answer? Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not disregarding the petition. We have explained why we have the system that we do. We have poured in $30 million, Mr. Speaker, over the last four years throughout the Territory in order to be equitable across the Territory. We have done it on the basis of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio across the Territory. We have done it on the basis of ensuring that student support is done across the Territory on an equitable basis. I think that is a good policy, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. Are there any further oral questions? Item 7, written questions. Item 8, returns to written questions. Item 9, replies to the opening address. Item 10, petitions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to present a petition dealing with the matter of hunting restrictions in NWT highway corridors. Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 20 signatures of Fort McPherson residents and, Mr. Speaker, the petition required that until the NWT Wildlife Act is enacted all hunting restrictions, including those in effect on NWT highways, remain unchanged and that no new hunting restrictions be introduced. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Any further petitions? Item 11, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to present the report on the Auditor General's Report on Termination Compensation to Two Senior Officials.

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight wishes to report on its review of the Auditor General's Report to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories on Termination Compensation to Two Senior Officials. The report was tabled in this Assembly and referred to the committee on October 23rd, 2002.

Mr. Speaker, this report represents the views of the majority of the committee. Appended hereto are the minority reports of two Members.

Members requested this special audit in March of this year because they were not satisfied that all of the information surrounding the circumstances of the termination agreements of the former principal secretary to Cabinet and chief of staff was being made available to them.

The committee has considered the report, and met with the Auditor General to discuss it further in a public meeting on October 24, 2002. The transcript from that meeting is attached as an appendix to this report. The committee agrees with the Auditor General's findings. The audit has confirmed that the terms of the termination agreements were without justification. The staff of the Auditor General have confirmed that those terms were set in place at the direction of the Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the committee recommends that the Legislative Assembly accept the Auditor General's conclusion that the government did not handle the matter reasonably and with prudence.

The committee further recommends that in light of these findings the Premier submit his resignation forthwith as Premier and Member of the Executive Council.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Committee Report 11-14(5) be received by the Assembly and moved into committee of the whole for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. We have a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. The House is ready for the question. All those in favour, please signify. Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried. Committee Report 11-14(5)... The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) to have Committee Report 11-14(5) moved into committee of the whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4). Are there any nays? There are no nays. You have consent. Report 11-14(5) is now moved into committee of the whole for today. Item 11, reports of standing and special committees. Item 12, reports of committee on the review of bills. Item 13, tabling of documents. Tabling of documents. Item 14, notices of motion. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 14, notices of motion. Item 15, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 16, motions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

WHEREAS Section 44 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act and the Rules provide for the establishment of Standing and Special Committees to aid and advise the Legislative Assembly as they consider necessary;

AND WHEREAS the committee system in any democratic structure is an essential process in holding the executive branch of government accountable;

AND WHEREAS the committee system is necessary to facilitate the business of the House in a timely manner;

AND WHEREAS the committee system has to take into account reporting relationships with the Executive Council;

AND WHEREAS the committee system must provide access by the public to its deliberations and reviews;

AND WHEREAS the committee system must be efficient and effective;

AND WHEREAS the current committee structure has a relatively long history in the Northwest Territories and continues to evolve;

AND WHEREAS it is important that the current committee system continue to ensure accountability of the actions of government and also be accountable for their actions;

AND WHEREAS the current committee system should be reviewed to ensure that it is meeting the needs of the Legislative Assembly;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures undertake a review of the operation and accountabilities of the committee structure and system;

AND FURTHER that the Standing Committee provide a report to the Legislative Assembly no later than June 30, 2003.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. We have a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour, please signify. Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried. Item 16, motions. Item 17, first reading of bills. Item 18, second reading of bills. Item 19, consideration in committee of the whole of bills and other matters; Tabled Document 35-14(5), Bill 1, Bill 22, Bill 26, Committee Report 10-14(5) and Committee Report 11-14(5), with Mr. Krutko in the chair.

I would like to call committee of the whole to order. We have several items to deal with; Tabled Document 35-14(5), Bill 1, Bill 22, Bill 26, Committee Report 10-14(5) and Committee Report 11-14(5). What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Dent.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to recommend the committee consider first of all Committee Report 11-14(5). Should we conclude that matter, that we then turn to Bill 26, then followed by Bill 1 and Committee Report 10, should we get that far. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Does the committee agree?

We will take a short adjournment and we will begin with Committee Report 11-14(5).

-- Break

I would like to call the committee of the whole back to order. We will deal with Committee Report 11-14(5). At this time I would like to ask the chair of the committee for general comments. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, after everybody has had a chance to make general comments we will then be proposing the committee's recommendations in the form of motions.

