Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Please be seated. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Saturday, October 4, 2003, Transportation Minister Joe Handley and I will be meeting with the federal Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Minister of Industry, the Honourable Allan Rock.

Secretary of State for Rural Development, the Honourable Andy Mitchell, will accompany Mr. Rock.

I cannot speak about the specifics of the agenda, but you can be assured that Minister Handley and I will continue to make a forceful case for federal investment in the Northwest Territories for infrastructure and we expect positive results.

Mr. Speaker, Members will be provided with a full account of our meeting early next week.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today about some of the activities of the Department of Finance over the past four years.

The department's mandate is to obtain the financial resources needed to implement the GNWT's policies and programs. This includes negotiating major financial agreements with the federal government, making recommendations on tax and fiscal policy, collecting the GNWT's taxes, and managing our cash and debt requirements.

Fulfilling this mandate has been particularly challenging over the last four years, as the GNWT faced growing expenditure needs in critical areas such as health care, education, and infrastructure, and in responding to the demands placed on our government by our rapidly growing economy.

We now anticipate that total government revenues over the last four fiscal years, 2000-01 to 2003-04, will exceed total operating expenditures by more than $100 million. However, much of this was in the form of one-time revenues, and the ongoing fiscal outlook is for expenditures to outstrip revenues, requiring continued strategies to close the fiscal gap.

A number of issues relating to the calculation of formula financial grant entitlements were resolved in favour of the GNWT, resulting in adjustments to grant payments of more than $150 million. In addition, several large, one-time corporate income tax adjustments contributed significant amounts to addressing the government's fiscal shortfalls.

Over these four years, the Department of Finance has also played a major role in intergovernmental fiscal arrangements. Discussions with Finance Canada on renewal of the formula financing agreement and on the transfer of nonrenewable resource revenues to NWT governments are ongoing. Together with other government departments, Finance advanced the NWT case to federal officials with respect to funding for resource development, infrastructure and health care. We have made considerable progress in advancing the arguments why per capita funding allocations are not appropriate for the Territories.

In the 2001 budget, I announced that the GNWT would change the way we levy personal income tax. The move to a tax on income approach increased our flexibility to set tax brackets and rates. Acting on the recommendations of the Minister's Advisory Committee on Personal Income Tax, the department undertook to develop legislation that introduced a minimum cost-of-living tax credit for low-income NWT residents; reduced the tax burden for low-income tax payers; and increased tax support for seniors and persons with disabilities. These changes were approved by the Legislative Assembly for the 2002 tax year.

The Department of Finance is responsible for protecting the government's assets through appropriate risk management and insurance programs. The cost of property losses to the GNWT has declined substantially over the last five years and, in an increasingly difficult worldwide insurance market, the GNWT has been able to maintain affordable coverage.

The Department of Finance also includes the NWT Bureau of Statistics. The bureau is the government's central statistical office and has done an outstanding job of ensuring we have current, consistent and accurate data about our economy, our social conditions and our population. The bureau's 2002 population survey, as well as its detailed methodological review of Statistics Canada's census and coverage results, contributed significantly to the improved NWT population figures released by Statistics Canada in late September.

The NWT Liquor Commission and the administration and enforcement of liquor licensing also falls within the mandate of the department. Over the last four years, the focus has been on responding to community preferences.

Of course, Mr. Speaker, in the time available, it is only possible to touch on a few of the department's activities. I would also comment that much remains to be done to ensure we achieve our goal of fiscal sustainability and the department remains focused on that task.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the hard work and dedication of the staff of the Department of Finance in pursuing the goals set by this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. September 28 to October 4 is Literacy Week in the Northwest Territories, an opportunity for communities and residents to celebrate reading and support the need for literacy throughout our society.

Literacy is a person's ability to listen, speak, read, write, represent, compute and solve problems. This government has a vision for the Northwest Territories where all people can read and write, allowing them to participate as citizens, functioning fully in the family, in the community and on the job. We also see the NWT as a place where people value literacy in all official languages.

Since adopting the NWT literacy strategy in 2001, many exciting partnerships have been formed: with the NWT Literacy Council, Aurora College, the Native Women's Association of the Northwest Territories, the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities, the NWT Seniors' Society, just to name a few. These groups work to ensure that the literacy needs of all citizens are taken care of. Partnerships also include non-government organizations at the local level and with the business sector. This ensures literacy remains at the forefront of all our efforts.

