Thank you, Mr. Roland. Please be seated. Good afternoon, colleagues. I wish to advise the House that I have received the following message from the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories:

Dear Mr. Speaker,

I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories the passage of Supplementary Appropriations Act, No. 1, 2002-2003 during the Fifth Session of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

Yours truly,

Glenna F. Hansen, Commissioner

Colleagues, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to the House, as well to the staff and the visitors who are here, for a short summer session of the Fifth Session of this Legislative Assembly. Sadly, since we last met, we have mourned the passing of Mr. Goo Arlooktoo, a former Member of this Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Arlooktoo was the Member for Baffin South from 1995 to 1999. After the creation of Nunavut he returned to Baffin Island to live and to work. During that time, he retained many family and business ties with the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Steen and I were able to travel to Iqaluit to attend Mr. Arlooktoo's funeral and to represent this Assembly. It was a very sad time, as he left us much, much too early. I know I speak for all Members when I pass along our deepest condolences to Mr. Arlooktoo's widow Dorothy and to their children and their extended family.

After a very late spring, we are now able to enjoy the Northwest Territories' wonderful summer session. I know that the Members of this Assembly have been hard at work in their constituencies since we last met and I would like to encourage you all to continue to enjoy the summer with your families when we are finished this sitting.

At this time, I would like to advise the House of a very important event occurring today. It is the silver anniversary of the Honourable Jim Antoine and his wife, Celine. Congratulations.

-- Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the goals this Legislature set for itself two years ago was the creation of a healthy and diversified economy. We wanted to see more businesses starting up and more businesses locating in the Northwest Territories. To keep our economy healthy, and to encourage businesses to grow and to create jobs, our tax regime must be competitive.

The Northwest Territories has long maintained a very competitive tax environment, with both personal and corporate tax rates among the lowest in Canada. These competitive rates have helped us attract individuals and businesses to the North. In fact, our competitive corporate tax rates have, in the last two years, resulted in several large revenue gains. These corporate tax revenues have allowed this government to make important investments in programs and infrastructure that would not otherwise have been possible.

Recently, however, a number of provinces and territories have announced significant reductions in their personal and corporate income tax rates. These changes have reduced the NWT's overall competitiveness.

In the Budget Address last February, I announced changes to the personal income tax system that lowered taxes for all NWT residents. Effective this July, NWT taxpayers will see these changes reflected in their payroll deductions.

I also indicated in February that this government would be monitoring the changes made by other provinces and territories in order to keep our tax structure competitive. Our position, relative to other jurisdictions, could have negative effects on our tax base, as companies look to do business where the tax climate is most favourable. Even existing businesses may re-examine their corporate structures to minimize their tax liability.

Mr. Speaker, I am announcing today our government's intention to make changes to the NWT corporate income tax regime. If the Legislative Assembly agrees, effective July 1, 2002:

The general corporate income tax rate will be reduced from 14 percent to 12 percent, that is a reduction of 14 percent in tax payable; and

The "small business" rate, that is, the rate applicable to the first $200,000 in income of Canadian-controlled private corporations, will be reduced from 5 percent to 4 percent. This represents a reduction of 20 percent in the small business tax rate.

The legislation required to enact these changes will be introduced later this session. We will be looking for an early indication of Members' response to this proposed change, in order to be able to confirm the effective date with the federal government, who administer the corporate income tax on our behalf.

These changes will send a message, Mr. Speaker, that the Northwest Territories welcomes businesses that want to locate here, to create jobs here, and to contribute to our bright economic future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Indeed, the House wishes Mr. Ootes a speedy recovery. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be back in this House with yourself and the rest of my colleagues as we continue the Fifth Session of this 14th Legislative Assembly. Mr. Speaker, I had planned to make a statement full of good news and events that have taken place in Hay River. However, because of a situation that is unfolding as we speak, I feel it is imperative that I voice my concerns.

