Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Please be seated. Good afternoon. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, one of the priorities of this government, as outlined in Towards A Better Tomorrow, is the improvement of social well-being through self-reliant individuals, families and communities working with governments. In particular, the vision provides for a specific focus on issues facing women, children, elders and persons with disabilities.

In support of this direction, the department, in collaboration with its partners, has been working on a number of significant initiatives which are now positioned to move forward in conjunction with the Health and Social Services Action Plan 2002-2005. These include the Continuing Care Framework, the Addictions, Mental Health and Family Violence Framework and the Disabilities Steering Committee.

Mr. Speaker, the Continuing Care Framework is composed of programs and services to meet the needs of both adults and children of the Northwest Territories. The framework focuses on strengthening integration of community services and intersectoral links through three strategies: home and community care, supported living so people can remain in their own homes and the provision of long-term care in facilities. The goal of this framework is to ensure individuals' needs are being met in the least invasive manner, promoting the greatest opportunity for lasting wellness and functional independence at an optimal level. The planning and costing of the framework is to be completed by June 2002.

The Continuing Care Framework will also assist the department to focus on issues relating to repatriation. This work will include identifying and analyzing the costs associated with repatriation options, recruitment and retention issues and training and capacity building. It will also provide a forum to discuss how best to address the needs within the NWT related to specific issues such as Alzheimer's.

In 2001-2002, efforts were focused on the home and community care portion of this strategy. A steering committee representative of aboriginal partners, health and social services authorities, the federal government and the department has guided the implementation of three-year enhancement plans

for home care services. These plans include training of community staff and the enhancement to services. Through this process, 21 home support workers were certified in 2001-2002, six home support workers are currently in training and ten home care nurses received additional training in such areas as diabetes and palliative care.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT Disability Framework and Action Plan will be developed to address the special needs of persons with disabilities. Where appropriate, this work will to some degree supplement the work being carried out to develop the Continuing Care Framework. An NWT steering committee partnership consisting of GNWT departments, aboriginal organizations and non-governmental organizations has been established to guide the development of the Disabilities Framework and Action Plan.

The framework for action will be completed in the spring of 2002 and the planning and costing for implementation of these actions will be completed by June 2002. The framework will address areas of concern, such as service gaps and income support for the permanently disabled.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the Addictions, Mental Health and Family Violence Framework for action is another important initiative supporting health and well-being for Northerners. The goal of this framework is to ensure effective, culturally relevant addictions, mental health and family violence programs and services be accessible to all residents, provide for the needs of the most vulnerable groups and support a nurturing and responsible society in the NWT. The department is committed to an array of services to address addiction, mental health and family violence issues.

The framework will be critical to addressing a number of issues that have been raised by the people of the NWT and Members of this Legislature. These include socio-economic impacts of development, funding and salaries of non-governmental organizations, training of alcohol and drug workers, family violence services available to communities, training of mental health workers and requests for addiction treatment facilities.

The department will be completing a framework for action and action plan with costing for Cabinet consideration later this spring. We will be implementing the action plan after consultation and in collaboration with stakeholders and other related strategies and frameworks, including the Social Agenda, Early Childhood Development Action Plan, Northern Wellness Initiative and the Continuing Care Framework.

As this government continues its efforts to promote economic growth and prosperity, these initiatives will provide a framework to effect change and improve the quality of life of our citizens. These programs and services are an essential part of our social safety net. They are orientated to support healthy, self -reliant Northerners who can fully participate in the opportunities that the North provides. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to report that an NWT Crown Corporation, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, has won two of the highest environmental honours available from a national environmental organization. The awards come from the Voluntary Challenge and Registry Incorporated -- a voluntary, not-for-profit organization in Ottawa designed to celebrate the achievements of members in limiting their greenhouse gas emissions.

The first of the Power Corporation's honours was attaining gold level champion reporter status for excellence in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is the second time the Corporation has been acknowledged for achieving gold level status reporting. Accountability and reporting of emissions can earn members bronze and silver awards, but only those members who actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions can achieve gold level. The Corporation achieved a 100 percent rating from the Voluntary Challenge and Registry in attaining its gold level. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that the Northwest Territories Power Corporation has gone the extra mile and has actually decreased its greenhouse gas emissions by 47 percent from the 1991 levels. This, Mr. Speaker, represents the reduction in the Northwest Territories alone, so does not include any reductions due to the creation of Nunavut.

