Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a couple of days ago in this House I raised the issue about the Aurora campus student residence construction. The Minister of Education committed to working with the groups in the community to look at alternative methods of building a student campus. He did put some qualifiers on it, but I would like to confirm with the Minister today, in fact, that he would be willing to do that, as I have contacted groups back in Inuvik and they are willing to discuss with the department alternative ways of having the student residence built. I would just like to see if we can get that started, as we are in the process of the campus coming up this summer when construction is to begin. During question period, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make my statement today under the broad subject of celebration. Earlier in this session, I heard colleagues debating the merits of granting special liquor licences to open bars and pubs to celebrate the Olympic hockey game, which happened to fall on a Sunday. This in turn led to a debate over whether communities should set the rules for themselves on Sunday bar openings.

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to respectfully point out the irony of what it was that people wanted to celebrate. To be an athlete of Olympian quality takes years of discipline and training to ensure that you have reached the peak of performance in your sport. We admire and revere these people who have resisted the temptations of self-indulgence and excess in eating and drinking, and how do people celebrate? Well, some of them sit on their couch or on a bar stool, eat junk food, smoke and drink beer. Would it not make more sense to emulate the accomplishments of these athletes to maybe go out and run ten kilometres? Or if you have to drink, do it at home with neighbours and friends, but let us not open the door to taking away the one day that people who probably need it the most could spend at home.

I do not think we need any more bar time to celebrate anything. I think we should celebrate the one day bars are closed, and there is a hope that people who are inclined to spend too much time at the bar might stay at home and celebrate a day of rest with their family and friends.

Because if the bars are open, people will come. I lived in a condo tower in downtown Yellowknife across from a certain drinking establishment for the first year I was here, and it did not matter, rain or shine, 40 below, whatever the conditions, the noise that rose up from that street was unbelievable. Maybe child protection workers in Yellowknife could tell us how many kids were left home alone. Maybe we will never know. How much money, which could have been spent on food and clothing, got sucked up by these businesses on the six days of the week they are open?

As for not being featured on national television like so many other partying bar patrons across the country, I think the rest of Canada knows very well that Northerners can consume our share of booze with the best of them. Call me square, call me middle-aged, but I have never understood what drinking had to do with celebrating anything.

Mr. Speaker, I think I as am fun-loving and like celebrations as much if not more than the next person. I am pleased to announce that you do not have to drink to have fun. If you can live without it, why not do so? If you cannot live without it, that is another good reason not to drink. I hope that bars are never opened on Sundays for Grey Cups, Super Bowl, or even Olympic gold. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement today deals with the Family Law Act and the Child Protection Act, and the whole idea of having our children taken and put into custody, taken away from our communities and our homes. There is a process that we have in place. I think this government is at a position of being a police officer, judge, jury and prosecutor by not allowing due process.

I for one feel that there are things happening out there that this government has to seriously take a good look at. In the case at hand, which Members of this side of the House are aware of, there are people who have delivered their babies at Stanton Hospital and had them apprehended immediately after birth.

I feel that is unjust. It is cruel to not only the mother but mental cruelty in the concept of what is going on.

I had to deal with many cases in my constituency where children have been taken away from their parents. All parents are not perfect. All parents do not have the ability or the lifestyle of having to live in a rich family environment. A lot of people live on social assistance. Is that a crime?

I think as a government and as a people, we have to help the people who need help, not use the system to prosecute people, or make people have to prove themselves in front of a court.

For First Nations people and for First Nations governments, they were supposed to be involved in the process of ensuring they were going to be informed of what is happening with aboriginal children when they are being apprehended or taken away from their families or taken away from their communities.

Mr. Speaker, this is happening today. There is no due process. I for one feel that this government and the Minister responsible have to take some action. I think this issue should be debated in this House. We should do a thorough review with regard to the Family Law and Child Protection Act to see if it is really working. Is it doing what we encompass it to do?

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services questions on this urgent matter.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to make a statement to highlight some of the things I have learned about the way our government spends money on lending programs, in particular, the NWT Business Credit Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, through the review of the budget of RWED, I learned that there is no real strong criteria on how our government lends money to businesses. I have also learned that market disruption is not really an important factor when considering government lending money to private businesses. I have a real problem with that, Mr. Speaker, because as I stated in committee of the whole, we are hearing constantly in this House about the lack of money to small communities to create economic development projects and create job opportunities. I have also indicated that in my travels with the special committee, I have learned there are a lot of small communities in the Territories where there are no viable businesses to serve coffee, or a gathering place. For example, in places like Tsiigehtchic and Aklavik, when we were there with the special committee, there was no place a visitor could go to have a snack or coffee or anything.

