Ms. Lee, I am sorry. I would ask for your indulgence. We are going to take a break here to attend the events in the Great Hall, and you will have the floor when you come back. The House will adjourn for a short break to attend the events in the Great Hall and come back at the sound of the bell.

-- Break

Thank you. The House will come back to order after the short break. Item 11, replies to budget address. The honourable Member for Range Lake had the floor at the time. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. I would just like to take this opportunity on the seventh day of the seven days that we have to reply to the budget address. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance for the last couple of weeks must have been quite bored because there have not been that many questions or criticism about this budget.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that in general and on balance, this was a good news budget. It had a lot of good things in it that we ought to be grateful for. One of the things is the infusion of money that is going to day care. I think that the government should be commended for the money it has allocated to support the parents who are having to place their kids in day care.

I also think the tax credit that the Minister of Finance brought in last year and additional money for this year is good news. I know I have been getting calls from constituents who are experiencing an increase in rent, and I know that the tax credit will go a distance in helping them with their cost of living.

I think, though, as I have indicated in the House, that we still are experiencing one of the highest fuel prices for our cars and heating houses. We have also experienced quite a large increase in power rates, and we also pay, in Yellowknife and the rest of the Territories, one of the highest income taxes still. We still have a lot of work to do, but I do want to congratulate the Minister for giving us a break on our taxes.

I would also like to commend the government for the extra money that it has come up with for recreation and sports for youth, as well as $1 million for the youth corps. I am looking forward to seeing the details of these programs to see how they are going to benefit the youth. I think we are having a serious problem everywhere, not just in the communities but even in the city of Yellowknife.

I had a "Coffee-on-me at Tim Hortons," where constituents could come in and talk to me about the issues that are important to them. One of the merchants at Centre Square came and told me that the problems with the kids in the mall in Yellowknife is something that we have to look into. We have dozens and dozens of kids who are spending time, sometimes during their school time, at the mall hanging about and not having anything to do. This lady, this merchant, told me that she has helped somebody do homework. She has had parents who are dropping off their kids at the mall so they could spend the day there. We need things for the youth to do. We need recreational facilities in Yellowknife, as well as in communities, so I am looking forward to working with the government to work out how we are going to spend this money for the benefit of the youth.

I would also like to congratulate the government on the progress it has made on maximizing northern employment. I think it has been a great thing for the summer students and university graduates to get internship programs so that they could have access to employment. I know that the young kids when they get out of university often have a hard time and find barriers in getting jobs in their chosen field. Often they are told they do not have any experience so they cannot get a job, and you cannot get a job if you do not have experience, so they get into this vicious cycle. I am really happy with the program that helps kids make the transition from school to work.

I would also like to thank the Minister of Finance for not introducing another scheme like the hotel tax, a highway toll or something like that that takes us on a travelling road show where we have to go to the people and ask what they think of this tax, and everybody beating us up on what they think of it. I would like to congratulate the Minister, but on the other hand, every time he comes up with an idea like a highway toll or hotel tax, he gets a resounding no from the people and then he finds the money from within, so we end up benefiting from that. Maybe these schemes are not such bad things after all, and any opportunity I get to go to communities to hear what they have to say, I welcome. I guess you can never please politicians all the time.

I would like to put on record that I really do support the idea of a bridge over the Mackenzie River.

I had great support from the people at Tim Hortons. Everyone is excited about this idea, but also someone said that the devil is in the detail, so we have to work out the details. I think it is an idea that is long overdue, and we should work together to see this a reality.

One of the things that I really like about this idea of the bridge over the Mackenzie River is this is being spearheaded by the Fort Providence Betterment Society. I think any time there is a community group in a smaller community outside Yellowknife that has an idea and that has an interest in seeing resource development take place outside their community and Yellowknife where we can mutually benefit, that is a good idea and we should support that. I will encourage the Minister and the government to pursue that option and make it happen in any way possible.

Mr. Speaker, for the remainder of my time, I want to talk about the area of education and infrastructure funding for the city of Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the record of this government in the efforts it has made to reduce the PTR and for having given extra funding to school systems. However, what I still do not understand is how we have apparently met the target of the PTR as legislated in a much earlier time frame than we had thought, yet in classes, we see crowding in schools. There are a lot of theories about that. It is because Yellowknife is being funded at the NWT average, or the PTR is not the same thing as class size. We heard that over and over again when the Youth Parliament was here, and there is all these semantics and war over semantics going on, but I do not really care what the theory is.