The issue I am referring to, Mr. Speaker, is the Business Incentive Policy and this government's intentions of cancelling the BIP in order to bring the construction costs of the correctional centre here in Yellowknife in line with projected estimates.

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to say that there are no problems with the BIP policy or that changes are not necessary. I might go as far as to say, Mr. Speaker, that the time may have come to do away with the BIP. The problem that I have with this situation is process.

This government should have learned by now that when they make decisions in isolation, with no input from impacted groups or all Members of this House, then they are guaranteed to receive nothing but a negative response from all concerned.

It is very frustrating, Mr. Speaker, when as a Member of this government, I get questioned about a major decision that has been made on such a big issue as cancelling the BIP and the people who are asking the questions know more about it than I do, simply because I happened to miss a radio news broadcast.

There are many reasons as to why this project's costs are in a runaway mode. Mr. Speaker, it is time to look at how this project was designed from day one and why the decision was made to build it in Yellowknife. It certainly was not from a cost-saving point of view. In my mind, it is another indication that the vacuum was in full operation.

It has been mentioned by some, Mr. Speaker, that living conditions for inmates in this facility will be far more glamorous than what most of our law-abiding citizens can afford. It will be full of recreational equipment that most of our communities can only dream about. Mr. Speaker, there is far more wrong with this project than what cancelling the BIP can rectify. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I say this is not the time to cancel the BIP.

I suggest, Mr. Speaker, that if there are huge problems with this project, then maybe the government should get rid of the project manager and take control of this project and use the same approach that the Minister of Education used in Hay River when we tried to get changes made to the Princess Alexandra School project to better meet the needs of the community. His answer, Mr. Speaker, "You can make all the changes you want, but there is no more money." Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and happy birthday to you.

-- Applause

I knew there was a reason I let you run over your time, Mr. Delorey. Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since this government, without any notice or consultation with the Members from this side of this House, unilaterally decided to suspend the BIP policy on the construction of the new jail in Yellowknife, we have been inundated with phone calls and letters from an outraged public. The general consensus is that this decision seems to have been a simple knee-jerk reaction to a very complex problem, which will not do much to address the cost overrun, but add many more serious problems in the process.

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear that this government must avoid further damage and embarrassment, reverse this decision immediately and work with the industry representatives to find better ways out of this situation.

Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to understand what the rationale of this decision is. I have to wonder what kind of debate Cabinet went through when making this decision. I wonder if Cabinet really thought about the wide implications of this decision. Have they thought about the damage and the message they are sending, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, this government, from the Premier on down, has spent the last number of years convincing mega resource companies that they must engage in northern hiring and northern purchasing because it has been saying it is good for the North and we want to maximize the benefits that resource development will give to our people. The companies have agreed to do impact benefit agreements on this basis even though, Mr. Speaker, in many cases, this drives the cost of doing business in the North.

They have had little choice but to comply with the government's position, but apparently, this is not the principle the government has to live under. With this BIP flip-flop, how can this government expect to have any legitimacy anymore to take this position, Mr. Speaker? How can it have the moral ground to ask for this from the industry after this decision?

Mr. Speaker, we are all aware that the economy is on a high and there are not as many bidders on some of these contracts, but these times come in between very lean times. We know this is how our economy works. It has a lot of ups and downs and we should not lose sight of that. Our northern contractors maintain their businesses and keep their employees in the North through these lean times while waiting for the boom times. Could the government not come up with better ways to deal with this situation other than exempting themselves?

Your time is up, Ms. Lee. Ms. Lee.

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

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her Member's statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays, Ms. Lee. You may conclude your statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the government not have come up with better ways to address this situation?

My last important point that I want to make is that this decision violates a very fundamental principle that we are supposed to live by in our society. No one, especially the government, should be above the law. We all have to follow the rules we set for ourselves. This is why we are here. If some rules do not work, we work to change them by building consensus and setting priorities. No one is free to declare itself exempt because it is inconvenient or costs more money or whatever. That is simply absurd and should not be tolerated, Mr. Speaker. I urge the government to reverse this decision immediately. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, youth involvement in the management of Northwest Territories forests is an issue that merits some attention. The forests of the Northwest Territories have sustained First Nations for thousands of years. They have fed, sheltered, clothed, transported and healed them. The transmission of knowledge about the land is the responsibility of the elders and the teaching begins when one is very young.