Despite stiff national competition, the Power Corporation was also awarded first place in the electric utilities category. The Power Corporation's prize-winning submission outlined a detailed and successful plan to reduce greenhouse gases. This plan included:

• • a promise of support from the Power Corporation's management;
• • a commitment to quantifying and setting a target for greenhouse gas reductions;
• • a specified time frame in which to carry out the plan;
• • a commitment to regular reporting; and
• • measurable proof that it had succeeded on all points.

A copy of the report can be found on the corporation's web site at www.ntpc.com.

Mr. Speaker, the Power Corporation received these awards at a ceremony celebrating environmental leadership hosted by the Voluntary Challenge and Registry last night.

Among the methods the NWT Power Corporation employed in winning its awards are: development of hydro projects; "recycling" residual heat; better efficiency of existing plants; replacing old style street lights and converting the Inuvik plant to natural gas. It has also decreased the amount of carbon dioxide relative to the total megawatts of power provided by diesel generation.

Another function of this organization is for its members to learn from the experiences of other organizations, as well as to contribute to a general body of knowledge about reduction of greenhouse gases. I am proud to say that this northern company, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, can stand as an industry leader and a model to other companies in the North and nationwide about how to effectively reduce greenhouse gases.

It is encouraging to know that this environmental success story is being acted out in the North. It is especially impressive considering the unique difficulties facing industry and power generation in our climate. Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that the leadership the Northwest Territories Power Corporation has shown will encourage other organizations to voluntarily record and reduce their greenhouse gases. Thank you,

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to focus on a topic that has been raised by some of my constituents, that being the delivery of eye care services in the communities. Mr. Speaker, recently, meetings held by the Premiers of the provinces and territories seem to focus primarily on the health issues.

If any one issue achieved consensus, Mr. Speaker, it was that health care represents Canada's largest financial issue. It gives me cause for concern, Mr. Speaker, when I contemplate what our increasing population numbers mean to immeasurable, perhaps even shrinking, health care dollars.

Mr. Speaker, one recent example that was brought to my attention by a senior in my constituency was that of eye care delivery in the communities. Mr. Speaker, in Hay River, for example, people requiring eye examinations are seen by an ophthalmic technician. The ophthalmologist, or eye doctor, only travels to Hay River three to four times per year, and that is to treat certain people who have been referred to him specifically, not for regular eye examinations.

Mr. Speaker, we had a scenario occur in Hay River with a senior citizen who received an eye examination by an ophthalmic technician. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the eye exam performed by the technician failed to detect cataracts in this woman's eyes. The cataracts were only detected when she went south for an examination by an ophthalmologist, at her own expense, I might add.

To further illustrate my point, Mr. Speaker, another constituent, a senior citizen in Hay River, had bifocal glasses fitted by an optical technician in Hay River and they were not fitted properly. The patient returned to the eye clinic because he was having so much difficulty, and was told by the technician that he would just have to get used to them. I do not believe that this is an acceptable response.

Mr. Speaker, this senior also travelled south to have his glasses checked and was told by an ophthalmologist that his glasses were not done correctly, that the prescription given in Hay River was not close enough to the actual prescription, so as to provide proper vision. Mr. Speaker, this senior ended up purchasing, at his own expense, a second pair of bifocals, since he could not see out of the pair provided by the technician in Hay River.

I find this totally unacceptable, Mr. Speaker. It appears that we are provided substandard services because of the fact that we live in communities. In the words of the eye care technician...

Mr. Delorey, your time for your Member's statement is finished. Mr. Delorey.

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 any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the words of the eye care technician, you will just have to get used to it. Mr. Speaker, our health is so precious that we should take every precaution to protect it. This includes our eyesight. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we as a government owe it to our residents who live in communities outside of Yellowknife to provide top quality eye care. At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister responsible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the contracts process used by the public bodies associated with the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to be reviewed. I believe we need a transparent system that benefits northern business, but I am not convinced this is always the case right now.

