Thank you. Before going to orders of the day, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a new clerk at the Table today, Mr. Andrew Stewart.

---Applause

Andrew is taking up duties at the Table which will add to his experience as an assistant committee clerk as he has been working for the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act and on the Implementation of Self-Government and the Sunset Clause.

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For those Members who were with us at the community feast and dance in Fort McPherson this summer, this is not the Andrew Stewart from Fort McPherson, but the Andrew Stewart from Yellowknife.

---Laughter

Join me in welcoming Mr. Stewart to the Clerk's Table.

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Item 2, Ministers' statements.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to the matter of family violence legislation in the Northwest Territories.

This has been and is an issue of importance to each and every Member of this Legislature as evidenced most recently by our unanimous endorsement of the protocol agreement to support the development of an action plan on family violence in the NWT presented by the Status of Women. It is important to all of us in the House, and after hearing the Members' statements, I believe it is important to many, many people of the Northwest Territories.

As a government, we must act and we, as Members, must act together to develop and pass effective family violence legislation within the term of this Legislative Assembly. We must also strive to ensure that, within the limited time available to achieve this, the legislation is relevant to our jurisdiction, works for our people and communities and represents the input from important stakeholders dealing with and affected by this issue.

Mr. Speaker, Members of this House have referred to the legislation developed and relied upon in other Canadian jurisdictions and indicated their approval of that legislation on behalf of the people of the NWT. The legislation of and the experience in other jurisdictions can be very useful as a tool and will be relied upon in development of NWT legislation.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of issues which must be addressed through timely consultations and policy development, and those include the definition of family violence, the remedies we include in such legislation, determining who can apply for relief under the legislation and the best delivery model for the NWT. The department plans to conduct its consultations and start its policy work immediately with a view to determining these questions. Our goal, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that we develop legislation that works for all NWT residents, whether they live in large centres or small isolated communities, whether they have RCMP or not.

Mr. Speaker, this work will require the cooperation of all Members of this House to assist in ensuring that we produce an act and a process that most appropriately meets the needs of victims of family violence. We are committed to moving ahead with this legislation as soon as possible.

There will be costs associated with the development and the implementation of this legislation, the extent of which have not been fully determined. The proper delivery of this legislation will involve the RCMP, shelter workers, social workers, court staff, judges and justices of the peace. Additional staff may be required to properly implement and deliver the legislation.

The process is not a simple one, given the complexity of family violence and the diversity of our people and our jurisdictions. However, we can do it and we can do it well, Mr. Speaker, if we have the cooperation and assistance of all Members of this House. The overwhelming sense I have gathered over the past weeks in this House is that the government has your approval and can expect your assistance. What I have heard in this House, Mr. Speaker, is an overwhelming commitment to family violence legislation and on that basis I will commit to introducing a bill at the June sitting of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to, once again, voice my concerns over the harmonization strategy. This initiative was introduced and adopted by the 13th Assembly and I have watched with great interest as this program has been deferred, time and time again. It's been changed. It has been transferred from one Minister to another and, in the end, I was hoping it would go away. However, it's very evident that this government is determined to implement this program April 1st of this year.

Mr. Speaker, I question the intent of this initiative. It's certainly not intended to improve the health and conditions in our communities. It is not designed to raise revenues for this government. It is not part of the seniors' strategy. My understanding of this program is that it was to harmonize the income support program with the social housing program. If that was the goal, then why are the seniors and the students rolled into the mix? Most of the seniors and students live on a fixed monthly income, an income that is usually accounted for before they receive it. Mr. Speaker, I hear from the NWT housing staff that seniors across the North are welcoming and embracing this program. If that's the case, I ask why are seniors in the small communities complaining about this new initiative?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister promised in this House there would be a clear communication strategy and an implementation schedule. I have copies of letters sent out to the seniors in my riding as part of the communication strategy. The letter simply states that a new scale is being introduced April 1st. The new maximum rent is at a certain level and on April 1st, the rent would be calculated in a different manner and it gives another lump sum. It doesn't indicate the actual rent that will be charged. The Housing Corporation may have met the letter of the law by mailing out notices of intent of the potential rent increases, but they sure didn't meet the intent of the law.