I think it is government's role to support a business like that in small communities. I do not think it is government's role to spend taxpayer's money to give loans to businesses in communities like Yellowknife, or communities with competition in the market, to give them money when they could not get the money from the bank, not to create new business opportunities or new jobs, but to replace something that is already in existence. You could apply to open a restaurant or another coffee shop or whatever you want. How is that creating new jobs? How is that creating new business opportunities where one did not exist? How is that creating a fair competition if someone could go and get a business loan from the government and they are allowed to compete with other people, who have put their sweat equity, mortgaged their house and whatever savings they scraped together to start that business? There is something very unjust out there about this. I urge the Minister and the government to review this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know it is tough to imagine that winter is just about behind us with the cold weather we are experiencing and that spring is just around the corner. However, a sure sign of spring is the carnivals that we start to see at this time of the year. Today, I want to congratulate the community of the Hay River Reserve, who celebrated the opening of the 19th Annual K'amba Carnival yesterday.

Every year, the reserve is the first community to celebrate their carnival. It is probably the only one in the North that is alcohol and drug free.

-- Applause

I am proud to say they are not campaigning for the bars to be open on Sunday. This is a family-based function and it is held in a dry community. I would remind all of the visitors who are planning to attend the reserve of that fact.

Mr. Speaker, the K'amba Carnival is for both young and old. They have a long list of events, from dog races and talents shows to bingo and the queen and princess contest. Today, I want to thank all of the people who entered the queen and princess contest. They are; Savana Fabien, Patricia Abel, Talitha Bugghins, Cheryl Fabien, Alison Minoza, Alexia Martel, Josie Tourangeau, and Rosalie Martel. These girls are all out pounding the pavement -- Mr. Speaker, I guess pounding the gravel, in this case -- in hopes of ticket sales. The winners were the ones who sold the most tickets. This year's winners are Rosalie Martel who, by the way, was a page for us earlier this last year. Rosalie Martel is the winner for the 2002 K'amba Carnival queen contest, and Cheryl Fabian for the princess. I want to congratulate them both.

Mr. Speaker, during this event, we get to see the towns of many of our fellow Northerners. This year, as part of the opening ceremonies at the K'amba Carnival last night, the people of the Hay River Reserve and Katl'odeeche First Nation pay tribute to Kole Crook.

Every year, the carnival symbolizes the changing of seasons, and it is time to rejoice the end of a cold, dark winter and to welcome the coming spring. Every year, the K'amba Carnival has been growing bigger and bigger. I believe it is the second largest carnival in the North now. Diane Tourangeau and the K'amba Carnival committee have been working for many months to make this event happen. I want to congratulate them for making this an enjoyable and memorable event. I want to thank the community and wish them a wonderful and safe celebration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement is about the status of the Giant Mine cleanup. Earlier this week my colleague from Great Slave, Mr. Braden, spoke in the House about the statement of the cleanup, or rather, the lack of cleanup, of the arsenic trioxide currently stored in the underground caverns at the mine. Mr. Speaker, residents attended public meetings in N'dilo and Yellowknife hosted by DIAND. Those residents had the opportunity to hear what they are proposing as options we should consider with respect to the arsenic trioxide problem at Giant.

Mr. Speaker, there have been meetings and information sessions hosted by DIAND on this issue, and yet it is becoming clear that we are no further now to finding a solution. We now hear that some of the options DIAND proposed in the past are no longer viable, and perhaps the best option on the table is to leave the arsenic where it is. DIAND has suggested that by June of this year, the federal government will determine a course of action to deal with this problem. One of the major obstacles seems to be that it is going to cost money to clean this up, and, Mr. Speaker, let us be clear it is a lot of money.

DIAND representatives have admitted that some of the options would be far too costly. Of particular concern to me is the statement reportedly made at a public meeting in Yellowknife, in which a DIAND representative suggested that Yellowknife has to deal with the arsenic, as this is where it came from. I sure hope he did not mean to suggest that Yellowknife residents have to come up with the solution, Mr. Speaker.