After having been contacted by some constituents concerned about some contract awards, I requested some information about contracts from the Housing Corporation, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation and Workers' Compensation Board. To say the least, Mr. Speaker, it was an arduous process to get it.

Even worse, I have become concerned about some things that came to my attention while we were looking for that information. Mr. Speaker, these public bodies are outside of the government, so each agency had to be contacted individually. Another hurdle was created because none of these agencies provide contract listings like the GNWT does, where contract payments are publicly listed every quarter.

In fact, the GNWT, right now, posts all payments over $5,000 on the web site for easy public access. However, Mr. Speaker, at WCB, the Housing Corporation and the Power Corporation, it is a lengthy process for staff to manually compile these reports when they are requested. I think it should just take a quick search from a simple set of records, as it does with the regular quarterly report from the Government of the Northwest Territories.

There were some problems too, Mr. Speaker, with this reporting, when it is done by hand. One of the reports even had a contract listed to a northern business when the business says they did not get it. Mr. Speaker, it is time for all public bodies to report contract payments like this government does publicly.

I am concerned that without regular public listings of contracts, it is too easy for contracts to go to southern firms when there may be qualified northern firms. Public scrutiny is an important part of the use by government of public funds by revealing when contracts are awarded to non-northern firms.

I was also concerned by some of the terms that I found in the RFPs looking at these contracts. For instance, Mr. Speaker, one of the terms set out to successfully bid on some of the contracts that I looked into required the proponent to have a huge revenue base to qualify for consideration. Mr. Speaker, I think that a smaller company would work much harder fulfilling a contract, and the mobilization costs would be much lower, or non-existent, for a company already based in the North.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen contract specifications that appear to have been drafted by southern companies. I would think that it is obvious they would be preparing their specs to position their firm for future contract bids.

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 any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, honourable Members. Mr. Speaker, government and public bodies have a responsibility to support northern businesses. It is not long ago that nearly all GNWT capital projects were built by southern firms. It took guts for the government to say we are going to support development of the northern economy by giving preference to northern business. By taking that step, it led to a dramatic growth in northern contractors. Now, northern builders compete on a global scale. We have developed a lot of specialized expertise.

Mr. Speaker, it is time we took a similar approach to information technology contracts. It is time for this government and public bodies to better support the development of information technology firms. Let us stop overstating the requirements for IT contracts and let northern firms show how well they can deliver. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as part of Towards a Better Tomorrow, we stated we were aiming for housing that was adequate, affordable and suitable, and elders who were well supported by their community and able to live independently.

Mr. Speaker, it is my belief that the public housing and income support harmonization initiative does not support either of these stated goals of this government. Residents of public housing make up many of the most vulnerable people in our society; our elders, people on social assistance, and single working parents. These are all people who have little ability to be flexible with their income, yet it is exactly these people that the harmonization program was targeting.

Given the fact that people in public housing are on fixed income, I find it incomprehensible that the government would announce changes to the rent scale system without having completed their own calculations. The uncertainty that was caused by this announcement without the necessary financial information to go with it is inexcusable.

Mr. Speaker, most organizations tend to fully plan and develop an initiative before they stand up and make public statements about it. Most organizations would send a letter directly to the people in this program informing them about how it would affect them. Most organizations would have the decency to inform their elders well in advance of what their rent increase was going to be, not just vaguely tell them that it may increase sometime soon.

According to our Residential Tenancy Act, the government requires that private landlords provide at least three months notice of rent increase. Here, we have a government whose job it is to protect and assist people in public housing and they cannot extend the same courtesy to our own residents.

Mr. Speaker, given the lack of planning and poorly managed job of conveying information to public housing tenants, I would like to recommend that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation scrap the entire harmonization program and focus on housing issues that would benefit Northwest Territories residents instead of hurting them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a statement today about an issue on the radio that seemed to get a lot of coverage. It is the call from the RCMP in Yellowknife regarding the number of nuisance calls they receive regarding alcohol and drunkenness in the communities.