The youth learned how to live and care for the forest. The Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has expended some forest fire management dollars in the past to deliver fire ecology camps in some regions. Mr. Speaker, I believe that five such camps were run in the Northwest Territories last summer. The purposes of the camps, Mr. Speaker, appears to be to get the youth involved in seeing the effects of fire on the forest.

The camps ran ten days in duration and involved ten to 15 youth from selected communities, and usually they are from the same communities year after year. There does not seem to be any opportunity for the youth from my constituency to be involved in forest management education programs of this nature.

Mr. Speaker, while it is good to know that some interest is being paid to the issue of youth involvement and development by the department, I would encourage the government to look further than the current program. I have learned about the existence of an Aboriginal Junior Forest Ranger Program that was developed in Ontario by First Nations and the National Aboriginal Forestry Association. The program is designed to develop leadership skills and to introduce youth to career opportunities in forest management. There are other youth corps-type programs in Canada that allow youth to gain exposure and experience through work practicum in forestry and environmental management.

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage this government to look at all options for providing youth programming and to ensure that all youth in the Northwest Territories gain an equal opportunity to participate in working, learning and caring for the forests.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking questions to the Minister of RWED during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the invitation of the Minister of Finance, I had the opportunity to join Mr. Handley May 22nd and 23rd to visit Ottawa to pitch for the GNWT Strategic Infrastructure Proposal.

Sometimes we wonder about the value of Ministers traipsing off to Ottawa, but the reality is that, along with all other jurisdictions in Canada, we have to get ourselves in line to compete for federal finance dollars. We are handicapped here in the NWT with our small population and we are a bit of a question mark with the power elite and mandarins of Ottawa.

How we can get their attention though, Mr. Speaker, is to highlight the impact on the national economy of what we have going on here in the NWT. How does northern development affect the constituents and the economies in Alberta and Ontario? The major objective of the meetings that we had was to brief federal Ministers on this infrastructure proposal. It is a $240 million plan to advance the Mackenzie River bridge, to build better ice roads into the Mackenzie Valley and into the diamond corridor.

The message that we took to Ottawa, among other things, was that over 20 years, the work going on here in the NWT could contribute $65 billion to the country's gross domestic product. It could create 270,000 person years of employment and add $17 billion in royalties and taxes.

We met with seven Cabinet Ministers and the chair of the Liberal Caucus Economic Development Committee, Mr. Tony Valeri, and Eddie Goldenberg, the senior policy advisor to the Prime Minister.

Mr. Speaker, we need to work continuously to raise our profile in Ottawa and keep our agenda alive. We need to illustrate the benefits of our development for the rest of Canada and there needs to be a consistent message and a common agenda pursued by this government. Today and tomorrow, we know that the Premier and our colleagues, Mr. Dent and Mr. Krutko, are in Ottawa to help deliver that message to other Ministers. We need to stay on that federal radar screen and I encourage the Premier and the Ministers to continue their visits and to continue taking Regular Members along. It is one of the strengths of consensus government and it needs the backing of all the governments and leaders in this tremendously exciting time here in the NWT.

I look forward, Mr. Speaker, to the word that will come along, I am sure, that we will be seeing that $133 million from Ottawa that will make such a difference to Canada. Happy birthday.

-- Applause

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

Mr. Lafferty, your time is up. Mr. Lafferty.

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his Member's statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Lafferty, please continue.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to acknowledge a community event that took place this last weekend, the Annual Aurora Open, which is hosted by Aurora College and the Town of Fort Smith.

We had two fine days. It was not only the fact that we had over 100 golfers from all over the South Slave and North Slave golfing, but through this event we managed to raise $5,000 that we were able to contribute to the Western Arctic Leadership Program to assist them in their efforts to keep the program going.