The federal government is ultimately responsible for the mine site cleanup and we must ensure they do what is right for the residents of the NWT and for the environment. The federal government is who we must hold accountable and who we also hold responsible. I hear environmental agencies, local governments, aboriginal organizations and community citizens voicing concerns and fears regarding the inaction of the federal government, but I am not hearing this government, Mr. Speaker. I am not hearing the Government of the Northwest Territories. Where are we on this? Why are we not making our case to the federal government? Or do we even have one?

I think the people of the Northwest Territories have every right to know what this government is doing to resolve this impending environmental disaster.

Later today, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking this government, specifically the Minister responsible for RWED, what is being done to address this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to an Oral Question asked by Mrs. Groenewegen on February 20, 2002, regarding the Human Resource Management Policy. Mrs. Groenewegen directed her question to the Deputy Premier. However, this question deals with matters for which I am responsible and therefore it is proper that I respond.

As Minister responsible for the public service, I have the sole authority and responsibility to manage and direct the public service in a manner consistent with the Public Service Act. Many of the authorities have been delegated to deputy ministers. This is outlined further in a letter to Mr. Bell tabled in the House on February 26, 2002. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. I am hoping that as I travel home today, I will have some good news to bear as to when a meeting might be set up between the groups in the community around possible alternative methods of building a student campus. I would like to know from the Minister, when will he be able to have representatives of his department contact the groups in Inuvik? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will have my officials contact the Inuvik officials immediately. I would also like to state that I am going to be in the Delta, Inuvik specifically, around March 20th to 21st, somewhere around then. I would certainly like to meet with whomever I can on this subject. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is good to hear the Minister will have someone making contact immediately. Will the discussions be open so that they can put proposals on the table as to alternative construction methods? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be open to any possibilities or ideas. What has to always be respected, of course, is our process for capital planning, but I will certainly take into consideration any possibilities that may be feasible for us to consider. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the possibilities of what is being considered feasible, I hope the Minister and his department will take into account the fact that this campus and residence have been on the books for quite some time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did address the whole issue of the immediate need, and there was an immediate need for accommodation in Inuvik, and we have opened up the row housing, or are in the process of opening up some units now. It was critical that we do that, Mr. Speaker. Certainly I am aware that there has been a desire to have a residence attached to the college, but there are challenges, of course, for us all the time with the amount and availability of capital funding. Certainly I will keep an open mind to possibilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, just for the fact, as the Minister prepares for this and the department goes there, there are no preconceptions as to time lines. The other day, the Minister stated something about 10 years that these interim arrangements might be working. I would like to have the Minister confirm in fact that feasibility and consideration will be given to the options put forward even if they come up sooner, as long as they can meet this government's requirements for cash flow. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Respecting the process that we use, I have to always consider the capital planning process and so forth, but I am looking forward to meeting in the Delta. I have been asked to go to the leadership meeting in Inuvik midway through the month. I am looking forward to that because I was not able to go the last time. The Premier had asked me to attend a meeting in Calgary and I had missed that meeting, Mr. Speaker. It would have been an opportunity to discuss this matter. I am looking forward to going. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will make the commitment that we will get the statistics we have from the Member's region and riding and look at the cancer rates and the other issues that he has raised to try and determine the cause. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, whether there are waiting lists and what length of waiting lists there are for use of the specialized diagnostic equipment, I do not know. I will find out what the waiting lists are and how long they are. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit to get back to the Member with the information we have before the end of next week.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today goes to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In the budget address that was presented earlier this session, on page 17, it speaks about the extra money that is being made available for student support funding, which will be increased to 15 percent of school contributions. May I ask the Minister how the department sees this extra money being spent? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were two aspects to the funding increases for school support. One was for the pupil-teacher ratio, and we are on target with that at 16.5:1. We brought it down from 18:1. Next year it will go to 16:1. Additionally, we decided we would increase funding for student support. That would increase from 8 percent to 15 percent. That is being done this year to increase to 15 percent. That is support in the classroom for special needs and student support areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Specifically to the increased funding for student support money, may I ask the Minister as to whether or not there were any guidelines, accountability frameworks, any standards the department is giving to the local school boards as to how this money is being spent? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have an accountability framework in place, whereby reports are done at the end of the year. School boards report back to the department on the expenditure base and where the funding was expended.