To help and encourage communities to celebrate Literacy Week, kits were sent to all schools, literacy programs, community learning centres, early childhood programs, libraries, friendship centres, community health representatives and other community groups. The kit contains a variety of literacy activities that can be delivered in each community.

Mr. Speaker, literacy is an issue that affects us all. Literacy contributes directly to a higher quality of life for individuals. This, in turn, fosters a more productive and self-reliant society.

I'd like to leave us with a quote today from Roy Richardson of Rae who won a Canada Post Literacy Award on Tuesday at the adult learners' luncheon held at Aurora College. He said, "I was afraid that people would tell me that I couldn't learn how to read. Two years of schooling got me here and I am afraid of nothing now."

Mr. Speaker, we couldn't have said this better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that most of my colleagues in the House know of the highly-publicized and sometimes acrimonious relationship between the Hay River District Education Authority and the South Slave Divisional Education Council. Suffice it to say, Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the residents and students of Hay River are being well served through this relationship with the South Slave Divisional Education Council. The residents of Hay River elect the people who sit on the Hay River DEA in a fair and democratic manner. The authority, in turn, chooses the representatives to sit on the South Slave Divisional Education Council and to look after the students of the second-largest community in the Northwest Territories.

Hay River's representative on the South Slave Divisional Education Council has been supported by fellow DEA members because of his diligence in pointing out inequities in funding allocation with the community of Hay River, and its students have suffered as a result of the decisions made at the divisional board level. Some would say that his representation has been done so well that the South Slave Divisional Education Council has kicked the Hay River representative off the council by stating that his questioning their decision goes against board policy.

It seems inequitable, Mr. Speaker, for the largest community in the division with the majority of the students to not be proportionately represented on the divisional council. Maybe we need a court challenge on the same basis as the case put forward by the Friends of Democracy, citing the representation by population argument. No matter who the representative of the education council is, we have a problem with the process for distributing resources. Quite apart from whether other council members and the DEC staff like the democratically selected Hay River rep, and quite apart from the exception they have taken to his unrelenting advocating on behalf of the Hay River DEA students and educators.

Mr. Speaker, we are at an impasse. There are two choices: find the money to fund a stand-alone education authority for the resident and students of Hay River, or address the issues that made the South Slave Divisional Education Council dysfunctional in the first place.

Mr. Speaker, sitting on the fence is not an option and I'll be questioning the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment later on this matter to see if he has any suggestions of how we can get beyond this impasse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have an ongoing concern that this government is not taking the responsibility of developing our small communities' businesses seriously. This government, through the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, assumed responsibility from the federal government for what is known in the communities as Community Futures. It is my understanding that, upon accepting this responsibility, all communities in the North would have access to the programs offered through this organization.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that additional regional entities have been established, such as the Thebacha Business Development Centre in Fort Smith and the Deh Cho Business Development Centre in Fort Simpson. Thebacha provides lending and business services to Fort Smith, Lutselk'e and Fort Resolution. In Fort Simpson, the Deh Cho Business Development Centre provides services to the communities in Nahendeh.

Mr. Speaker, in the Deh Cho, it is not clear as to what -- if any -- Community Futures organizations provide services to Hay River Reserve, Enterprise, Kakisa or Fort Providence. The information that I have received is that the constituents in my riding do not have access to this program. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that with the expectation of increased resource development, our communities must be provided equal access to business programs. Currently, Mr. Speaker, the people of the Deh Cho riding do not benefit from a program that other communities in the North enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of RWED today during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation with regard to an issue that has caused a great deal of concern to me.

Mr. Speaker, over the life of this Assembly, I and other Yellowknife Members in this House have raised a concern again and again about the lack of affordable housing in Yellowknife.

We have been asking the government to assist the city administration with land development so that they can make more land available to ease the pressure on the market. Over and over again, the government and the Minister of Housing, in particular, stated that he did not feel the government should get involved in land development in market-based or tax-based communities.