I would just like to recognize the very hard work of the Aurora College staff, the president, Maurice Evans, Kerry Robinson, Tim Gauthier, and Michaela Miltenberger, who put in a lot of time. Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, this event would not have been possible without the strong corporate support from Diavik, BHP, NorthwesTel, NTPC, Enbridge, Imperial Oil/Midnight Petroleum, Canadian North, Northwestern Air Lease and Kaeser's.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank everybody who was involved, thank all the golfers who came to take advantage of the opportunity and I look forward to seeing everybody again next year. Thank you.

-- Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, springtime in the Delta is a time that people look forward to and prepare for as the summer season comes upon us. At this time, Mr. Speaker, many of the residents from the community I represent have started putting their boats into the water, taking advantage of the waterways and going out to their camps in the Delta.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this spring we had an event in the community that brought much sadness to the community, the passing of a young man who has a young family. We had a drowning that occurred while the ice was still in the river, melting away. It brings us to this time when we must once again tell our constituents and residents that we must be safe, Mr. Speaker, that we must take appropriate action and be careful when we are preparing to travel on the land and travel between communities at this time of year.

As much activity goes on as people prepare to go to their fish camps and the summer camps for the season, I would just like to urge the constituents and residents of the Territory to be extra careful and be safe this year, Mr. Speaker, so we do not have the unfortunate incidents of any drownings and people going missing and leaving family members behind. I think we need to again encourage, as we have year-by-year, people to be safe on the waters and be wise, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement today, I would like to acknowledge the achievements of two young athletes from my riding who participated in the recent Arctic Winter Games in Iqaluit in March of this year.

Mr. Speaker, it is extremely important to recognize two young speedskaters from the riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes, who not only excelled in the Arctic Winter Games, but who, along with their team members, won the Sport North Team of the Year Award. I have been advised that this team brought home 26 medals in total from the games in speedskating.

Mr. Speaker, what makes this so special for these two young speedskaters from Inuvik is that this was the first time for any Inuvik speedskaters to attend a sporting event such as this. It is worth mentioning that the Inuvik Speedskating Club has been in operation for only four years.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I would like to personally congratulate Miss Alyssa Carpenter and Chris Lennie for an achievement well deserved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again, from June 5th to June 7th, Hay River hosted the Territorial Track and Field Championships. It was an exciting time again, starting with the opening ceremonies. Some schools who had never participated before were there, proudly parading into the arena under the banner of their schools. Appropriately, the previous chair and huge supporter of the championships, Mr. Guy Turvey, and his granddaughter brought in the torch and lit the flame. Over 1,000 athletes participated, accompanied by many coaches, parents and volunteers.

The local host committee of volunteers again did an outstanding job of making the logistics of preparing the grounds, coordinating the events, feeding the athletes and spectators, recording the results and much more look simple, but we know how much effort goes on in advance and we thank them for that.

Longstanding records were broken. Some folks had a slightly extended stay in Hay River due to ice stopping the Merv Hardie's operation for a few days, but we hope that they enjoyed that stay in Hay River and had a good time anyway. The cool breeze off Great Slave Lake presented some challenges to staying warm, but on the good side, we had no mosquitoes and no heat stroke.

The mayor of Hay River, Duncan McNeill, was on hand helping out with the activities and watching the students do the high jump. He momentarily forgot himself and tried to jump a chain link fence and unfortunately injured himself. I cannot give you any more detail than that, but we hope he has recovered.

I would also like to thank Minister Steen for offering the opportunity for other Members of this Legislature to attend, although this year, schedules did not permit MLAs to attend this territorial event. However, if the Minister allows, we will take a rain check on this generous support for next year's championships.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to again say congratulations to all the athletes and the organizing committee in Hay River, and happy birthday, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

I have to remind the Member, only one subject...

-- Laughter

...but thank you, anyway. Item 3, Members' statements. Are there any further Members' statements? Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Bell on February 27, 2002 regarding high school graduation requirements.