Ahead of time, we have made it clear to the school boards that the funding is necessary to bring down the PTR. It is very measurable and the funding for student support be directly targeted at student support. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is it possible for us to have a copy of the accountability framework the department is giving to school boards as to how this money should be spent? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can certainly provide the Member with the areas of accountability that we require from school boards in return for the funding that we provide them. I would be glad to pass that on to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the same time, is there a policy or guidelines that the school boards should have with respect to how they propose to spend this money? If so, could I get a copy of that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will certainly provide the Member with any areas of guidelines and instructions that we forward on to school boards with respect to funding that we provide; formula funding, special funding and so forth. We will be glad to turn that over and supply it to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services and it is in regard to the Child and Family Services Act and child apprehension. I see it as getting out of hand. Something has to be done to rein them in. I do not see why, in this day and age, we have the child protection officer along with the RCMP going into our hospitals and apprehending newborns, not even allowing the mother to bond with her newborn child.

For me, that is inhumane and emotionally stressful on the mother, the family and the community. I would like to know from the Minister, as First Nations governments are supposed to be consulted in apprehensions that are taking place, is he aware of this practice and what is he doing about it?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member made me aware of this issue yesterday in the Members' lounge. I am having it checked into. I understand there were two cases where there were apprehensions at birth last year, one in consultation with the mother with a plan of care agreement to reunite the mother with the child as soon as possible.

My colleague makes reference to some very specific facts that I am not aware of or have not been privilege to in regard to police and the way hospital apprehensions may have been done. I am not in a position to comment on that. I will check but I do not have that kind of information. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Child and Family Services Act, it clearly allows for a process to take place between the social worker or child protection officer, the parent and some sort of a working group or working committee within our communities to work out and try to find solutions to the problems, so the children do not have to leave their homes.

I would like to ask the Minister, could he check and see if that is being done at this time and is it being carried out to the letter of the law? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was here in the 13th Assembly on the committee that was working with the final review of the family law bills that were brought into effect, which my colleague mentions.

The intent of the plan and care committee was to do the very things that the Member indicated, to provide input, make sure there was due process, make sure every step possible was made to keep the child with the family and in the community and that no moves were made on children in and out of the community without the community being involved.

If the Member is asking me to tell him if there are plan and care committees in place in every community in the North, I will get that information and I will find out. I know what the intent is. I know what the process is, but I will get the specifics in terms of whether there are plan and care committees in all the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the components of the act clearly allows for dialogue between this government and First Nations governments when it comes to aboriginal children who are either apprehended or are being taken away from the community, so that the First Nations governments are aware that this action is being taken and how they can intervene.

I would like to ask the Minister, has the process of consultation with First Nations been taking place? If so, what has been done? If not, why not?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this act has been in place for a number of years. The plan and care committees are set up in conjunction with the people in the communities and the community leadership.

I am also in the process of trying to arrange a meeting with the Dene Nation. They have some concerns and want to have some discussion in terms of child welfare matters. I have had some discussions with the people in the Dogrib region.

I know this is a very important area, one where there is some history. We are very clearly committed to providing the best service possible and protect the interests of the children, while trying to maintain a family structure.

Mr. Speaker, there has been consultation and there will be continued consultation. I will be going into the communities in the coming weeks and months and I am sure that item will be on the agenda, as it has already been, when I get to the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us in this House exactly how many children are presently in care, or who have been withdrawn from the family member or from a home? Exactly where are these children today?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can give the Member an indication of a snapshot. The numbers change, sometimes on a daily basis. As of September 30, 2001, there were 246 children that had court status with the department, which means they are in either permanent custody, temporary custody, in the process of being apprehended or are under some type of supervision order. We have approximately 20 children down in southern placements. The other children are in various placements throughout the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement today, I talked about what DIAND is proposing to do with the 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide stored at the Giant Mine site. I would like to ask the Minister of RWED what involvement his department has in addressing the problem of arsenic trioxide being stored underground at Giant, and also the surface cleanup at the mine site. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear our preference is ultimately for the removal of this substance. I am wondering if the Minister can say to date, of the proposed options that DIAND has discussed as being most appropriate to address our concerns, which of those options is RWED leaning toward? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my concern is that if DIAND comes back to us and says "Options X and Y are too expensive, therefore we are going with Z," what is this government prepared to do? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I am looking for some sort of assurance that this Minister and this department will not accept the cheapest solution as necessarily the most preferential. There are other sites in the Territories. I think it would set a terrible precedent if we just buckled under and accepted the cheapest solution. Will the Minister give me assurance that cost and the price of this cleanup will not be the ultimate determining factor? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to go back to the questions I raised with the Minister of MACA, Mr. Vince Steen, about swimming pools. I asked several days ago about consideration to replace the swimming pool in Fort Providence. I received several phone calls from my constituents regarding his answers. I want to ask again, because in his response, he talked about not knowing why swimming pools were not in the capital planning anymore and was not aware that there was a request from Fort Providence. He could not answer why some communities could transfer funds and others could not.