Mr. Speaker, we have also raised concerns about lack of housing for low-income people and seniors in our city, and we have been following the process, as they are, to access some of the funding to alleviate this situation. So imagine my shock and distress, Mr. Speaker, when I woke up one September morning to hear a report on CBC Radio that the Minister of Housing -- who also happens to be the Member for Inuvik -- was handing out a cheque to the town council amounting to $10,000 each for 12 residents as a subsidy to buy lots for their trailers. Even an Inuvik councillor questioned whether or not a normal process was followed in giving out this money. She was quoted as saying that many of the tenants of the trailer park wouldn't ordinarily qualify and that the Housing Corporation should follow the normal procedures. What's more incredulous, Mr. Speaker, the Minister is quoted as saying we have a larger way of subsidies to individual clients.

If the Minister has so much money to give, I would suggest that he shares with us what they are in this House. There are many in my community, I am sure, who would like to have a piece of this action.

Mr. Speaker, he's also quoted as saying we make a contribution to the Town of Inuvik every year through our appropriation. So it appears, Mr. Speaker, he provides money for some municipalities and some individuals but not all. I submit to you, Mr. Speaker, the Minister needs to explain himself in this House about what went on at this meeting, and I intend on following up with questions later in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak on an issue that has a major impact on our communities, especially those families who are dealing with family members who find themselves in situations dealing with illnesses such as cancer. One thing that we find in a lot of our small communities is that there are no palliative care programs to assist our communities. They have programs in the larger centres to help with the families that help them out whenever they need to be relieved. It is a very stressful time in a family's life to have to give someone care who is a loved one, but also deal with an illness such as cancer.

I've raised this question with the Minister in this House several times. Again, the smaller communities are being left out of programs that are being administered in the larger centres. I feel that we in the small communities need just as much assistance as they do in the larger centres.

This issue came up at the Gwich'in Tribal Council assembly in which there was a lot of debate around the number of cases of cancer we're seeing in our communities, and of the tough times that community members are having to cope with the lack of full-time nurses in our health centres, closure of our health centres, having no resource people such as alcohol and drug or mental health workers to help the families cope with the problems that this brings.

Mr. Speaker, here again it shows that this government does not have compassion for the small communities when it comes to administering programs. You have programs for palliative care, you have nutritional programs, you have other programs that are being delivered at this time at regional hospitals and regional centres, yet no effort is being made by this government to ensure those programs are extended to small communities.

So again, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister questions on this matter. Why is it that small communities again are having to cope with problems for which there is assistance available in larger centres. For some reason, however, you can't find the money to make it down to the small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be asking questions on this matter to the Minister. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, along with my colleague from Hay River South, I would like to address an issue that has far-reaching implications for Hay River students.

Mr. Speaker, the seven elected members of the Hay River District Education Authority are very diligent and passionate about their role, which in turn directly benefits the approximately 850 students currently enrolled in the Hay River school system.

Since I was elected almost four years ago, Mr. Speaker, I have continued to raise the issue of the fractured relationship that exists between the Hay River District Education Authority and the South Slave Divisional Education Council, and of the need for a separate education council for Hay River. Mr. Speaker, this issue raised its ugly head again in March of this year when Andrew Butler, the chair of the Hay River District Education Authority, was removed from his seat as the Hay River representative on the South Slave Divisional Education Council.

Mr. Speaker, on March 28, as a result of Mr. Butler's removal, the Hay River District Education Authority requested that the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment provide the district education authority with a legal opinion on the legalities of the aforementioned removal. Mr. Speaker, on April 17, the Minister wrote to Mr. Butler as chair of the district education authority and stated, and I quote, "Accordingly, I have instructed departmental staff to request a legal opinion on this issue from the Department of Justice. I will inform both your district education authority and the SSDEC as to the results of it." Now, Mr. Speaker, it appears the situation has changed somewhat. On September 23, the Minister wrote back to Mr. Butler and stated, and I quote, "In this situation, I am advised it is not appropriate to release the legal opinion."

Mr. Speaker, it gives me cause for great concern. First it appears that the Minister says once I have the legal opinion back I will provide it to you. Then, when the legal opinion comes back he is advised not to release it. What changed, Mr. Speaker? Is it that the Minister and his department officials did not like what was contained in the legal opinion? Or was it that the Hay River District Education Authority was correct in their assumption that Mr. Butler's removal from the South Slave Divisional Education Council violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? We may never know.

Mr. Delorey, your time for Member's statement has expired. Mr. Delorey, what is your wish?

