Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I wish to provide my ruling on the point of order raised on February 19, 2003, by the honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Prior to addressing this specific point of order, I would like to make some comment on the purpose of a point of order, just to refresh Members' minds on this procedural point as fortunately, we have not had one for sometime. A point of order is a question raised by a Member who believes that the rules of customary procedures of the House have been incorrectly applied or overlooked during the proceedings. Members may rise on points of order to bring to the attention of the Chair any breach of any of our rules or unparliamentary remarks uttered in debate. Members are able to do so at virtually any time in the proceedings, provided the point of order is raised and concisely argued as soon as the irregularity occurs or as soon as practicable thereafter. As a point of order concerns the interpretation of the rules, it is the responsibility of the Speaker, or Chair in Committee of the Whole, to resolve the matter.

I would now like to provide my ruling on the point of order raised by the honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley, with respect to remarks made by the honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty, on February 19, 2003, in raising the point of order, the honourable Member referred to Rules 23(h) and 23(j), which states: 23, "In debate a Member will be called to order by the Speaker if the Member:"; (h), "makes allegations against another Member, a House officer or a witness;" (j), "charges another Member with uttering a deliberate falsehood."

The statement in question was and I refer to page 278 of unedited Hansard and I quote Mr. Lafferty: "Mr. Speaker, I have to say the Minister is a total stranger to the truth."

Members will recall that I permitted debate on the point of order and the Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty commented and I quote from page 350 of unedited Hansard: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has put a point of order on the Table. The definition of what one thinks or what one says differs for everyone. The words I used were to say that he didn't know the truth and he was travelling a separate highway from the truth. I could have used those words. What he is saying in this House and the truth are different. I am not calling him a liar. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

Mr. Handley then indicated that he might have to raise a further point of order respecting this reply by Mr. Lafferty.

Notwithstanding Mr. Handley's reference to Rules 23(h) and (j), while considering my ruling, I took into consideration the use of the language by the Member for North Slave and I referred to Marleau and Montpetit and I quote from page 526: "In dealing with unparliamentary language, the Speaker takes into account the tone, manner and intention of the Member speaking; the person to whom the words were directed; the degree of provocation; and, most importantly, whether or not the remarks created disorder in the Chamber. Thus, language deemed unparliamentary one day may not necessarily be deemed unparliamentary the following day."

Unparliamentary language is determined largely by context and has as much to do with intent as impact. To be unparliamentary, the language must have the character of being abusive and insulting; it can also involve a charge of deliberate misrepresentation, it is always difficult for the Speaker to know the intent of words spoken by Members.

In applying the context of the proceedings on February 19th, I find that the statement of the Member for North Slave does question the integrity and motives of Mr. Handley. It relates directly to representations attributed to Mr. Handley, and invites, if not demands the conclusion that the statements by Mr. Handley, to the effect that the department is doing a very good job and the highway is safe, are not true; that Mr. Handley has not spoken the truth in the House.

I further find that the same conclusion is suggested in Mr. Lafferty's response to the point of order with respect to the words "...he was travelling a separate highway from the truth." Using a clever analogy does not detract from the substance of the statement. Although the matter was not raised as a point of order, the comments were made and I wish to address them.

I, therefore, rule that the honourable Member for Weledeh has a point of order with respect to both sets of remarks by Mr. Lafferty. Accordingly, I inquire of Mr. Lafferty whether he is prepared to withdraw those remarks from the record, and further, whether he is prepared to offer an apology to the honourable Member for Weledeh. Mr. Lafferty, I have made my ruling.

Mr. Lafferty, are you withdrawing your statement?

Mr. Lafferty, you have heard my ruling, I am requesting that you withdraw those statements or there could be consequences to not withdrawing at this time.

Mr. Lafferty, a clear answer, yes or no, do you want to withdraw your comments from the record? Yes or no?

Mr. Lafferty, with regard to your response and not withdrawing your statements, I have to refer to Rule 25(4): "A Member named under Ruling 25(2) or (3) shall be suspended from the Assembly for the remainder of the sitting day. A motion without notice may be moved to increase the length of suspension of the named Member and shall be decided without amendment or debate." At this time, I would like to ask you again would you withdraw your statement, yes or no? If not, you know what the consequences are. Yes or no?