I think as a government and as a people, the Northwest Territories has to recognize this is a problem. I think the problem we have is a lot of people assume that strictly by phoning the RCMP or letting the RCMP take care of the problem, the problem will go away. They will come along, pick the person up, take them to the jail, put them in the jail, let them out the next day, problem solved. Mr. Speaker, my view is that does not work.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that we here, as a government, have to take on that responsibility. We are here to ensure the well-being of the Northwest Territories residents and the reflection of our residents regarding the people who live in our society who are at need because of the effects of alcohol and drugs and other effects on our society.

I for one, Mr. Speaker, feel that as a government, we have not taken hold of the pace of development happening around us. The cuts that took place during the 13th Assembly, the closures of alcohol and drug treatment centres, and also with the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program, it has not seen any movement.

In the Northwest Territories, we have one alcohol and drug treatment facility with 30 beds. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that not only we as the government, but people in our society from the community governments to the organizations that are there to assist people, have the resources, and that we give people who have problems in our society with alcohol and drugs and other forms of problems the tools to give them an alternative. What is the alternative with drinking and doing drugs? What will make these people better people in our society to give them the tools to make that change?

I feel that we as a government are letting these people down, and also letting down the people who are there to protect us in our community, especially the RCMP, by expecting them to take care of a problem that is really all our problem. I think we as a government, Members of this Legislature, we have to take issue with this problem and make it a priority of this government, if we expect to take advantage of developments in oil and gas and mining. We have to set the example. As a government, we should do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. 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. Later today, I will be tabling a significant message from hundreds of Northwest Territories residents on an issue that we have all become far too complacent about. That message, Mr. Speaker, is that child poverty is real. It is not going away. Our government can be doing more about it.

The petition I will be tabling was sponsored by a single parent, by the Yellowknife Women's Centre and the Status of Women Council in the Northwest Territories. It was launched in October of last year. Since then, Mr. Speaker, it has generated 613 signatures from ten communities across the Northwest Territories. I wanted to list those communities because they deserve recognition for the effort they put into it.

Signatories, Mr. Speaker, are here from the communities of Lutselk'e, Inuvik, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Fort McPherson, Tsiigehtchic, Fort Smith, Holman, Fort Liard and Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker. The petition asked the government specifically to do the following:

1. To stop the clawback from the National Child Benefit Supplement from monthly income support payments;
2. Stop deducting child support payments from monthly income support assessments;
3. Set income support rates at the DIAND 1998 study level, which is an average of $900 per month for food for a family of four.

Mr. Speaker, I direct your attention, or anyone who is in the Assembly today, to the display that is set up outside, which illustrates the dramatic difference between what our food allowances permit and what this DIAND level permits;

4. Mr. Speaker, to re-institute income support for basic necessities like telephone, transportation, sanitary products, diapers and laundry soap;
5. Provide the NWT working supplement to families on income support;
6. Stop forcing income support recipients to liquidate their assets such as RRSPs or children's trust accounts.

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, one in five children lives in poverty. Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. As I have said, one in five children in Canada lives in poverty. These levels have grown 39 percent since 1989. Here in the NWT, according to some 1996 statistics, 20 percent of all families -- all families in the NWT, Mr. Speaker -- are single parent families. Seventy-nine percent of those families are led by women and 35 percent of the women in the NWT earn less than $20,000, which is below the poverty level, Mr. Speaker. For a one-year period from April 1999, 334 children used emergency shelters in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, child poverty is something that is in our communities every day. We cannot be complacent about it. We must act. I will be asking the appropriate Minister questions on this petition and the important area that it raises. Thank you.

-- Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to have recently received the Family Violence Legislation Interim Status Report from the Minister of Justice. There is some information that was presented in that report that I would like to share with the House.

Presently, there are seven provinces and territories in Canada that have family violence legislation, and I am sorry that the Northwest Territories is not one of them. Of these seven provinces and territories, Saskatchewan and PEI have the most experience with the legislation, as these were enacted in 1995 and 1996 respectively. Both provinces have conducted reviews and evaluations of their legislation and both provinces have come to the same conclusion, that family violence legislation is an effective way of helping the victims of family violence.

Another benefit of having the legislation cited by both provinces is that it provides victims and police with an option where they feel a criminal response is not warranted. In 1998, the Saskatchewan report had this to say about family violence legislation:

In addition to providing immediate protection to victims, orders remove the onus from the victims in dealing with domestic violence by allowing them and their families to remain in their home communities where they have access to family, school, employment and community support.

