Thank you, Mr. Nitah. Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I committed to reviewing a recommendation from this Legislature that the homelessness file be assigned to a Minister. Given the importance which this government attaches to this issue and to ensuring that our residents have access to adequate housing, Cabinet considered the recommendation when it met this morning.

In determining the most effective response, we were guided by a number of considerations. First, to be timely and effective, the designated Minister will need to be able to call upon an already established administration which can provide resources and support. Second, both the Minister and administration should already have the necessary background, expertise and networks in housing and related matters. Third, for the Northwest Territories' purposes we need a lead Minister with a mandate to both coordinate and advance the work and objectives of other Ministers and departments with responsibilities related to addressing homelessness.

Finally, we wanted to act on this proposal taking into account that it will be helpful for implementing the recommendations of the Social Agenda Working Group which will be reporting on how we can better deliver social programs and services in the next few weeks.

Mr. Speaker, with these considerations in mind, Cabinet has agreed that Housing Minister Roger Allen will be designated as the lead Minister responsible for addressing this important issue, and that the Housing Corporation will provide administrative backup for the Minister.

Minister Allen will give a brief report to the House before the budget session concludes on how he, his Cabinet colleagues and their departments will collaborate on addressing the homelessness issue. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about mothers who drink during pregnancy and children with FAS/FAE. Fetal alcohol syndrome and effect in the NWT remains a serious concern and a priority of this government to address. FAS and FAE are preventable, but if not prevented the consequences are life-long.

Early intervention is crucial and early screening and diagnosis are key protective factors for those affected. In addition to increasing public awareness, it is critical that we have workers trained to conduct effective screening.

I am pleased to be able to announce a major initiative to enhance the skills of our front-line health workers that will take place on March 15th to 18th, 2002. On March 16th the Department of Health and Social Services will be hosting a FAS symposium in Yellowknife on behalf of the Prairie Northern Pacific FAS Partnership. Given the importance of this issue to the people of the NWT, Premier Kakfwi, along with the Ministers responsible for social services for the four western provinces and the three territories, are planning to attend.

This symposium is an important opportunity to offer training and professional development for our health and social services professionals. Approximately 60 to 70 health and social services professionals will be trained in screening for social risk factors and screening for maternal alcohol consumption. This type of screening allows the early identification of potential risk, allowing for earlier intervention and, hopefully, reduction of damage to the unborn child.

Training will also be offered in the Nipissing district developmental screening tool. This training is part of an initiative under the early childhood development strategy to ensure that all regions will have trained professionals by the first week of April 2002.

On March 15th, Dr. Loretta Fuddy, deputy director of Health for the State of Hawaii and the founder of the Hawaii Model Home Visitation Program, and Mr. Brad Bell of the Yukon territorial government, will be providing information to front-line staff on home visitation models used in their jurisdictions. Working with children and their families within their own home is an important component of any successful program for children and families at risk. The information provided at this workshop will be invaluable to front-line staff in implementing family visitor/child development support programs in their communities.

On March 17th and 18th, 10 physicians will receive training in the preliminary diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. They will receive continuing education credit for this from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Preventing FAS remains a key priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Providing our health and social services professionals with the tools and training necessary to assist pregnant women and identify children with developmental delays is key in moving this priority forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, although we are still trudging through the freezing temperatures of winter, spring and summer are just around the corner and the warm months will bring to mind recreational activities, including swimming. Today I wanted to discuss the above-ground pool program in the Northwest Territories and make some comments about the swimming pool in Fort Providence and the condition it is in.

Mr. Speaker, the pool was built in 1972 in Fort Providence with a plywood shell and without any heaters in the facility. Now, 30 years later, the roof needs to be replaced. It has huge holes in it that are beyond repair. The cement floor is cracked and heaving. The styrofoam around the pool is cracking and expanding outward and the shower is still in the public view and without any hot water. When the pool is in use, it leaks about a foot of water a week.

It is at risk of collapsing and is a hazard to the public. These problems give rise to issues of security, liability, safety, health and privacy concerns, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs for funding to construct a new pool in Fort Providence.

As we all know, sports and recreation are key to developing strong communities. Sports develops leadership skills in our youth and encourages them to continue to lead in whatever activities or jobs they choose to pursue in life. Sports and recreation also helps to keep youth off the streets and out of trouble. This is unquestionably important in the North where there is a lack of activities for youth, especially in the small communities.

A new recreational facility such as the above-ground swimming pool can contribute to the overall health of the community. Entire families can enjoy what a swimming pool has to offer, be it through swimming lessons, competitive sport or leisurely activities.

These reasons, Mr. Speaker, are why the construction of an above-ground swimming pool in the Hamlet of Fort Providence should be considered. The construction of swimming pools are not considered as capital projects, yet MACA was generous enough to provide $300,000 in funding to Fort Liard's new above-ground swimming pool, completed just this fiscal year. Fort Liard is a community of 520 residents, while Fort Providence has 840 residents and we do not receive any funding.

The population difference is considerable...

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

Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, the population difference between Fort Providence and Fort Liard is considerable. That is why I believe the Minister for MACA should consider providing a larger community like Fort Providence with funding to construct an above-ground swimming pool.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister responsible for MACA questions regarding this issue during oral questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak on an issue that has been a concern for a quite a number of years in the community and it is around the Aurora campus facility in Inuvik. It has been known for many years that it needs replacement. We have gone through the idea of a regular capital project and it has been in the five-year capital plan for some time.