Mr. Lafferty with regard to our rules, I have to ask you to leave this House for the remainder of this day. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to provide information to Members about our NWT team which will be competing at the 2003 Canada Winter Games. These games are being held in Bathurst and Campbellton, New Brunswick, February 22nd to March 8th.

The Canada Winter Games are the country's primary multi-sport event. The 2003 Canada Winter Games will include 3,200 participants from all provinces and territories competing in 21 sports over the two weeks of the games.

The NWT is sending 70 participants from 10 communities. Week one will include badminton, cross-country skiing, women's curling, speed skating and squash.

In week two, Team NWT will compete in biathlon, men's curling and figure skating.

In addition, two artists from Hay River and from Yellowknife are taking part in the national artists program, which is part of the cultural component of the games.

On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, I would like to thank the coaches, volunteers, territorial sport organizations and Sport North for their dedication and commitment in working with our young athletes in the past few years to prepare for the event.

For many, it will be the experience of a lifetime and the height of their athletic careers. For others it will be a stepping-stone to higher goals as they pursue excellence in their sport. I am sure that all the athletes who have been selected to represent the NWT at the Canada Winter Games will be excellent ambassadors for the North.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will continue to work with our partners to ensure that young athletes from the NWT who work hard and strive to meet the standards to compete at this level will continue to have the opportunity to participate in the Canada games.

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Winter Games are a national celebration that will bring together people from across our country. Our participants will certainly benefit for years to come from the experience and friendships they will find at the games.

I invite all Members to join me in wishing the best of luck to Team NWT and all the participants in the 2003 Canada Winter Games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to inform this House and my constituents that I will be leaving later on today to travel back home to attend the funeral of Mr. Cliff King being held tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Similar sympathy goes to the family from the Legislature. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a government, we take on many different projects, some of them very new, some are pilot projects that we try out to see if they work or not and very often, Mr. Speaker, we keep throwing money at some of these projects whether they are successful or whether they show any signs of success. But every once in awhile, a project comes along that shows signs of great success and tremendous possibilities for growth. Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring attention to a project, a new initiative taken on by the Housing Corporation that the manager in Hay River, Tom Makepeace, and his staff did a tremendous job on and worked for in conjunction with Diamond Jenness School in Hay River.

---Applause

This new initiative that I refer to is a program whereby the Housing Corporation provides materials and labour dollars to shop students at Diamond Jenness Secondary School. Mr. Speaker, the shop students are required to construct a one bedroom or two bedroom house for the Housing Corporation that will in turn be turned over to a Northwest Territories Housing Corporation client. This is a fabulous idea, Mr. Speaker. Not only does the Housing Corporation have to provide a minimal investment, the 10 shop students get invaluable hands-on construction training, and not only training in construction of the house. They also do all the wiring, they do all the plumbing, and they only bring in trades people to inspect their work. Mr. Speaker, the labour dollars are provided to the high school to fund a half time position to supervise the students while they are building the house, thus creating employment. In addition, a local trades person is brought in to inspect the student's handy work. Mr. Speaker, it is not often, that I get to stand up in this House and applaud the government but I believe that accolades are very warranted to Tom Makepeace and his staff for this fantastic endeavour. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak on the issue of the Northwest Territories Business Incentive Policy and the proposed revisions to that policy.

The BIP was put in place 18 years ago as a means of giving a competitive advantage to northern companies bidding on government contracts for the supply of goods and services. The intent was to enhance the growth of northern companies in the belief that this would create direct and indirect employment and many other positive effects on a northern economy. I believe, to a large extent, the Business Incentive Policy has been successful in accomplishing that. Granted, many circumstances affecting the northern economy have changed since then.

In communities like Yellowknife, government contracts are not the major contributing factor to succeeding in the construction sector, for example, as they once were. Much activity is now driven by the private sector. Many northern and aboriginal companies have grown and are quite successful and competitive. The argument is made that this maturing makes the BIP less important and relevant. The capital budget of the Government of the Northwest Territories is shrinking and some would argue that this reduced amount makes it incumbent upon the government to get more for their limited resources, suggesting that without the BIP this would be better achieved.