Mr. Speaker, I think these studies and evaluations by other provinces have shown that family violence legislation does help the victims and that, Mr. Speaker, is what we should be striving towards. Mr. Speaker, later today I plan to ask the Minister of Justice how we can more quickly move this legislation along and what other interim measures we might take to assist the victims of family violence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to speak about a justice issue that has been concerning me and it has to do with the lack of resources in policing and lack of resources for legal aid.

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the recent reporting in the media about the inadequate funding for the RCMP that may result in reduced services. I guess a reduction of policing services where it is necessary is always a concern, but I am more concerned about the fact that the RCMP has chosen to speak about the fact that they are not going to be able to enforce some of the responsibilities they have. I cannot think of any other notice to those who might want to engage in deviant behaviour or break the law, to get some comfort in knowing that they may have a better chance of not getting caught if the RCMP does not have enough resources to enforce the laws.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to give notice to the Minister of Justice that I will be interested in listening to what he has to say about what he has been doing to address this.

The second issue I would like to speak about is the lack of funding for legal aid. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that forever and ever, there never was enough money in legal aid. From what I understand and from the information that I have, it is getting worse and worse. The ones who suffer the most are usually the parents or single mothers who need legal assistance to get child support payments or custody applications put through the courts, Mr. Speaker.

I know that working on legal aid files is the lowest priority for most lawyers in town, and there is already a lack of family lawyers in town anyway. I think a lot of people who need help are not able to get the help to get the support payments and custody situations settled. It is really an unfair situation for those who are in need of legal aid and cannot get it because there is not enough money in the fund and there is not enough legal assistance available. I will also be pursing that with the Minister of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when Premier Kakfwi returned from the Team Canada trade mission, he acknowledged the presence of many people and groups that took part in promoting the NWT in other parts of the world. Some people promoted the economic opportunities in place here, while others displayed the cultural aspects of our unique society.

Mr. Speaker, it is the latter group I wish to acknowledge today. Mr. Speaker, there were six residents of Holman who made up the group known as the Holman Drummers and Dancers. Jimmy Memogana was accompanied by members of his immediate and extended families, namely Roberta and Kevin Memogana, Fred and Linda Kataoyak and Buddy Alikamik. Mr. Speaker, this group not only showcased part of the Inuvialuit culture through their actions and performance, but through their age differences, it clearly indicates a desire of the Inuvialuit to pass on these skills to the younger generations.

Mr. Speaker, Jimmy Memogana is 83 years old, and a father, grandfather and great grandfather many times over. Roberta is his daughter and Kevin is Roberta's son. Fred and Linda Kataoyak and Buddy Alikamik are also the grandchildren of Jimmy.

Mr. Speaker, Jimmy Memogana is a very popular Inuvialuit drummer and dancer and a great performer. When he dances, he does so with real emotion in his movements, and the same can be said of his family members.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Holman drummers and dancers for showcasing the Inuvialuit culture while performing in Munich, Germany, and for sacrificing their time away from home to do so.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish Memogana many more years of good, healthy drumming and dancing. I look forward to seeing him again on my next visit to Holman. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for MACA, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Lafferty on February 27, 2002, regarding community sport and recreation funding.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs does not have operations and maintenance or capital funding for multi-use facilities. 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 Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not get many occasions to rise on this item, but today I would like to recognize my wife and partner for 34 years, Betty, and our youngest daughter, Meika.

-- Applause

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome Bruce Suzan, Ms. Harry and Carol Owen to the gallery. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I would like to welcome everyone who has come to watch your Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, the Honourable Jim Antoine. As I mentioned yesterday, since I have been elected, I have been trying to keep a close eye on the number of committees and the different bodies that are formed and look at the membership and the mandate.

I noticed that the Intergovernmental Forum has set up a new group called the Northwest Territories Economic Development Advisory Forum. However, I am not sure what their mandate is. I would like to ask the Minister if he could tell us today.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Gathering from the Minister's response, it is my understanding that this group will be working on setting priorities and direction, mainly for aboriginal communities in the North. I wanted to ask him if he could tell me how many people are on this committee? How many members are aboriginal? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been told that the majority of the membership of this committee is non-aboriginal and that concerns me as this group will be dealing a lot with aboriginal issues and aboriginal governments.