I contacted every band and municipal council in the NWT, Mr. Speaker, and 87 percent have responded by saying they are not familiar with this program and they needed more information. Fifty-five percent have requested that this whole initiative be abandoned. Mr. Speaker, I was recently reminded that the NWT Housing Corporation was initially formed in the early 1970s under the name of the Mackenzie Valley...Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent. Do I hear any nays? You have unanimous consent, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. Mr. Speaker, it was recently that the NWT Housing Corporation was initially formed in the early 1970s under the name Mackenzie Valley Housing and their mandate was to deliver housing to Aboriginal and low income families. We have certainly deviated from that mandate. Mr. Speaker, once again I ask that the Minister responsible table a copy of the harmonization strategy in order for us to debate this issue in this Assembly and publicly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Education Week being held this week across the NWT. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly encouraged by the fact that this year, Education Week is an interdepartmental endeavor between the departments of Education, Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Municipal and Community Affairs, Sport North and the new Recreation and Parks Association. The theme for Education Week is "Choose to Move...Move for Health." This is an example for residents of all ages throughout the NWT that productive choices with regard to fitness can be made and how we can all benefit from the effects of being more physically active.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Honourable Jake Ootes for the various initiatives introduced by his department over the last year. However, Mr. Speaker, more work needs to be done. I would like to remind the Minister and his department officials of what should be their prime focus, that being our students. We should never lose sight of that fact, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would also like to pay tribute to the parent volunteers that spend countless hours in our classrooms. The parent volunteers contribute greatly to our schools and I don't know that we do enough to recognize their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to hear of the $2.8 million investment announced in our budget to lower pupil/teacher ratios and to raise student support services in the classroom where it is needed most. We need to be diligent and continue this path in order to provide our students with the quality of education they so deserve. While it is all nice and good, Mr. Speaker, to recognize Education Week once a year, we need to be diligent everyday to remember that we, as a government, need to focus our efforts in the classroom, so the students can directly benefit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise and speak to the issue of children in the North. Mr. Speaker, that's not something that we go into great detail in the North with the problems we have with our families, or crime rates and what we sometimes find unfortunately in our communities in the North.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to raise the issue of what we are doing as a government or what we can be doing. Not only that, the government deals with programs and services trying to fix people from the outside. Mr. Speaker, a lot of times I have come to work with individuals in my community trying to help them through our programs and services, whether it's income support, health and social services, education, but a lot of times we are trying to fix people and work with people from the outside. There is little that is being done from the inside and many people, Mr. Speaker, would say that's an issue that's got to be separate. Government, state, as it can be called, and religion should be separate. Many people will say that.

Mr. Speaker, what I found with our programs and services in the social area, all we've done is tried to work with people from an outside perspective, not dealing with them from the inside or their spirit, Mr. Speaker. That's why today I would like to raise awareness from work done by Dr. Clair Schnupp, and Mrs. Clara Schnupp. Dr. Clair Schnupp has his doctorate of philosophy and Master of Arts. His wife has a bachelor's and master's degree. They are both members of the Association of Professional Christian Counsellors and they've traveled the Arctic for 42 years, Mr. Speaker, working with youth and family. In a stretch from Nuuk, Greenland, to Nome, Alaska, they have met with many families and individuals, dealing with the situations that they find themselves in. Dr. Schnupp had talked to me a few months back and asked if I would consider looking at some of the work he's done. It's come to a point now where he's put it forward in a final pamphlet and he's seeking to try to put it out there to raise awareness.

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

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? You have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the work that's been done in this pamphlet is the cold, stark reality of what happens from time to time in our communities. It's something that, as I have become aware, is difficult to try to deal with, to try to put a finger on because government deals with programs and services that deal with levels of education, with health care, things that we can try to fix from the outside and it's difficult, Mr. Speaker, to speak to these issues because a lot of us when we come through life have run into our own problems, but have difficulty reaching to the inside, and as I said earlier, to the spirit side of the person.

We've heard lots about traditional knowledge and trying to go back to some of those strengths. I agree, we must do more in that area. I think it has to start at a community or personal level. Hopefully this work that's done, which I will table later today, will raise awareness. It's difficult to deal with in some of the issues, but I think it needs to be done to try to raise the awareness of individuals in the North, to see how we can further deal with these issues. As we heard in the Minister's statement earlier about putting family violence legislation forward, that's a piece of the puzzle and an important piece. On those things we need to continue to work. With that, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in debate of the budget for Education, Culture and Employment, much of the discussion has centred on various topics about Aurora College. I would like to speak again about what has been on my mind lately, as well as that of some of my constituents. This has to do with the long-term vision, but I would really like to see Aurora College becoming a fully accredited university in the not-too-distant future. One of my constituents even wrote to tell me that in fact there is land set aside for such a university north of Frame Lake.