Mr. Speaker, I agree that times have changed and it is good to examine government initiative and policies from time to time to ensure they are still accomplishing what they were intended to. However, there has been some very critical information missing in the recent discussion and consultations about the BIP. We need a clearer picture of what the Business Incentive Policy is actually costing. Then, we need a clearer accounting of what we are gaining from that premium. Without that information in hand, I believe it would be premature to make any substantial changes to the policy. We can't proceed on anecdotal piecemeal information.

I'm also concerned about the scope of the proposed changes. I think minor adjustments may need to be made to address areas which could improve the outcome of the policy. But, the kind of sweeping and wholesale changes that are being proposed cannot be done in the absence of a clear articulation of the costs and benefits. I hope the Minister will act to put in place an effective monitoring plan over the next year. When and only when that information becomes available would I support revisiting revisions to the Business Incentive Policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 3, Members' statements. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following up on the Minister's well wishes for our athletes going to the Canada Winter Games, later today I will be recognizing in the gallery two remarkable young athletes from my riding about whom I have spoken before in the House. Mr. Speaker, the records of Amy Wittlinger and Andy Wittlinger are indeed impressive. In the 2002 Northern American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg, Andy and Amy were major contributors in amassing 25 swimming medals for the NWT. Andy won nine individual medals and two medals as a member of a relay team. Amy won seven individual medals and two as a member of a relay team. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, Andy and Amy combined to break five NWT swimming records.

Amy's and Andy's accomplishments go beyond the indigenous games, Mr. Speaker; they have also attended the Alberta Senior championships for the past three years and have had numerous top 10 finishes. In April, 2002, Amy competed at the Edmonton Keyano International Asia Group Meet in Edmonton, Alberta against swimmers from 33 clubs across Canada and the United States and several other countries.

Amy and Andy also have very supportive and hard-working parents, who deserve a lot of credit for their success. We know that athletes succeed by working hard to obtain the maximum potential their talent could bring. It is also true that their road is much more meaningful and easier with the support of family, friends and community. Their parents, Chris and Fred Wittlinger, have been there every step of the way to support these remarkable athletes.

Mr. Speaker, Amy and Andy are both young leaders giving time back to the Yellowknife Polar Bears Swimming Club. They are qualified coaches and are currently helping the younger age group swimmers with the club. Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to ask my colleagues in the House to join me in recognizing Amy and Andy Wittlinger later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't quite see them now, they are just walking in. I would like to recognize Andy Wittlinger and Amy Wittlinger and Chris Wittlinger from my riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

I would like to welcome you to the House and all the best at the games. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Justice and it is about policing resources in Yellowknife. I know that the RCMP were working on a business plan to document the case for more resources, Mr. Speaker. I'm wondering if the Minister of Justice is in receipt of that and if in fact we sat down with that and started negotiating? Thank you.

Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware that the item has been completed. There are a number of recommendations that were raised with our Department of Justice. I believe they are in the initial discussion stages and that is the latest update I can provide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you. Can the Minister confirm that in fact that we have had no substantial increase to policing resources in Yellowknife from this government since about the mid 80's, and between then and now I think the population has almost doubled. Is that the case?

Minister of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, there has been a status quo on the level of funding. We are continuing to work within other existing funding programs in terms of securing additional funds to meet the growing demand. We will continue to work from that level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, I think the only substantial additional resources recently, as far as the RCMP is concerned, have been mandated by the Supreme Court of Canada, forcing us to no longer have single member detachments. Would the Minister indicate whether or not the department is looking to or agreeable to increasing the level of resources for detachments right across the Territories? Thank you.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the financial arrangements during the targeted setting exercise for the 2001-02 fiscal year, we directed that the RCMP resource be capped until 2005, pending consultation with the RCMP. Beyond that though, Mr. Speaker, I don't have any further information to provide the Member. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just so I have got it then, is it correct to understand that we are sitting down now to talk about resources from 2005 on and there really won't be any significant change until that point? Is that the case? Thank you.

Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, my understanding is we continue to consult with the RCMP of 'G' division to enhance some of the policing services pending their financial capability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I questioned the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat regarding mandatory leave-without-pay days over the Christmas period. Mr. Speaker, in the Minister's responses to my questions, he's informed me that it is an agreement with the UNW, which I was aware of, that they don't pool the resources from the money they withdraw from employees' pay. I would like to ask the Minister what happens to those dollars if they are not pooled to be paid back at a certain time of year? What happens to those dollars that belong to employees? Thank you.