I would like to ask the Minister another question relating to membership. How many people from this committee are from the south, who live in the south? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the information that the Minister will provide with regard to the aboriginal membership and the people who live in the south. I would also like to ask him if he can provide me with the information regarding the number of members on this committee who are currently doing business with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In reference to the statement I made about child poverty, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment what this government is doing to address and reduce child poverty in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has brought forward a petition that he is going to table later today on child poverty, and I think we are all very concerned about the issue of child poverty in the Northwest Territories.

Our government has recognized that and continues to provide funding increases, Mr. Speaker, in terms of food allowances. We are proposing with this budget that we have just put forward to put more money into the food allowance, which will also take into account other areas of expenditures that are referenced in this petition. We took that into account when we decided that we would move forward with increases in funding, Mr. Speaker.

Over the last year, if we approve this particular budget, we will have increased the amount of funding in this one specific area by approximately $1.1 million. That will go directly into the hands of those on income support. The question of course becomes, does that go down to the children? Are people using that to support their children? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed, the question, as the Minister has pointed out is, does this very welcome new funding go down to the children? I would like to ask the Minister specific questions on a couple of points in the petition.

Is this government going to stop deducting child support payments from monthly income support assessments for clients on income support? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of areas here. The NCPS clawback is consistent with how we do it across the country, with perhaps one or two exceptions, but it was a condition by the federal government. That is reinvested within the Northwest Territories in the workers' supplement and in the Healthy Children's Initiative, Mr. Speaker.

When it comes to some of the other areas, we have taken into account that the level of support that we provide and, Mr. Speaker, we have an area of unearned income that we must take into consideration and an area of assets that are available for the individual to support themselves. So, we come to the level of support that we provide. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, will this government introduce income support rates that would allow a family of four to purchase the same amount of food as suggested by the DIAND 1998 study level? It is a substantively increased amount of food than our food allowances allow. Will the government try to do that? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I say, our program takes into account a number of areas. What we do provide is not consistent across the country. We provide the cost of housing in our jurisdiction, Mr. Speaker. We also provide the cost of utilities, clothing, furniture and we allow the individual to earn up to $400 more a month.

The Stats Canada 1999 survey indicated that Northwest Territories households consisting of 3.1 persons spent $564 per month on food. Our level of support, Mr. Speaker, today is $524 for a household of one mother and three children. We are increasing that amount with this particular budget, so we are coming close to the amount that would indicate by our national survey what would be the average spending. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, thank you. Those are all very encouraging bits of information. To give us a handle on this though, could the Minister advise the Assembly, what do we do to measure levels of child poverty in the Northwest Territories? What are our criteria? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is a good question. It is more measured by those who are on income support rather than children on a poverty level. I think there is an area here that we could potentially look at and see how children are living.

However, as I say, I have to relate that back to the amount of income support that we provide to the family. Does that get down to the child? That is the major question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding my Member's statement. Mr. Speaker, the word alcoholism for most people is just a word or it is a word that most people just do not want to realize exists. Yet, Mr. Speaker, in our society, we see the effect it has on our communities, our families, children and people who try to work within our society to deal with these problems, especially the RCMP, people at women's shelters, the Salvation Army and other organizations that tell us time and time again that this is a problem.

I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services about the RCMP, who finally brought to light that 95 percent of their time is spent dealing with alcohol-related calls. What are you doing to improve access for alcohol and drug treatment for people who have this problem in our society? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first I would just like to point out that there is an element of personal responsibility when it comes to decisions to drink and do drugs. Do they wreck havoc on our society? Without a doubt. What are we doing about it? We are doing a number of things, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we currently spend about $5.6 million directly related to alcohol and drug services. As I have indicated in my Minister's statement this afternoon, we are concluding the final pieces of our alcohol and drug, mental health and family violence strategy. We have acknowledged there are problem areas, the socio-economic impact. We have to look at the requests for alcohol and drug centres and we have to make a decision. Do we spend more money on institutions or do we look at further enhancing programs and services to the communities to deal with alcohol issues as they occur in our communities?

