Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous 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, the Northwest Territories Dene-Metis Development Fund today finds itself under-capitalized and is seeking additional capital to ensure long-term viability. Mr. Speaker, the support of this government is essential to confirm that it not only supports big business but it is also committed to supporting our northern businesses that are providing the needed business support to businesses outside of the major centres. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of RWED during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two weeks ago, a family in Yellowknife and my constituency lost a son through a tragic accident. Chris Argue was 25 years old. He was the brother of Mike, a competitor at the national ski level. He was the son of Marsha, an advocate and well-known champion of the rights and the situation of disadvantaged women in the NWT. He was the son of John Argue, as you know, Mr. Speaker, my constituency assistant and a friend and colleague of all of us in this Legislature and across the Government of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, where John worked for, I think, some 30 years.

Mr. Speaker, when tragedy strikes, a family loses not only a son or a daughter, a parent or grandparent, the community loses something too. The community loses a friend, a companion, perhaps a co-worker, a competitor and a leader. When life and love is lost at such an early age - Chris was only 25 - that loss seems unbearable. However, here in the North, tragedy strikes often, too often, but our communities come together.

The celebration of Chris' life a week ago was, for myself, my wife and hundreds of other Yellowknifers who attended, a remarkable event in the love that it expressed for Chris and for the family, for the courage that was shown in speaking at a very difficult time, and, Mr. Speaker, in the gratitude that was shown for those who were with Chris and who knew him for his short time with us.

It happens in all our communities. We come together to somehow help make the loss, if not acceptable, at least more manageable and perhaps a bit easier to understand.

Mr. Speaker, I reflect on the words of one of Chris' very well-known and very dear friends, Jesse Allen, that we should never take for...

Mr. Braden, your time for this important statement has ended. Mr. Braden.

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 nays? There are no nays. You may conclude, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the words of a dear friend of Chris', I want to reflect on his message that we should never take for granted those whom we love, and that we should cherish and respect each other every single day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about the challenges faced by families with special needs children. The education system, classroom assistants and special needs assistants support the education and care of these children while they are of school age and during school hours. However, Mr. Speaker, there are many other times during which these families need support, for which there are few resources, services or respite. Many parents who have children with disabilities do not have the luxury of not working outside their homes. They often hold down full-time employment, some being required to work evenings or weekends. They often have other children in the family as well.

Depending on the degree of special care required, just running errands or grocery shopping presents a challenge if there is not a support network or other family members able to assist. These circumstances can place serious stress on parents, or the entire family unit for that matter. Sometimes these circumstances exist for a number of years, and we have all heard of some of the tragic results reported recently in the media of families who took drastic measures in the state of prolonged periods of time without support.

It is interesting that governments will so readily split families up by placing special needs children in very costly institutional settings, or pay for foster care placements where they will support a foster family up to $90 per day but will offer so little or no support to families struggling on their own. There are also often significant financial stresses for things such as supplies required to care for their children.

We need to find more ways to support families who devote all of their time and affection to raising their disabled children in their own homes. Later I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services on the kind of support we can offer as a government. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to draw attention to an annual campaign carried out by the Canadian Cancer Society, which is called Daffodil Days. It is going to take place this year between April 2nd to the 5th. Essentially, you can order a bunch of daffodils, I think it is $5 a bunch, send them to loved ones and it is a great way to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. We do have a local Alberta-NWT division.

Mr. Speaker, I am drawing attention to this today because I understand they are having some difficulty in fundraising this year. Past years have been very good, but there was some confusion around some of the advertising. I wanted to clear that up and let people know they can phone locally, 920-4428, for information or order forms. They do have a local office on the 3rd floor of the Graham Bromley Building. I will also have this information in my office, so if any constituents or Members are interested in getting this information, they can contact me.