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, each department has an appropriation that includes money for salaries, wages, benefits and so on. Each department is obligated to budget for and account for its total salary, wages, and benefits package. If at the end of the year, there is any surplus money, then that comes back to a consolidated fund as unspent operational money the department didn't utilize. If there are any savings - - I don't know if there is - - then it would be part of that package. In the same way, if someone leaves with a higher salary and we hire someone with a lower salary and there is some savings there or less cost, then that money comes back. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Then can the Minister also confirm along this line if employees who leave before December 20th when that pay cheque comes out, in that time period, then they are receiving ten days leave without pay?

The honourable Minister responsible for FMBS, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I don't quite understand the point the Member is making, so maybe he could clarify what the question is.

Mr. Roland, could you rephrase the question?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated that -- and it's known now -- that when employees leave before the final pay period in December, they do not receive the money that's been deducted off their pay cheque for coverage of that one week, five days. So if they leave days prior to that last pay cheque, then they are receiving ten days leave without pay. Is that not correct?

The honourable Minister responsible for FMBS, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, no, I wouldn't interpret it that way. We have an agreement with the union that regardless of when employees start or leave the government, then within the period of time that they are working there, they get whatever salary is accrued to them In this case, in order to be fair to all employees, the agreement is in the collective agreement. It's very clear that this money will not be reimbursed to anyone nor will anyone suffer from either not having a cheque or only a partial cheque during that mandatory leave-without-pay period. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister, also in response to my questions in this area, stated that it's very complicated to try to bring money back to employees if they leave before that time and how they would prorate it. So is he telling me that the system we've invested in as a government and the payroll system, Peoplesoft, can't handle this kind of work?

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, certainly the system can handle it, but I just want to make the point that it would complicate the whole system to try to get information on every single employee and when they left, when they started and so on. The main reason for doing this, Mr. Speaker, is this is, in our view and the union's view, the fairest arrangement for all of the public service who work with our government. It's a joint agreement, Mr. Speaker, between ourselves and the union. It's in the collective agreement. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement that I made today, my question is for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development with respect to the work that's been done on consultation and consideration to revisions to the Business Incentive Policy. I would like to ask the Minister what the status of those considerations are because there are people out there in the private sector who are very curious as to what's going to happen. The proposed revisions were quite well broadcast and well known and there is uncertainty out there and I would like to know what the status of the changes are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Mr. Antoine.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement, in the Northwest Territories we are doing various things to try to promote people to take up opportunities that are opening up here in the North now. One of the areas we are very short of is in the trades department. There are always companies looking for trades people. In October I asked the Minister what his department was doing to promote the trades in the Hay River area, in the South Slave area, particularly in Hay River. The answer that the Minister gave me at that time was he was very happy that I had brought the issue up because it was one of the areas that... "It is my desire, Mr. Speaker, to start concentrating on the usage of facilities that have shops and home economics rooms so that we can get back into that whole area." I would like to ask the Minister what has been done since October and what is his department doing now to promote the trades, in particular in the Hay River area?

The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Speaker, yes, it is a very good program and I am very pleased that this is becoming very successful in Hay River. With regard to the work that the department is doing since October of last year when Mr. Delorey brought this to our attention, we started to work on this in a more concentrated effort throughout the Territories. The first thing we needed to do was to design the curriculum so that we get different pathways for students to enter back into the trades area. We have been very diligent in concentrating in that whole area, Mr. Speaker. It's for the territory, as a whole. We expect that to be finished by this summer, so we have some alternate maths and sciences, not a watered down version by any means, but an alternate pathway that students can get into. From there, we need to identify the resources to address issues, just as Mr. Delorey's project in the school in Hay River is doing. We want to be supportive of that. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that every time I bring up something in the House that would benefit Hay River, it can't be done unless it's reviewed on a territorial basis and it's done every other place across the territories in conjunction with what's happening in Hay River. I am speaking about a specific project that is proving to be very successful in the Hay River area in a partnership between the school and the Housing Corporation and one that is promising for expansion. Will the Minster commit to looking at this project with the possibility of providing more funds to help this project grow and be more successful without having to introduce a territorial-wide project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Housing Corporation is going to carry on with the contributions they are making to this project. Certainly I will look at it, however, we do deal with a process here of ensuring that we fund the various district education authorities. What I am pointing out is we can't specifically fund specific schools with projects. We do it through a process of our boards. I am very supportive of this project, but I think by this summer we will be in a much better position to say we have the academic programs out of the way, now let's look at resources and target certain areas and I am quite prepared to look at Hay River as a target area where we can bring about some success. I am quite prepared to do that, Mr. Speaker.