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, there was an excellent editorial in the September 9 edition of the News/North whose headline read, "Students Suffer While Officials Feud". There were a lot of very thought-provoking comments contained in this editorial, but in particular, the last paragraph stated, "Ootes isn't seeking re-election. Perhaps his political legacy could be education peace in the South Slave." I couldn't agree more, Mr. Speaker. I urge the Minister to do the right thing and release the legal opinion to the parties concerned so that we can move ahead in the interests of all students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the last three years plus, I and a number of my colleagues have continued to make the case that the Yellowknife Campus of Aurora College needs additional classroom space, needs parking and it certainly, absolutely, needs student housing. We were, I think, reassured or relieved and saw at least some ray of hope when we discussed the project in Inuvik that's going forward and the fact that the Minister was prepared to work with the private sector in Inuvik to address some of the housing needs, despite the fact that he didn't have the capital money at that time to build dormitories. I think that my colleagues and I saw that as an opportunity and had hoped to get the same flexibility and same response and accommodation from the Minister in Yellowknife.

Six or so months ago, Mr. Speaker, I wrote to the Minister, as did a number of my colleagues -- Mr. Braden, Ms. Lee, Mr. Dent -- about the need for classrooms, parking and student housing in Yellowknife. The Minister did acknowledge that there was a critical shortage and certainly students who were coming in from out of town are on a waiting list to get into accommodations in Yellowknife and often have to put up with less-than-ideal housing situations because we have such a shortage. He did note that the housing market is very tight in Yellowknife and it's difficult to find arrangements with private landlords at this point. We do know things are softening.

Mr. Speaker, I hope the Minister is prepared to work in this capacity. I'll have questions for him today about this and about what he's been able to do to date. I'd like to remind the Minister that before we get into this I expect that he'll tell us the government understands the concern, feels our pain, but there's a process, there's business planning, there's main estimates, et cetera, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to remind the Minister that, before we hear that and before we see that argument rolled out, we continue to deal with supplementary requests month after month in this House that are for operational funding that obviously should have been planned for, could have been planned for. So when there are priorities we seem to find the will and the way to get things done. I'd like to remind the Minister of that.

We know the problem is being further compounded by a system-wide housing shortage due to the closures of a couple of buildings in Fort Smith. Things are not getting better for the college and for our post-secondary students. I'll have questions for the Minister about this in question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like today to address the issue of tax-based municipalities and their involvement in the devolution process. Mr. Speaker, the Premier, in a September 8 press release, said it costs us more to respond to development than we receive in benefits. Further, he said that aboriginal and public governments in the Northwest Territories deserve the dignity of being able to provide the physical and social infrastructure to support growth. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Premier and I, too, hope that, as he spoke about earlier today, he brings back some positive results from his weekend meeting with federal Ministers of infrastructure.

Tax-based municipalities in the Northwest Territories, I assert, would also support this approach as they have recently formed a coalition to study the impact of devolution in their communities. Mr. Speaker, I think something that is not all that well understood across the North is that tax-based communities are required to finance much of their own infrastructure, programs and services through their own tax dollars, supplemented by Government of the Northwest Territories contributions.

Across the country, the majority of Canadians have migrated into large urban areas, into tax-based areas. The Northwest Territories doesn't seem to be much different. Seventy per cent of the population is resident in our six tax-based communities, Mr. Speaker.

Yellowknife's mayor, His Worship Gordon Van Tighem, recently said, when you receive a share of the royalties you also take on a share of the expenses associated with earning those rewards. There really is no free lunch, and I think that's evidenced by a number of residential tax bills in the city that are over $3,000 a year, Mr. Speaker.

Devolution and the sharing of resource royalties are of vital interest to us all. We can be and we want to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. But while there's been a lot of discussion regarding the share of royalties between our government, Canada and First Nations governments, there's been little consideration by us of the involvement of tax-based municipalities. It should be a core principle of this government, Mr. Speaker, that if industry creates growth and generates wealth through royalties, the communities who directly bear the impact should be involved and should receive some of the benefit.

Tax-based municipalities say, with regard to devolution, that they have not been involved, nor represented, nor consulted on this issue. This is not an acceptable approach for our territorial government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to continue on a theme I started with yesterday about the benefits of being in a large centre and the capital, that being Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker. The cyclone effect of the capital city is something we continue to be reminded of on different occasions.