Mr. Chairman, I do have some general comments on a personal basis on the report before us. Mr. Chairman, as politicians we all have heard, especially in the North, about the fiduciary responsibility of the federal government to aboriginal peoples. That speaks to a trust relationship.

Mr. Chairman, in this setting we too all have a fiduciary responsibility to the public, our constituents. We have a trust relationship with the public, that, Mr. Chairman, extends particularly to the management of public funds.

Mr. Chairman, the public is tired of hearing about politicians who award their friends with lucrative contracts. To most people, that is what this situation looks like. Mr. Chairman, the Auditor General looked at a number of termination contracts. None had the out-of-ordinary terms that are found in contracts like the termination contract for Ms. Sorensen. Mr. Chairman, even Mr. Bayly's contract is significantly different. In fact it is not significantly different from what would be standard government policy or what was set out in the terms of his employment contract.

What we have heard, Mr. Chairman, is that the Premier directed that these lucrative provisions be put in. We know that he signed off on them. Mr. Chairman, interestingly enough on March 11th, Liz Snider, the secretary to Cabinet told this House that she could not sign off on Sorensen's contract because it was outside her authority, but she could and did sign off on Bayly's which was much closer to the terms of the employment contract which had been entered into less than two years earlier.

Mr. Chairman, we are now starting to hear in this House about fiscal difficulty. We are short of nurses and health care workers. I have not heard of any new money to attract those. We do not have enough money to undertake new initiatives, important new initiatives. We have heard a lot of talk about the social agenda but we have not seen any new money to implement the recommendations found in the social agenda. Yet we had an extra quarter of a million dollars to pay for termination payouts for the Premier's advisor.

I think this is also particularly galling in light of the performance bonuses. We are talking about two employees who are on their way out as a result of their inappropriate actions. In fact there were letters of reprimand on file and yet we are told that the Premier directed that they receive maximum performance pay. Mr. Chairman, to me that is not acceptable.

We are stewards of the public purse in government. We are leaders. We must set policy and once we set policy and practice, we have to, ourselves, set the standard by adhering to those practices and policies. I find it very interesting that in almost every other circumstance, and every other circumstance the Auditor General looked at, the terms and the policy appear to have been followed but this time they were not.

Mr. Chairman, this is the sort of event that causes citizens to lose respect for all politicians. I think it has to stop and it must not happen again. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

General comments. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am one of two members of the committee who filed minority reports. I would appreciate the indulgence of committee to read that into the record and offer some comment.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to indicate my support for the Accountability and Oversight Committee's recommendation that the Legislative Assembly accept the report of the Auditor General. I believe that Sheila Fraser, Auditor General of Canada, and her staff did a thorough and a professional job of completing the mandate given her by this Assembly last March.

I was, like many others, dismayed with the number of unjustified variances in the compensation packages. I was equally dismayed with the Premier's wholly inappropriate involvement in the event.

I will not dwell on that, Mr. Chairman. The evidence in the body of the Auditor General's report are quite adequate and I am sure that my colleagues will also address their concerns on this issue.

I have filed a minority report, Mr. Chairman, because I want to indicate my disapproval of the committee's second recommendation and that is that Mr. Kakfwi resign as the Premier. I believe that his departure, as much as it might be warranted by his involvement in the termination fracas, would do the Northwest Territories more harm than good on much broader and more consequential issues at this time.

Mr. Chairman, agendas relating to devolution, pipeline and diamond development, provincial and external relations and self-government have advanced considerably through his leadership. We have not obtained many of the goals that we had hoped for when we sat on this in this Assembly. We are not there yet. But if we were to look at these areas we would see where indeed there is progress. We have built relationships, we have agendas and plans in front of us and believe that the Premier's involvement was key. I want to see him stay in there.

This is a difficult compromise for me to make at this relatively late point in our four-year mandate as the 14th Legislative Assembly. Mr. Chairman, I have asked what I believe really is a crucial question, if not the crucial question, that should always be before us, what will our situation be as the Northwest Territories when our mandate ends in October 2003, one year from now. I believe that it will be no better and may well be even less certain with a replacement leader.

Mr. Chairman, we have all been tested with these events, over almost a year now. It is part of the job that I am really attracted to, it is a part of the job that I fear the most when these ethical and moral issues come before me and really cause me to have to stretch what I believe is right and test it against what really should be done as opposed to what I may feel is the right thing to do.

In this debate I want to say that I have listened to and respect the views of my colleagues. I welcome the debate that we are going to have on this motion. I welcome the outcome, whatever it is going to be, that is seeing everyone have a chance to speak and have a chance to put their decision on record in public is at least that first level of accountability. Let's engage. Thank you, colleagues and thank you, Mr. Chairman.