Member for Hay River, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In October, I brought up the fact that Diamond Jenness Secondary School, the shop there works on a budget of $4,000. That budget hasn't increased in a number of years, yet they are trying to be more productive. They have picked up probably in the neighbourhood of 14 to 17 kids now who normally would have dropped out of the school system, but they are very strapped as far as having the equipment to be able to take part in a project like this. Will the Minister commit to looking at the funding for the shop at the Diamond Jenness Secondary School with the possibility of increasing some funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will look at it. I do have a project as well in Inuvik and, as Members are aware, there are schools in Yellowknife that offer trades training and Fort McPherson has a shop. So I have to be considerate of all schools in the territory, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member's concern about his school. Certainly I will look at it. I certainly will do my best to provide support for that, but I want to be fair to all schools in the Territories because there are many schools with shops that are not in use at the moment, Mr. Speaker, and I want to get them up and running. I probably will go on the basis of some pilot projects here. We are working with the Housing Corporation on this. They've contributed $80,000 towards this project. We will carry on with it and will continue to seek the support of the Housing Corporation to ensure that it continues next year in Hay River, but as well I need to ensure that we are concerned about Inuvik, Fort McPherson, et cetera. Holman has a new school with a shop and no materials in it, no materials whatsoever. That is of concern to me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I could probably name 10 projects that have started off across the Territories in training that haven't happened in Hay River yet.

I can tell you that this project is a very successful project that Education, Culture and Employment is putting very little into right now. The housing corporation is putting a considerable amount of money in it. I would like the Minister to commit to looking at this project as a separate project and maybe doing something through Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

I will look at the project, Mr. Speaker, but I do have to take into consideration some others that I have been speaking to; Inuvik as an example and Fort McPherson as an example. I do need to take that into consideration. I am quite prepared to put the Hay River project on that list as well, but I have two or three that I want to ensure we consider. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question at this time will be directed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Knowing our budget is before Members now and in the budget we see a number of facilities that deal with recreation in communities, I would like to know if the department now has a new policy regarding sport and recreation facilities in our communities. Thank you.

The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, we haven't developed any new policies on supplying new infrastructure to communities. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reason I ask that question is in the community of Inuvik, the community council is preparing to build a new family centre. It's a recreation facility based on taxpayers raising a lot of the funds. I know the community had approached the Minister, they wrote him a letter, asking for any available funds. If there is no policy then, does he do this on a one-off situation? Thank you.

The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although MACA is funding some new sports and recreation facilities in non-tax-based communities, it is under the policy we have for supplying infrastructure to non-tax-based communities. Tax-based communities are funded through their block funding process. They have signed agreements that they are responsible for all their capital projects. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall when those block funding agreements were first put in place, they also incorporated the capital plan that was existing for that community, so is that not the case anymore? All capital for recreation facilities is off the list for tax-based communities? Thank you.

The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not certain on that. I can take the request for information back to the department. I do know that I reviewed Inuvik's block funding with the department and I did notice that they signed in there that they would be responsible for their block funding. I also note in that particular recreational complex they have, we, in the past, assisted them with that. I believe it was $1.8 million on that particular building. So we did assist the community for that particular building. I do have a letter from the community, as the Member mentioned, requesting our assistance. I believe we are responding to that under our existing programs, other than for our sports and recreation program for which we have very limited money. That's the only program we have that we can assist the community with at this time. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that at year end, sometimes there is money available in budgets around in the Northwest Territories, so I would like to know if the Minister would be willing to work with the community. They are not looking for a lot of money, but just helping to get this phase going. Would you be willing to work with them to see if there would be any funding at year end that they might be able to access? Thank you.