Mr. Bell asked if students have to pass Alberta exams to graduate.

For grade 12 courses where diploma exams are written, Mr. Bell's understanding is correct. The final mark in a course is a blend, 50 percent assigned by the teacher based usually on various assignment criteria determined by the teacher, such as assignments and class tests, and 50 percent of the mark comes from the diploma exam results.

In some circumstances, for example, when new courses are piloted, the weighting for the diploma exam may be reduced. For example, this year, for the new applied math course, the teacher determined part of the mark will count for 80 percent of the final mark and the diploma exam score will count for 20 percent of the final mark.

The diploma exams are carefully administered, course-specific examinations based on approved curricula. Diploma examinations are mandatory for the following courses: English 30/33, Math 30/33, Social Studies 30/33, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Science 30 and Francais 30. For other high school courses, the mark is determined at the school level normally by the course teacher. 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 Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me a distinct pleasure today to recognize my constituency assistant from Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. John Banksland, who I understand is also an old schoolmate of yours. Kindly help me welcome Mr. Banksland.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Welcome, Mr. Banksland. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure today to recognize Captain Karen Hoeft from the Salvation Army. Karen is one of our hardest working volunteers in the city. As well, with Karen are her parents, who are visiting from Regina, Saskatchewan, Bill and Gertie McFarlane. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome to the gallery Hilary Jones, who is the managing director of the Arslanian Diamond Cutting Works here in Yellowknife, and the operations manager at Arslanian, Mr. Sargis Gyulinyan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome everybody in the gallery, but especially, I would like to recognize two very special people. One being Mrs. Speaker, Mrs. Elaine Whitford, who I understand celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday. Another special person in the House, who is arguably most respected, most liked and who continues to be most senior, but not with the most grey hair, you, Mr. Speaker. Happy 61st birthday.

-- Applause

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Colleagues, at this time, I take great pleasure in recognizing in the gallery my wife, Elaine, and our two sons, Blair and Ian. Blair lives in Calgary and is visiting.

-- Applause

In addition to that, colleagues, bear with me a moment, we also have visiting us at our home from Perth, Australia, Hannah Edwards; from London, England, we have Mike Ormerod; we also have Sheldon Pearson from Edmonton; Rob Engle from Edmonton; and Jim Le Cleir from Grande Prairie. We have the house full. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.

-- Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Ms. Youngblut, the executive director for the NWT Seniors' Society. With her is Mr. Ed Jeske, an esteemed senior in his own right. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Any further public recognitions? I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for coming to your Legislative Assembly and paying us that honour. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to put some preamble to my answers, we are trying to balance a number of programs that would complement the rising need for social housing in the Northwest Territories. It also requires a combined issue of homelessness versus those who are in core need. We have established, in our recent survey, six communities that are designated as core need. We are still trying to develop a policy around those communities so that we can come back and enhance some of that funding to meet those immediate needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have the names of the communities at the moment. As I mentioned earlier, we are still drafting up some responses to those specific community needs. I will reply back to the Member as soon as I can. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, just to add to my reply, in the major centres, most of the development for housing is done by the private sector. We are responding as fast as we can to those who are in core need through the Affordable Housing Strategy. As I said earlier, it has taken a bit of time to finalize our policy and also to amend certain policies to meet those increasing demands. I am prepared to push this as fast as I can and respond to the Member and also the Members of the House. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the fundamental shift is more towards assisting the communities make a transition, a transformation to self-reliance. Through that process, we are developing what we call a universal partnership agreement. Hopefully, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will eventually be looked at as being a funding agency and allow the communities to determine what their needs are, and then we can facilitate some development in the smaller communities with our assistance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is a follow-up to my Member's statement. My question is for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. I would like to ask him, can he tell me how much money was expended by region to deliver the fire ecology camps every summer? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to those numbers from the Minister. I would like to ask the Minister, as he has indicated that it is a good program, can he tell me if these programs have been evaluated to determine what value the camps are serving and how the evaluations are carried out? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister can he tell me what other options the department has looked at for providing youth in all the communities some opportunity to participate in a youth forestry education program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister will be providing me with a considerable amount of information at a later date. I wonder, at least, if he could reassure me that the youth in my constituency will receive equal opportunity to participate in some form of a youth forestry education program this summer and in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I am not sure if that was a question, but the Minister may respond if he wishes. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this afternoon is for the Minister of Public Works and Services. Ministers and MLAs, for the past several days, have received numerous letters from NWT construction businesses about the government's decision to waive the Business Incentive Policy to avoid cost overruns in phase two of the North Slave Correctional Centre.