Mr. Speaker, I'll refer directly to government positions within communities and I'll specifically refer to the vital statistics office up in Inuvik. Mr. Speaker, it's been a number of years that that office has been established. My understanding is that vital statistics deals with every person in the Northwest Territories when it comes to their health care cards. I also understand that when that office was moved up to Inuvik all the human resources that were doing the job here in the capital city didn't quite make it out to the community that I represent and that office was established in.

Mr. Speaker, since that time, the increased workload that has continued to grow hasn't been met with new resources to help deal with that. Instead, the human resources, as I've last heard, were shrinking. Mr. Speaker, when that part of the department which is territorial in nature, but outside of the capital city, was seeking help and seeking support to try to deal with that issue it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. In fact, at one point, Mr. Speaker, I became aware that the department had moved to try and pull that office back into headquarters. Mr. Speaker, I was told that nothing of that nature was occurring, but I was shown an actual letter by an employee who would be affected. That is when I became absolutely aware that this move was afoot.

Mr. Speaker, I have to thank the Minister for stepping in and ensuring that this territory doesn't continue to centralize itself in one location. But, Mr. Speaker, I became aware again that the concern continues to be there with those people trying to provide a service for the residents of the Northwest Territories. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on this area and what he's doing to ensure that the needs are being met this department through that office in Inuvik. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Lafferty on Wednesday, June 4 with respect to coming to consultations on the government's capital planning process. The deputy ministers task team on "meeting infrastructure requirements" includes the task to clarify core capital need and development of infrastructure policy framework. The objectives of the above task include:

• • the requirement to develop clarity between the government and communities on the types of infrastructure that will be funded;
• • the involvement of communities in the planning and decision-making;
• • community responsibilities on the maintenance and upkeep of infrastructure;
• • community contributions to capital projects;
• • how this government may address a balance between core service needs and community priorities; and
• • application of capital standards and criteria.

The community consultation undertaken this spring was intended to seek the communities' input into both the development of the 2004-2005 capital plan and the capital planning process, including the criteria applied in prioritizing projects. A consultant was engaged to review the current capital planning process and also to address how we may better provide for the needs of communities. The results of the consultants report and the community consultations will form the basis of a number of recommendations to enhance the capital planning process to better serve the needs of this government and communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to welcome in the gallery two of my constituents from Holman, Jill Olifie and Janet Kanayok, and from Tuktoyaktuk, Helen Gruben and Lena Kotokak. Mr. Speaker, these ladies are attending the annual general meeting of the Native Women's Association being held here in Yellowknife. I would also like to mention that Ms. Kotokak has been serving as my constituent assistant for the last four years and doing a fine job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Minister Steen. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Dr. David Butler-Jones. Dr. Butler-Jones is past-president of the Canadian Public Health Association, a member of the Naylor committee and a respected public health advocate and expert who is in the North to speak on the importance of a strong, vibrant, well organized public health system in order to respond effectively to emerging issues such as SARS, West Nile Virus, mad cow disease and others. He's accompanied by Vicki Lafferty from the Department of Health and Social Services. Dr. Butler-Jones.

---Applause

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm surprised today to see Jack and Jan Cooper here. Jack Cooper is a former resident of Hay River. He taught school there for many years. He's now retired and he and his brother have a business called Cooper Studios, who have voice coached many renowned performing artists in Canada. So if you want to be a rock star, go see those two gentlemen. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to welcome as well Ms. Agnes Kuptana, originally from Holman, but now a resident of Inuvik.

---Applause

Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Minister Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize some members who attend the Tree of Peace Adult Education Program here in Yellowknife. Helene Usherwood is the instructor. Flossie Okoak, Theresa Martin, Theresa Wright, John Quitte, Michael Payne, Violet Kachkowski, Eli Ulayuk, Lawrence Mantla and Melanie Norwegian. They're up in the gallery, Mr. Speaker. Please help me welcome them.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Are they all here?

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a Hay River resident up in the gallery, Ms. Wendy Morgan who happens to be a colleague, being Mrs. Groenewegen's constituency assistant.