I would like to ask the Minister if he could give me a clear answer on what he plans to do with this request. What is his answer to the people? What message can he send to the people of Fort Providence regarding the request for swimming pools? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had opportunity to discuss this issue with the department after the Member's questions in the House. It is clear that some communities chose to switch priorities, whereby MACA has a funding program, capital program for some type of facilities and not for the other, so the community did switch priorities and used the funding for a swimming pool rather than for an arena.

We do not have, at the present, a capital planning process whereby we would fund swimming pools. Swimming pools were cut off in the days of the cutbacks, as I said, and it was never really re-established into the capital plan. As we all know, the new corporate capital planning process puts recreation facilities quite a ways down the scale in the line of priorities. Swimming pools are not even mentioned at this stage.

What the department did do with Fort Providence is that there was $50,000 that had not been spent at this point, which was originally for the arena, I believe. The community had not spent it yet and it was held over from the year before. It is still earmarked for that particular facility, but the department did give the community the option of using it towards the swimming pool if they wished. I have not heard anything back from the community on this at all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is providing a lot of new information here. The $50,000 he is referring to is for the curling rink. If that is going to go towards the pool, is he going to give us more money to complete the curling rink?

If that is what he is saying, that is fine. However, I have to question the comments he made about switching priorities in terms of the funding that went to Fort Liard. They took the money that was earmarked for an arena and put it towards a pool when they already have an arena. Were they planning to build a second arena and then this got switched? I need some clarity on that. I am not sure what the Minister is saying.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can understand the Member's predicament. Whether or not the department will be approached now with another request for another building, I put the same thing to the department, but we do not really have a program in place. What do we do when communities switch priorities?

I am at this point discussing this with the department as to whether we are going to continue with this process, because it just does not seem to be a process that allows for fairness.

I am also discussing with the department the option of multiplexes, which is possibly a solution to some of the problems that communities face in obtaining a complex that would serve all of their recreational needs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Minister. There has to be some consistency here and it is unfortunate that the community of Fort Providence was not able to do what is being allowed now with the new policy, I believe, to switch funding from one recreational project to another, because that was the desire in the first place. The swimming pools are the most used facilities in the communities, as we know.

I would like to ask the Minister, given the high demand for swimming pools in the communities, if he would consider adding swimming pools in the department's capital plans for next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will most certainly consider that. I think what the department and this government needs is some kind of a collective approach to this from the Ordinary Members and from the standing committees, giving us direction to work towards this. I have to take this to Cabinet. I have to have support for this somehow.

I need some kind of a collective agreement that all of the communities want this. As well, I will be seeking this kind of support from the NWTAM. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is difficult to measure what kind of support the Minister is asking for, but I would like to ask him if he would consider placing this in front of Cabinet if he got a response from all of the communities in the North that are requesting swimming pools and would like to see swimming pools added to the capital planning for next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that as a department, we can allow the communities to identify this in their five-year capital plan. It is just a matter of if it is one of the programs that we fund.

What I am speaking to is support from standing committees, including AOC, that this is one of the programs that should be supported. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. Yesterday in a Minister's statement entitled Human Resources Action Plan, the Minister proceeded to indicate the status of priority one candidates in the corrections services.

At the bottom of the first page, "This is an excellent indication that affirmative action is progressing very well within corrections services." I would like to ask the Minister, is this affirmative action human resource plan that he is talking about part of a bigger government-wide policy for affirmative action, or is this something just specific to his department? Thank you.