Mr. Speaker, my question is, prior to waiving the Business Incentive Policy on this project, what other alternatives were explored in looking at ways to reduce costs on this project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has had difficulties from day one with this project in that it was fast-tracked, so therefore, it was not the type of project that would have been designed prior to the price being put on the work. All along we have been experiencing difficulties as to how we could possibly keep the project on stream and still keep it in response to the programs that it was supposed to support. We have been going along and designing, so to speak, as we construct. That has been one of the problems with why the project is over budget.

What we have been doing is meeting with the client, the Department of Justice. We have been meeting with our project managers and discussing ways as to how we could possibly reduce the cost of this project, other than suggesting that we leave BIP for the time being. We basically ran out of options.

Short of reducing the scope of work down to where it would no longer be able to serve the purpose, we have also discussed the option of delaying the project for a better time, like say a couple of years from now...

-- Applause

...maybe the market will be better. Unfortunately, it is not an option. We have a basic timeline to get off of the property where our existing facility is and that is because we turned the property over to the new arena and we have a timeline to get off of there. We are very limited as to options.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed, and that is part of the concern all across the NWT about this policy and this project. The NWT Construction Association has shown a lot of leadership in this. They have come up with a couple of alternatives. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to meet with northern builders and constructors, with the association, to look at these alternative methods so that we can achieve this project on time and hopefully on a reasonable budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for that suggestion. We already have a plan in place for a meeting. I believe it is on the 13th at eleven o'clock in the morning, to meet with that NWT Construction Association and discuss this whole ruling of the BIP for this project.

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

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the government and the people involved in the Construction Association for taking the initiative, but on the Cabinet decision to move off BIP on this one project, what message is the government sending to other builders and other stakeholders in the North's economy, Mr. Speaker, the mining and petroleum industry? What is the message that we are sending when we waive our own policies meant to encourage northern buying? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, l do not know if I can speak directly to that question, but Public Works' intent was to broaden the field of competition. Rather than having just one or two bids come in, we were hoping that we would receive a number of bids from down south.

I am told that over the past number of years, we have been receiving less and less bids from down south. People are not even bothering to bid anymore, whereby in the past, they used to at least try. We think we are opening the field where competition will be larger and we will get better prices.

We are not only experiencing the problem in Yellowknife. We are experiencing a similar problem wherever there is a boom in the construction industry. It may be related to non-renewable resource activity. In Inuvik, for instance, we are also experiencing the same type of difficulties as we are in Yellowknife, in that many of our projects are going over and above budget.

Mr. Speaker, Public Works has been told by this Assembly and by the committee on a number of occasions when presenting our budgets and presenting our business plans and also when the supplementaries come forward, we have been asked if we have tried all options before we come forward with the supplementary request. Well, that is what we are doing. We are trying all options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Mr. Speaker, all options should be before all of us at all times, but the Cabinet's decision to cherry-pick this one project to move off BIP is unacceptable. Will the Minister restore the Business Incentive Policy to this project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, if I heard the question properly, the Member is asking me if I will ensure the Business Incentive Policy will apply to this project?

Thank you, Mr. Steen. I will just ask Mr. Braden to re-ask the question. I think it was shorter than that. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question was, will the Minister restore the Business Incentive Policy to this project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point in time, I cannot give the Member that commitment. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.