The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am certainly willing to work with the community and the Member to see what we can do to assist the community, although I must put it on the table that we are very limited in our options right now, but we will certainly work with the community and the Member. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this morning are for the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley, and it's with regard to the investigation or the initiative that is underway now to look into the creation of a Yellowknife airport authority. Mr. Speaker, for its size, this airport is one of the busiest in Canada. It is an essential part of our economy and our lifestyle here. This is not a brand new idea. It's been on and off for the last year or two. I wanted to ask the Minister this morning what is this government's position regarding the creation or the possible creation of a Yellowknife airport authority?

The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, in 2001, an aeronautical market study was commissioned by the government and the city of Yellowknife to look at a number of issues regarding the airport and its future potential of long haul flights and so on. I have since that time, recently set up a committee that will be a panel that will be taking a look at the various options and will be reporting back to me within the next couple of months, by May 31st with their recommendations. We don't, as a government, have a stand on whether we should have an airport authority or we shouldn't have an airport authority. That's a question that has been put to the table to look at the pros and cons of it. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So what is underway right now is essentially more a marketing or business development study? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Yes, the panel I referred to has broad representation from all stakeholder groups including the NWT Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Mines, the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce has a seat on it as well -- I don't know if anybody is attending yet -- the city, the air transport association, tourism. We tried to get a broad spectrum of people on the panel. The panel's mandate is to look at what is the potential and what are the implications of changing the status of the airport from one the government runs. It's a fairlybroad mandate to come back to us with some recommendations. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

So the creation of an authority is one of the options to be looked at. Right now the Government of the Northwest Territories does subsidize, to a considerable degree, the operation of the airport. I wonder if the Minister could give us some sense today, even a guarantee, that costs to customers and airlines would not rise. Is that one of the baseline criteria that we can anticipate regardless of what happens at the Yellowknife airport? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Transportation.

Mr. Speaker, yes, the government does subsidize the operation of the Yellowknife airport fairly substantially, so we accept that cost. But the main objective of the panel is to look at alternative governance models. How else can we run an airport? Are there advantages to it and what are the implications for all of the stakeholders? We believe there is a tremendous opportunity with the opening of polar routes with our tourism potential to expand the way we are doing things and do it differently. We think this airport can be central to transport air cargo, as well as our own use. So the mandate is broad. I look forward to hearing from the panel. If the panel were to come forward and say here's an alternate model, but in order to make it work, we will need the government to continue to pay the amount that we currently subsidize the operation by, that's certainly open. I want to emphasize, Mr. Speaker, that there is absolutely no intention on the government's part to try to offload any costs onto anybody that we currently bear for this airport or any other one. So, Mr. Speaker, that is not our intention at all. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in keeping with my Member's statement, I would like to ask some questions of the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen. Mr. Speaker, this project I mentioned in my Member's statement is one that has been introduced in Hay River and is gaining a lot of interest. It is my understanding that these units that are being built by the students at Diamond Jenness Secondary School are units that, when complete, are ready to move into. They can be moved and someone can live in them. I think the total budget for the one that they are building right now is something like $80,000. I would like to ask the Minister what his take is on that project, how successful it is and if, indeed, the units that are coming out are ready to move into. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I apologize, I missed the last part of the question, but to answer in the overall context, we do continue to support a lot of the youth initiatives. It should also be acknowledged that we do want to support the youth initiatives through the youth corps, the Youth Secretariat. So, yes, we are working in collaboration with various schools from a regional perspective and Hay River is a good example. I think it sets the tone. This High School Home Builders Program was initially introduced in 1999 and I am pleased today to see that it has reached this level and hopefully they will continue to be supported throughout other high schools in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that when this program was put into place, it was to try to capture some kids that were not intending to go on academically and maybe even drop out of school, but they have picked up some of these students that have gotten very interested in working on these projects, but now it's kind of captured the interest of other students, more academically inclined students even. More students are willing to get into the program. So is the NWT Housing Corporation prepared to expand their program so that it could take in more kids? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT Housing Corporation, under its act, is very flexible, so yes we are very interested to help develop trade skills in amongst the youth as the program generates interest. We certainly want to work with other departments, the Department of ECE for instance, in trying to incorporate a curriculum-based program in high schools provided that it doesn't interrupt market development or contravenes principles of business policies, which then becomes competitive in nature. But certainly from a training perspective, we do want to support the High School Home Builders Program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.