When I am sitting with the parents' advisory group at Range Lake school, they tell me that their classes are just too big. If we have legislation that is funding the schools at 16.5:1, but in reality classes have 28 to 30 students, there is a problem there. I have gone to grade 2 and 3 classrooms at Range Lake school, and the kids have to be told how to exit the classroom. The way the class desks are laid out, it is so crowded. I do not know if it is the way the school is built. I have been told that it is up to the local boards to decide how they are going to spend the money and so on, but for the parents in my constituency I do not think they have to care about rhymes and reasons why it is that their classrooms are heading towards the number of 30.

They do not have enough assistance with the special needs students in class. It only takes one or two students who need extra help and are not getting it to really put demands on the class. We really have to look at that. I know we have local school boards and other groups that have a say in the management of our schools, but as a legislator, I think the Minister, the government and all of the Members here are accountable for that. We have classes that are integrated in three or four grades in communities. Even in Range Lake, we have a lot of classes where one, two, three, four, five or six are all combined, and it is really taxing the resources to the maximum.

I guess we could pat ourselves on the back and say, "Wow, look at what we have done." We have reduced the PTR rate on paper, but I think what is important is what is out there in reality. We have to continue to work on that to make sure that our kids get the kind of education they deserve.

Another thing is that recently, I saw the stats in the paper where the Yellowknife Catholic school system and YK No. 1, all the schools are on the verge of 100 percent capacity. Almost all the schools are getting totally crowded. As far as I know, there is no plan or no reserved land for schools that we could count on. We are only looking at the next three to five years before we see that we are going to have to build more schools in Yellowknife. I need to bring that to the attention of the Minister and the government so they are paying attention to this.

The last thing I want to say, Mr. Speaker, has to do with the infrastructure funding for the city of Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, we all know that Yellowknife is in the middle of an economic boom, as are some other cities, like Inuvik. Our resources in Yellowknife are really being taxed to the max.

Mr. Speaker, I had a chance to observe the traffic on Old Airport Road the other day because I had to go and fix my skidoo. It was like the middle of the afternoon with no special circumstances, and there was so much traffic on that road. That road cannot handle the traffic that we have. We need to divert the traffic somewhere, whether to Kam Lake Road or somewhere. I know that the City of Yellowknife is experiencing a reduced budget on their new formula. Our water and sewer pipes are totally worn out. They have holes in them and they are not able to save a reserve to fix those.

I know Yellowknife on the surface looks like it has a lot, but in Yellowknife, every household pays a lot of tax to have the services we have and they are entitled to get the money they need to have the basic services like the roads and water and sewer system in proper working order.

Mr. Speaker, Highway No. 4 is not a road to barbequing wieners. Highway No. 4, the Ingraham Trail, is one of the busiest areas in the Northwest Territories. I was approached by one of the Aurora Tourism operators reminding me again of how dangerous that road is.

We have thousands and thousands of Japanese tourists coming to visit us and spending dollars in our midst, helping our local shops and restaurants. I would hate to see a disastrous accident on that road.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, I think we should really recognize the fact that all of that traffic and activity that is happening on Ingraham Trail is giving this government a lot of money so that it can do the things it needs to do for the communities and our social agenda. I think we have to recognize that for what it is and pay proper attention to that.

Mr. Speaker, another thing is there is such a shortage of lots in Yellowknife. In the Niven Lake area, because the development cost is so expensive, most lots there are going for $80,000 a lot. By the time they build an average house on them, the house will cost as much as $300,000. As soon as the house price goes up above $300,000, CMHC will not insure them unless you put down 25 percent as a down payment. For most people, Mr. Speaker, a $75,000 down payment is not an option.

I think that it is ridiculous in this day and age, in a city of 20,000 people, that the city has to contemplate providing water and sewer with a bucket and pump service because we do not have the money to put the lift station in there. The government has a responsibility to build the infrastructure so that people can move into and afford the houses with the money they make.

I guess at first take, Mr. Speaker, it may not be so reasonable to think that the City of Yellowknife, as rich as it looks, needs help to get the lots developed. What we need to remember is that every lot that gets built, every house that gets built there, a family of four could bring in as much as $70,000 or more from the federal government. Given the per capita in Yellowknife, we get about $7,000 of government money per person, that means $63,000 of that will go to the communities to help the communities.

I would suggest, Mr. Speaker, maybe we should look into the $82 million budget for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and by way of promoting economic development, we should use maybe half of that money to just build lots in Yellowknife, because that would then bring us millions of dollars so that we can fund all the services that we need.