Mr. Speaker, I think that all of us have had loved ones in our families who have been touched by cancer at one point or another. I think it is a very good initiative and a great way to raise funds for cancer research. I hope my colleagues and members of the Northwest Territories will take up the cause here and raise money for Daffodil Days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my colleagues, Mr. Delorey, and the young Mr. Nitah for Tu Nedhe, I would like to speak briefly about the Arctic Winter Games and the people that have made these Games possible, the people that are going to go from my community. I made reference to the youth of my colleague because he indicated he went in 1988 to the Arctic Winter Games. I went, as one of the more ancient Members of this House, in 1970 to the first Games here in Yellowknife...

-- Applause

...but I do know that it is an experience that sticks with you. It gives you a chance to participate at a level that probably you will not -- at my age now, I will be lucky to be able to lift both legs off the floor at the same time if I sat in a chair, let alone compete at that level. It is a very, very important time for the young folks, and I want to commend the volunteers, coaches, parents as well as the athletes themselves.

• Mr. Speaker, in Fort Smith we have the benefit of 25 people going off to attend the Games. For the record, I would just like to recognize them in this House:• Inuit Games - Derek Thrasher, Meika McDonald, Joe Thrasher, Tim McDonald and Lena Illasiak;• Cross-country skiing - Lindsey Freund, Betsy Mawdsley, Kristyn Freund, Tom Koidhis, Patti Kay Hamilton;• For the cultural-visual component there are Laura Aubrey and Keith Douglas;• Ice hockey - Aaron Mackeinzo, Lance Lennie and Kurt MacDonald;• Volleyball - Brendan Bourque, Katie Popplestone, Brandy Thompson, Chantelle McDonald, Charlotte McDonald, Roslyn Cardinal, Candace Adam, Natasha Black and Alma McDonald; and • For mission staff, we have Juneva Green.

I would like to offer my best wishes to those people from my constituency, as well as all the athletes from the Northwest Territories. I hope they have the time of their lives, that they travel safely and that they come back draped in gold. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been over a year since I shared with my esteemed colleagues in this House the socio-economic profile of my riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share another important document that guides me through my work as the MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Speaker, as the MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes, I recently commissioned an interim review of my performance to date. I would like to share some of the highlights with my colleagues in this Assembly. The questions were designed to seek opinions from my constituents as to how I might more effectively serve them and to determine what issues they consider important for the future of Inuvik, the Mackenzie Delta region and the NWT as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, the findings of this survey are very similar to the questions and concerns that my colleagues raise in this House. Mr. Speaker, my constituents have placed housing far ahead of any other issue. Education, training for youth, health care and the social and environmental consequences of economic development, particularly in the oil and gas sector, fall far behind housing issues. More specifically, as my colleagues are already aware of, is my continued friendly advocacy to promote alternative lending agencies that will allow for more access to financial assistance.

Mr. Speaker, this review provides me with an analysis of what my constituents' expectations are of me as their MLA. Many of my constituents have only a modest awareness of my Ministerial responsibilities. Others have said that I have too many portfolios, which causes me to lack focus.

While there were variations between different demographic segments of my electorate, I want to assure the people of Inuvik Twin Lakes that I am aware of all the issues that are important to you as my constituents. It is my sincere intention to determine where this government must focus its resources to improve the quality of life, particularly for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

In concluding, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank those who responded to the questionnaire, and also to Jack Cunningham and Rob Cook of Gwich'in Graphics for compiling this data and formatting it. I will be tabling this interim review tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Nitah on February 27, 2002, regarding school grade promotion policy.

Mr. Nitah asked if the Department of Education, Culture and Employment keeps statistics on how many students from small communities have to go back a grade when they move and go to school in a larger centre.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment does not keep statistics on student placement. Placement decisions are made at the school level and involve many factors, including age, social development of the student and the size of classes. There are often children working at several grade levels in any one classroom.

A guiding document for student placement is the department's inclusive schooling directive, which stipulates that all students have the right to participate in educational programs offered in a regular classroom setting with their age peers. For the most part, that is what is happening in NWT schools.

There may be situations where a decision is made not to place a student in a regular classroom or with his or her peers, but such a decision would be arrived at with much deliberation and would involve discussions with the students, parents or guardians.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the Gallery. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.