Mr. Speaker, we have so much happening in the North that should be of academic interest. People from all over the world come here already, not just to admire the aurora borealis, but to study the wonders and sciences of it, yet we do not have a research centre studying it. We also have had teams of scientists and engineers studying cold weather technology, whether it be for automobiles, road building or construction of houses. We have been a testing ground for all these, as well as an importer of the technology. We could become a world leader in this regard.

The mineral development in the gold and diamonds of modern times is only the tip of the iceberg in the way of mineral and geological findings, studies of interest to academia. I recently watched a program on TV where a team of geologists and engineers from all over the world converged on the Inuvik area because that's where the most pure form of frozen gas samples can be had, but they spent much of their time talking about how excited they were to send these samples to their colleagues in the U.S., German, Russian and Japanese universities. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had an academic research centre in a university setting right here where these samples could be analyzed and written about, so that the scholars would fly here to learn and spread the knowledge out into the world?

The topic of interest for academic research doesn't just end there, Mr. Speaker. There are a lot of unique and groundbreaking discoveries going on here politically and socially as well. The evolution of our government and the unique challenges we face in our consensus system could only benefit from political scientists who enjoy the privilege of independent minds and affiliations, not from the southern perspective, but from the intimate knowledge they would have from living and teaching here.

We are also on the frontier of developing governance models as a number of self-government agreements are becoming a reality more and more everyday. I have no doubt that a lot of knowledge can be had in this area that would contribute greatly to the age old world dialogue about how and why a society chooses to govern itself the way it does. The list is endless. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement? Thank you.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? You have unanimous consent, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The list for academic research is endless and it should be noted that a good critical economic study is not just for making big bucks in ivory towers. It is an essential element of good public policy making in civil society. It is my hope that our government and college officials and leaders from all over the North would work together to achieve this goal in the not-too-distant future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take the opportunity today to respond to the Minister of Justice, Minister Allen's statement on family violence legislation because I think it is important to do so, Mr. Speaker.

I think what we've seen here today is a perfect example that our form of government, the consensus form of government, can work, and the next time somebody asks me about consensus and its advantages. I'm going to point to today because I truly believe that what we've seen here is an example of a Minister who understands, Mr. Speaker, what leadership is all about and has always been one that said, listen, I really want to get this job done, I want to roll up my sleeves and do good things, my door is open and if you have suggestions and ideas and priorities that you want to see hit the floor, come and talk to me. This Minister understood that family violence legislation was a key priority for this House and he is willing to work with us in order to get that done.

There are a million and one reasons why this might not have happened. There are consultation concerns, given the amount of time we have left, Mr. Speaker. There are resource concerns that will require additional resources. There is no shortage of reasons why this could have failed but this Minister wouldn't let it fail and I think that really isn't much of a surprise, given this Minister's track record.

We look at the Human Rights Act. This Minister was key in delivering on that piece of legislation and he got done by being willing to work with the standing committee behind the scenes, making sure that if we had suggestions coming from the public, that we were going to make this thing better. Well, he was going to get them done and get them implemented.

If you look at housing bridge financing, a recent program, the Minister was able to get the program raised from $10 million to $30 million, but still the criteria weren't adequate to allow people to access this money. A number of Members sat down with the Minister, raised this point and he said, well, you know I didn't come up with this program because I didn't want it to work so let's sit down and talk about how we can make this thing work. He has done that and now when we look at family violence legislation, he said, and I will quote, "We can do it and we can do it well, Mr. Speaker, if we have the cooperation and assistance of all Members of this House." Mr. Speaker, that is leadership. I think Minister Allen is demonstrating that here for us today. I am very proud of the work he is doing and I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking him.

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Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to tell you about a unique group of students that together make a sound that you rarely hear. These students are the Diamond Jenness Handbell Choir from Hay River, and the delightful sound is the ringing of handbells.

In 1997, a trio of staff members from Diamond Jenness School in Hay River had a dream: what if they could purchase musical instruments of a different sort and create a new club in the school. With a lot of hard work, dedication and fundraising, handbells were added to the music department of DJ. There has been an active group of young musicians ringing the bells ever since.