The Nats'ejee K'eh is one facility we have in place, which puts us at about two or three times the national average in terms of beds per thousand for alcohol and drug treatment. There are some difficult issues. There are some difficult program issues and treatment issues that we have to come to grips with. We are working very aggressively to try and deal with this issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement, I touched on the cuts that took place in the 13th Assembly, where we cut a lot of alcohol and drug treatment centres. They are basically shut down; Delta House, Tl'oondih and other programs that were being provided at the time.

What is the Minister's plan to ensure that we have more accessible beds to clients in the area of alcohol and drug treatment in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on beds per thousand, we have an adequate number of beds at Nats'ejee K'eh. Are there concerns about the current service delivery, a program model? In some cases, I believe there are. We are committed to working with the regions and communities to look at the kind of alcohol and drug services that are currently being provided.

I have acknowledged and committed to the Member to going up into his constituency to look at some of the requests and issues up there as they relate to the socio-economic impact as a result of major resource development.

Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to move on this. We recognize there are going to be some extra efforts required, especially in those areas where there is major resource development. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, what are we doing to work in conjunction with any other organizations or people who see this area as a problem, in which they seem to be carrying the brunt of the burden in terms of public outcries, especially organizations such as the RCMP or the policing responsibilities?

I think that as a government, we have a responsibility to provide programs and services in relation to alcohol and drugs. I would like to ask the Minister, how are you working in conjunction with these other institutions or organizations to head off the problem with alcohol and drugs in our society?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in addition to the list I have provided in this House to the previous two questions, I would like to point out that we have struck a working group committee. The terms of reference have been shared with the Member and the members of the Social Programs Committee last week. The working group committee is going to try to come to grips with the socio-economic impact where there is major resource development. That will be expanded to include not just oil and gas but all resource development. We are going to expand it to include the aboriginal governments as well as our federal colleagues and industry.

Mr. Speaker, we are making significant efforts in what is a very significant issue and one that has a tremendous negative effect on our society. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister touched on the idea that he has a few endeavours on the go. I would like to thank the Minister for that, but I think we as a government have to have a long-term plan here as to where we are really going in relation to the problems at hand and developing a strategy, scenario or business plan, to see where we are going to be in five or ten years time to deal with this problem and ensure we have the resources there to carry it out.

I would like to ask the Minister exactly where are you by way of ensuring that we have a long-term goal and a business plan to ensure that we are able to accomplish the goal we are trying to set here? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I Indicated in my Minister's statement today, we are just a few months away from concluding this Alcohol and Drug, Mental Health and Family Violence Strategy and it will be ready, after it goes through the proper processes with Cabinet and committees, to be included in the business planning process for the upcoming year 2003-2006. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Minister's statement, I was giving this Legislature a clear picture that we are bringing three ongoing strategies and framework to, hopefully, a successful conclusion in the next few months. With regard to the question that my colleague asked, the Disability Steering Committee membership is comprised of members of the Department of Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment, the Housing Corporation, Municipal and Community Affairs, the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities, the YWCA of Yellowknife, Yellowknife Association for Community Living, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Dene Nation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intent of this particular committee is to review services for people with disabilities across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the NWT Council for People with Disabilities takes a very comprehensive approach in terms of dealing with its membership and their needs and issues. They have brought that approach to the table. We have a very good cross-section, as I have indicated, in this House.

Yes, I believe that all those concerns are going to be looked at in one way or another. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleague for his comments and advice, and very clearly by raising them in this House, he has brought them to the attention of myself as Minister as well as the people on this particular steering committee. We will take that as a clear signal that we should be taking that into consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has mentioned a very specific disease and illness. I will commit to having the department look at that. I will raise it with the Dogrib Health and Social Services Board. We will look at this as we move forward with our service delivery model and core service document and the kind of integrated service delivery model we want to develop for the communities. I will make sure that the Member is kept informed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have specialists traveling into the North on a regular basis in the different areas of practice. I do not have the specific breakdown of all the specialists and their area of practice or how often they travel to the North. I can commit to get that information for the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.