---Laughter

---Applause

Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for the Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a former national team member, Mr. Ernie Lennie, originally from Tulita. He is also an esteemed colleague with a Member of the House, Mr. Allen, who were both on the national team together. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. On behalf of all my colleagues, I would like to welcome you to the Legislative Assembly to see your government. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Minister Ootes if very well acquainted with the issues that have caused the strife between the Hay River DEA and the South Slave Divisional Education Council, so I will not reiterate what I have already said in my statement today and also the many discussions with the Minister on this matter. But for the record and the benefit of Hay River residents today, I would like to ask the Minister if there is anything that can be changed with our education governance system which would address the circumstances in Hay River which have left our DEA members, parents and teachers feeling as if their concerns cannot be addressed within this system. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased that the Member has asked me a question on this and the opportunity to speak on this, Mr. Speaker. There is a difficult situation between the DEC and the DEA and Hay River representatives. We are doing our best to resolve that issue through mediation. In terms of alternatives to this, we have suggested the process of mediation because we feel that it does need that process to see if some of the issues that are before us can be resolved. There is an opportunity for Hay River, which I have offered before, to have a separate DEA or DEC from the regional DEC. The cost factor has entered into this time and time again, Mr. Speaker, and that extra cost factor is substantial. It is approximately $500,000 or within that range, and as a government we are just not prepared to pay that particular price. I have stated that if the community looked at the possibility then there is some way to resolve it, in that fashion, then certainly we would be very, very interested in doing that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now it is costing a certain amount of money to this government for the education of Hay River students. I was wondering, what does the extra $500,000 that the Minister feels the government would have to come up with, what does that constitute? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. This is a figure that has been provided to me. I have asked my officials to triple check this. It has been done in that fashion by my officials on a frequent number of occasions because the subject has cropped up. The issue is that it diminishes the ability of one organization to have the opportunity to provide services to all of its communities. We need to set up similar services in the Hay River community that is now provided out of one central office. We would be splitting that in essence and adding to the support staff that is in place now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I noticed in the newspaper the other day that there will actually be a question on the ballot with the municipal elections asking whether or not the Hay River residents would like a separate education council. So, is the Minister saying that if the community of Hay River came up with the $500,000.00 to supplement the education budget, that he would be prepared to proceed with a separate district education authority for Hay River? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that is the commitment I have made previously, Mr. Speaker. The issue is one of a cost factor here. We want to ensure the services to the students are not diminished because there is a feeling that it could be provided on a cheaper basis. We know from our studies of this that there is a certain level of service that must be provided for education districts. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting proposal for the community of Hay River to consider and I am glad now that we have a dollar figure. However, I would like to ask the Minister, has he ever made a submission to the FMB or to the Cabinet with respect to Hay River's interest for a separate council and with a dollar amount attached to it, $500,000. Has Cabinet or FMB ever considered that proposal? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have briefed Cabinet on an informal basis on that, Mr. Speaker. Nothing formal has been submitted.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my Member's statement earlier today, my questions go to the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. It has to do with the cheques in the amount of $10,000 that he gave to the town council on behalf of 12 residents as a subsidy for them to purchase the lot that their mobile homes are on. I would like to ask the Minister, what were the criteria that these people have to meet to get the $10,000 each? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all due respect, Mr. Speaker, we have a legal instrument. This is something we call the NWT Housing Corporation Act that we use to assist those who are involuntarily forced to move. So that was the discretion that I used at the time, after a number of consultations with the tenants. As well there were previous consultations between the tenants and the committee of the Town of Inuvik town council. So that was the base of that decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned that legal instrument being the NWT Housing Corporation Act. At the same time he mentioned the word discretion, and I understand the discretion to mean a power of the Minister to make decisions. I would like to know, which is it? Is there a law that provides a program on this, or is this completely based on the Minister's discretion and are there any guidelines as to what criteria the Minister has to use to use his discretion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I gather we are entering into some kind of a legal debate here. The issue here is that we have referenced a number of sections of the act. I guess I should have used more discretion, but the point is, Mr. Speaker, that we have an act and through that act, we have used a section to assist those who were at risk of having to move from their homes. Thank you.

Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, I don't believe there is any legal debate going on here whatsoever. Mr. Speaker, I am simply asking the Minister how he is spending public money. Not too long ago, he made decisions to give out 12 cheques in the amount of $10,000. I want to know what these people had to do, fill out a form or anything, to get the $10,000.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of avenues that we entertain when we deal with those people who are at risk and require assistance under certain housing programs. We have a number of policies. We have 16 different housing programs that are administered across the NWT. We also have a formal housing strategy that identifies both market and non-market communities for...(inaudible)...sufficient funding for housing. We assist every community and we work with those individuals who apply under certain programs and that's application based. So we deal with each one on an individual basis. In some communities, we have to entertain the idea that it's a community problem, so certainly I convey to the Members that we have done the best we can under certain aspects of our affordable housing strategy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe I am asking a very specific question that the Minister has failed to answer thus far. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is what did these 12 people have to do? What did they have to do to get the $10,000? What was the criteria? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I referred to earlier, there was a consultation process. It was a consultation process between the tenants and the town. We had done due diligence. We met with the tenants. The tenants indicated that they could not afford to pay some of those costs, so we made a decision based on a portion of the act. So that's the end result. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the next legislature will, I am sure, entertain ideas like this. We have the transitional planning process that is being prepared now for the next legislature. Some suggestions on what we need to do to recognize if the political aspect of the Northwest Territories is changing. The Government of the Northwest Territories, as it was and the way it still appears to be, is possibly no longer viable in the sense that we are having emerging regional entities that also want to deliver programs and services and the next legislature may find the political will to embrace these regional governments that are aboriginal public institutions that are being created or in the making. If such is the case, then part of the planning documents entertain the suggestion that we may want to take some of the resources presently allocated at the Yellowknife headquarters level and reprofile or reallocate those to support these regional institutions and governments, so they can deliver programs and services. There is some planning going on to meet that if the next legislature should want to jump on that with both feet, eyes wide open. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a little over a week left to do some work together. We have issues regarding some legislation that we've committed to dealing with. We have issues like the business incentive policy that will require attention. There is proposed legislation, such as the Tlicho agreement, that should be dealt with by this legislature. So as far as my capacity to give such direction, it's rather limited. If it's something we wanted to do, it's something we should have done in January 2000 or even in the first year, but the Member should be assured that while we are not talking numbers, there is the need for a political will by the next legislature to say there is a regional government emerging in the Mackenzie Delta, the Tlicho have set up a regional government; those have to be reckoned with.

The Government of the Northwest Territories provides budgets, provides legislation, and staff to provide the services. They will have to address these emerging institutions and decide either to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future without really knowing where they are heading or to take leadership and say here is where we are going to be in 15 years.

There are regional institutions coming up, there are aboriginal governments coming up, as far as legislative power, legislative process, the allocation of resources, budgeting. Here is how we have to provide leadership in order to keep everything happening and everybody working together in a way that brings benefits to everybody. That is going to be a huge question for the next legislature. I look forward to seeing them deal with it. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question would be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services and the area of vital stats in the office operation up in Inuvik. I would like to know and get a commitment from this Minister that no actions will be taken to remove that function from Inuvik and put it back into headquarters. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that commitment has been given, I believe in writing, to the Member and to the people that worked in the office, but I will be happy to state here in the House that there are no plans or intentions of myself, as Minister, or the department to take that particular function out of Yellowknife. Oh sorry, I apologize for that Mr. Speaker, being from Fort Smith I should know much better. There is no plan to take it out of Inuvik and move it back to Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister, for clarification. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am glad he clarified that. I think being a Minister that long in this Cabinet is starting to affect him.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, a further question to the Minister is now that we have that confirmed, will his office provide the necessary support to ensure that vital stats office function can be done in an appropriate way and in a timely manner to help all citizens across the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am wounded by the Member's initial comments about how quickly I've forgotten where I've spent much of my time.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to assure the Member that based on my interest and concern on this and many conversations I've had with the Member and with the department, that we are taking the steps to ensure that we look at how the office is functioning, if is it adequately resourced. In fact we have senior staff up there right now working on that and we are also working on the information systems that vital statistics needs to do their job effectively. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister inform us as to when this work might be done knowing that the lifeline of the 14th Assembly is quickly running out, I'd like to know in fact this work will be done before the powers of this office are completed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit to the Member to keep you fully informed as to the information that comes across my desk in terms of the analysis and review that is being done and the steps taken to properly and better support the services that are provided by the vital statistics office. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you. I guess I would like to thank the Minister for his responses and I take that in fact by his responses that there is an admission that that office has been under-resourced and having difficulty meeting the demands placed on it. I would like to know from the Minister if he can provide the workload that office was doing when it was situated here in Yellowknife to what it is now doing in Inuvik? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker once we have concluded the review of the workloads and the volumes and the pressures that are on that particular office, I would be happy to share those with the Member. I will check with the department to see whether we have any information from the days when that office was located in Yellowknife.