The facility itself is holding together, but just doing that, Mr. Speaker. In fact, it was agreed by the community to allow the campus to jump ahead and put one of our other schools behind in the capital plan to ensure that we can continue to offer programs with Aurora campus in the community. There is much demand for programs there as we are seeing the development occurring in the Beaufort Delta region.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that occurred when the Aurora campus was being discussed was Public Works and Services put a plan together for Aurora College and this government viewed that and accepted the report, I believe, and had the campus put forward. Since that time, Mr. Speaker, it has gone a couple of ways. One is when P3s were discussed by a previous government the campus was put onto that list as one of the things that should be moved forward, but when the government then decided not to carry on with P3s and that there will not be public/private partnerships, the campus fell back onto the normal capital plan of this government.

Since then, Mr. Speaker, as it came on to the plan, the government has stated that there has not been enough funding to build both the campus and the student residence at the same time. In fact, we are going ahead now, as stated in the main estimates, with the plan to build the Aurora campus facility itself, but lacking a student residence. Now this government has done a number of things to try and address the student residence, but it is doing things, Mr. Speaker, in a forum, as I see it, which is just prolonging the situation and increasing potential further costs by taking little side routes to try to deal with the issue. Later on during question period I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that the water situation in Fort McPherson has been a problem for some time. They have now found a new water source and they are in the process of implementing that source, but it has been a rough start. There have been major breakdowns and freeze-ups, and no facilities for parking the vehicles. They are being parked outside.

Mr. Speaker, the community is very concerned that they know there is going to be an increase in the cost to deliver the water and sewage programs in the communities. There is a water and sewage subsidy program with regard to the old system that was in place, yet, Mr. Speaker, they do not see any increases in ensuring that the coverage of the cost to deliver our programs and services will be within reason and will be expanded by this government to ensure that the community can carry out its responsibilities for delivering water and sewage programs, and that there will be a subsidy in place to ensure that they can afford to do so.

Mr. Speaker, water and sewage programs are supposed to be a priority of this government, but we have seen a change in focus on how funds are being allocated to communities. In some municipalities there have been increases. In the case of the water and sewage programs, we do not see any increases in the next years for this program, but knowing the new system that the community of Fort McPherson is presently on, there will be a higher cost to operate, maintain and deliver water to the residents of Fort McPherson.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs what they are doing to monitor the costs of this program. Are there going to be unforeseen expenditures in light of the problems they have faced to date? They should be coming forth with a supplementary appropriation to ensure that they will find dollars so that communities can carry out the responsibilities that they have taken on, especially for water and sewage delivery in our communities.

I would like to ask the Minister questions on this matter at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak today about employment in the service industry. I know from talking to a lot of local business people, local businesses are having a very difficult time attracting and keeping prospective employees.

I suppose there are various reasons for this, some of them good, some of them bad. Certainly, to some degree, it is a good problem. There is a lot of competition. Many people are employed in the mines, for instance, and making very good wages, Mr. Speaker. On the other hand, on the flip side, housing concerns are preventing us from drawing from a larger pool of people.

However, there are some optimistic signs. There was an article in the media today about a pre-employment training program sponsored by the HRDC. This particular program prepares people with disabilities for the workplace. Obviously, Mr. Speaker, many times likely these people had been on the income support rolls previously, and this is one way that they are able to get off those rolls. It teaches life skills, resume writing and helps to build self-esteem.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many of us are aware of this, but about 13 percent of the local population is disabled, and because of programs like this that the HRDC is sponsoring and the desire of these people to prepare for employment, many of them will be working and that is a great sign.

The next session for this program starts in March, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to urge potential workforce participants and also employers to contact the HRDC to learn more about this valuable program. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. Mahsi. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about something which is causing me serious concern. Numerous things have happened lately which are, in my view, counterproductive to unity in the Northwest Territories. Cracks are appearing which potentially threaten the way we live and work together.

We talk about the diversity of our people, our regions, our communities and our culture, and generally we have seen this as a part of what makes us unique and what makes the North a place we are proud to call home.

Numerous things have contributed to what I see as a subtle and disturbing trend, which if not recognized and addressed threatens to divide or polarize us. It is so important that we pay attention to the detail of our policies and initiatives to diminish real actions or even perceived attitudes which lead to alienation of any group that makes up our Territory.

This frustration creeps into our media sometimes and it is reflected in such things as editorial comments and cartoons. With all due respect to our local newspaper, I do not appreciate a cartoon characterizing our Premier in a way which insults his freedom of expression and opinion, whether it is the length of his hair or what he thinks about our Territory's name.

Everyone has the right to respectfully disagree and we heard very clearly from our constituents on the name issue, but if we sink to making comments that are very personal or have racial overtones it does not accomplish anything. In fact, it tears down what we strive to build.

As a Member of this House I want to understand the needs and aspirations of all Northerners and be a part of bringing solutions in a balanced and fair way that does not offend or deny anyone. Let us attempt to be very sensitive to the concerns and aspirations raised by each other as they relate to our constituents, because I know they are raised with sincerity.

If the actions and responses of this government are fair, they should be defendable in downtown Hay River or Colville Lake. So while attempting to arrive at decisions to govern, let us set an example of respect, understanding and unity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.