Mr. Speaker, I would say as a Yellowknife MLA, if it happens that all the people who need houses to work at our mines or in our secondary industries, if they could move to Hay River or Fort Smith, that is great. I do not think that Yellowknifers are saying they want to be a city of 200,000 people, but we are losing these people to St. Albert and all of Alberta. We are losing our money, and I think the best economic development idea may be to use all of the Northwest Territories Development Corporation small business money, build the lots in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River and communities, whatever, so we keep our people in the North and we can bring people to the North.

As the realtors in Yellowknife will tell you, we need at least 500 to 600 houses in Yellowknife for the next five years. I do not think we are going to attract these people by saying their sewage will be treated with buckets and their water will be pumped by trucks. I know that a lot of people like that. I mean, it is part of our feature in Old Town, but I do not think it should be done because that is what is necessary to do.

Mr. Speaker, I think that it is about time that Yellowknife gets some attention. I think that having only two Yellowknife Ministers in Cabinet is really showing some suffering, and obviously the Housing Minister has not won his battle in fighting for Yellowknife, which is in such dire need of extra money for the roads, for lots, for water and sewer pipes, for schools.

I wanted to make sure that I put it on the record that this budget really was for the communities. There is not enough there for Yellowknife. I think that the 20,000 people of Yellowknife deserve parity, equality, a fair chance and the recognition that everyone else gets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 11, replies to the budget address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Procedural and Practical Implications for a Name Change of the Northwest Territories, Backgrounder Prepared for the Caucus of the 14th Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 13, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a letter dated February 22, 2002, from the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk to the chief coroner requesting an inquest into the tragedy that recently occurred in Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 14, tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories wishes to send a message to Her Majesty, The Queen;

AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly wishes to join other Canadians in expressing their congratulations to Her Majesty on the 50th anniversary of her accession;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that the Legislative Assembly sends the following message to Her Majesty:

To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty:

Most gracious sovereign Queen of Canada we, the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories of Canada, now in session, wish to extend to Your Majesty on this year marking the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of your accession, our sincere congratulations. The people of the Northwest Territories have been honoured to welcome Your Majesty and other members of the royal family to our land during your reign and have witnessed directly your inspiring example of devotion to duty and unselfish labour on behalf of the welfare of people in Canada and in the other nations of the Commonwealth. We trust that your gracious and peaceful reign may continue for many years and that the Creator will preserve Your Majesty in health and happiness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. We have a motion on the floor. To the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour, please signify. Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried. Motion 4-14(5), the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. 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. I am sorry. I have to back up here. To the motion. Ms. Lee has the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to put on record as to the circumstances surrounding this appointment of the new Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Mr. Speaker, I am in favour of this motion. I have tremendous respect for the new commissioner being appointed, but I just did not think that it would be the right thing for me to have this go unnoticed and un-remarked about what had transpired that had caused the removal of the previous commissioner.

-- Interjection

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say...

Ms. Lee, I would like to draw your attention to the motion. You may be straying a bit beyond the intent of this motion. Ms. Lee, continue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do believe the motion says whereas there is a vacancy of this position, that there is an acting commissioner here now, and I need to say as a legislator, that we went through a process that had resulted in this motion coming forward. All I want to say for the record and for the people out there is that all the turmoil and the hardship that we had to go through in the way we reviewed the previous commissioner and so on, everything that was in place then is still here. There is no guarantee that in the future, another Conflict of Interest Commissioner would not be subject to the kind of...

Ms. Lee, I am going to ask you to restrict yourself to the motion. I think you are going a bit beyond this motion.

Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to say one paragraph about taking the time to reflect and remember what we had done to make it necessary for us to appoint a new Conflict of Interest Commissioner today. I believe that is relevant to say that we have to take time to think, that we have no hesitation in appointing a new person to this office, but all the hazards and weaknesses in our system that we had that had resulted in...

Ms. Lee, would you sit down, please?

-- Interjection

Before we go to the point of order, I have asked the honourable Member to restrict her comments to the motion. How we got to this position is not part of this debate. I will ask the Member not to go there again or I shall have to rule you out of order for the rest of this....the point of order raised by Mr. Bell. Mr. Bell.

Point of Order

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just believe that it is improper for us to be somehow alleging that this Assembly ruined the former commissioner's career, especially with this matter before the courts. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. This point of order, I was saying the same thing. How we got to this point is not of issue here. It is the will of the House that we are at this juncture and we are now appointing a new Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Restrict your comments to that point. Ms. Lee, we will try one more time. Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, may I speak to the point of order, please?

Thank you. Again, Ms. Lee, the matter that you are speaking to is a matter that is before the court and is of sub judice and is not to go any further in here. The Chair will rule that you are out of order. No further comment from the honourable Member. To the motion. The honourable Member for Range Lake, you have your hand up again. Ms. Lee.

Point of Privilege