The DJ Handbell Choir has the distinction of being the only one of its kind in the Northwest Territories. They have gained appreciation and overwhelming reviews for their performances, exhibiting their skills and talent. They have performed at schools, the Woodland Manor, extended care at the hospital and for various community events such as Remembrance Day services, Festival of Trees, Canada Day celebrations and numerous other events.

Since 1997, these young choir members, with the support of the community, have set many goals and attained them. Recently, they have added a third octave of bells to their existing equipment and today they continue to rehearse and practice to perfect their skills. With the leadership of their director, Jennifer Tweedie, the Handbell Choir is planning to attend the We've Got Rhythm conference in London, Ontario in May. As the title suggests, this conference will feature the timeless music of George and Ira Gershwin. What a great experience for this young choir!

I have just received notice today that the Minister of Youth, the Honourable Roger Allen, has provided support for the Handbell Choir to attend this conference and they will be receiving $5,000 towards this initiative and I would like to thank the Minister for this contribution and for his recognition of the creativity and enthusiasm of these young Northern students.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the DJ Handbell Choir will be here, in the Legislative Assembly in the Great Hall, tomorrow. They are driving from Hay River to Yellowknife today, and will arrive here this evening eager to entertain with their handbells tomorrow. They will be playing from 12:45 to 1:15 and I urge you to either stay for lunch or return early so that you can be sure to hear them when they begin their program. Please join me in welcoming them tomorrow as they come to the Great Hall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Item 3, Members' statements. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have the privilege of recognizing two students from the Western Arctic Leadership Program in Fort Smith. They are Lance Lennie, Grade 12 from Deline; and, Daylyn Kakfwi, Grade 11, Fort Good Hope. I would like to welcome them to the Assembly.

---Applause

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my wife, Marie Wilson, in the gallery.

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Welcome. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my two daughters, Robyn and Shawna. Welcome.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I saw a whole bunch of legislative staff here, but maybe they were here to see Mr. Stewart. I would like to recognize my constituent Laurie Golchert. Thank you.

---Applause

At this time, I would also like to recognize Joyce McLeod, Mike's better half. Welcome to the House.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question that will be directed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Initially, I didn't have this planned, with Ms. Lee's comments about a research institute in the NWT and that our government doesn't have one, I just want to make sure that we still have one. In Inuvik we have, with the Aurora College, a research institute and there is probably another one. I just want to confirm with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, as it was an area raised in the past, that they are continuing with that program in Inuvik and that they are going to be enhancing what they do there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we do have a research institute run under the Aurora College and we have two locations, one in Fort Smith and one in Inuvik. They are very active, both of them, and they will continue to be active. They do naturally run on budgets that are somewhat restricted. We would certainly like to see improvement in that. However, there is always the challenge of accessing additional funding. They are involved in many, many programs, Mr. Speaker, including the Arctic project on the ice with captured gas under the polar ice. That's been a very interesting project for the research institute, amongst many others, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must admit, Ms. Lee raised a number of other initiatives that would be good for this government to proceed with. Are there any other initiatives that they are looking at to try to enhance the activities of the research institute? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the federal budget of last week, Minister Manley - I got that right today - announced that there was $125 million per year that they are looking to provide to grants and councils. That's going mostly to universities, Mr. Speaker, and it's an area that we want to see if we can access in some way or other. There are chairs of research councils across the country at various universities. We are looking at getting in touch with all of those chairs to do more research here in the Northwest Territories, specifically through the Arctic Research Council. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In the debate we have been having on the budget for the department, much of it centred on not just Arctic College, but also accountability or measuring how we are doing with the money that we are giving to the schools. We have increased their budget and it is in our interest to make sure we are doing the best we can with the money. In answering the questions, about 15 percent of the total budget that school boards are getting for student support services, which is to go to special needs, the Minister indicated that there are not a lot of standards on how it's done. I just want the Minister to clarify if that is the case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have guidelines for the usage of this particular funding. We do have the DECs and DEAs that receive funding for both PTR and for student needs support funding that apply the money for those particular areas, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could he explain in just easy-to-understand terms what is the direction of the department to the boards, in terms of how they expect the money to be spent as support services or student support needs?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will give an example of a classroom assistant, Mr. Speaker, that will be dedicated to a student who has special needs, development of classroom assistants, as well as teacher development in how to handle special needs in classrooms, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate an example, but I am trying to get a sense of what the message is that school boards get when they are given 15 percent of the total budget to spend on special needs. What is the message that the department and the government is sending in terms of the expectations of what school boards should do with the money? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the funding is clearly identified and we have been in touch with both the union and with the school boards with respect to the funding that is provided, the extra funding we provide each year for PTR and student needs funding. We directed these particular organizations to use the funding for that purpose. That is the instruction provided. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it might be clear to the committee, but it's not clear to us exactly what objective is being said or what expectations are conveyed to the boards. It should be said in a way that, at the end of the year when the money is spent, we should be able to measure what our level of success is or where the deficiencies are. Could he be more clear about what the department tells the boards? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the measurement is simple in terms of PTR. I am sure most Members know, because we do get a report back at the end of the year, that it's a little more difficult to quantify the exact numbers of students because the money that's used for student needs is issued for a number of the areas, including support for students, as well as classroom assistants and to add to the classroom assistant numbers. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of my request on this was simply to get some idea of the turnover that we had in this specific area. So we did a small study on this, or are in the process of doing a small study to get some information on that. I wanted to know some of the reasons for the turnover. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, part of the reason for gaining this was to see if there were other circumstances other than housing that may be involved in the turnover because, as we know, sometimes it isn't just a housing situation that causes our problems. So I wanted to see where turnover was and how frequent that was. We have no particular ultimate plan on that because the housing problems that may be there are the responsibility of another department of this government, Mr. Speaker, and private organizations and so forth and communities. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The turnover rate I believe last year was 18 percent, Mr. Speaker, which is traditional. It hasn't changed much over the years and it's not inordinate in comparison with other areas. The difficulty we have seems to be in specific areas. We are trying to get a handle on that and why that is occurring, Mr. Speaker. I don't have the dollar amounts at my fingertips here, Mr. Speaker, but we can certainly get it.

Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, the turnover rate fluctuates in different areas, different amounts, different times. We noticed, for example, that if we are able to concentrate on a specific area, which we did in the one case in the territory, our turnover rate dramatically reduced. We worked on a teacher induction program and to help teachers who are new teachers and new to the North, then it makes a huge difference in terms of their retainability, much more satisfaction. We team them up with mentors, for example. This is one area that we use. Housing is one part of the turnover issue, but so are perhaps a lot of other areas, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, and I quote from unedited Hansard, in response to questions asked by my colleague, Mr. McLeod, Minister Antoine said: "We are looking at combining the NWT Development Corporation with the Business Credit Corporation and looking at the development of new legislation and also it would incorporate the Business Loan Fund and Community Futures..." My question is for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. I think we are all aware that there has been an amalgamated working group working on this very subject for some time. I would like to know if there is a report that was produced by this group that could be tabled in this House. Thank you.

Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

The question is being taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity yesterday to have some discussion with Members of the Legislature informally when this issue was first raised and I had committed to the MLAs at that time that I would have a discussion with my fellow Ministers and following that, give them some indication as to what we would be prepared to do. We started that first step of the process today. So we will be sharing whatever decision we make in the next few days. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The suggestion was made in good faith yesterday by Members of the Legislature, so I had agreed at that time to share that with the appropriate Ministers. I have done that. We will respect the Ministers' right to contemplate the suggestion. I am sure at the appropriate time, they will indicate to me whether they are in agreement with that suggestion and come forward with the appropriate initiative. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. It goes without saying that we, as a government, owe our volunteer firefighters throughout the NWT a huge debt of gratitude for their tireless service in our communities. These brave men and women put their lives on the line everyday, 365 days a year, so that we may be safe from harm. In this House, Mr. Speaker, on October of 2001, I asked the Honourable Roger Allen, then Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, if he would agree to provide medals of recognition to our volunteer firefighters, so that they may be shown a tangible form of recognition. The Minister stated then: "Yes, as I have heard in other jurisdictions across the country, I am pleased to say that we will support our Northwest Territories firefighter organizations, so that they do receive some recognition." I would like to ask the current Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to advise this House as to what progress his department has made with incremental service medals for our volunteer firefighters. It has now been a year-and-a-half since I have made the request and I haven't heard of the progress on these medals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the question was recently brought up, we have established three types of merit awards in recognition of firefighters and community fire departments. We have an individual merit award for each region and then overall a territorial award, then we have a community fire department merit award and a length of service award. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his answer. I would like him to expand a little bit more though, Mr. Speaker, if he would, on the type of awards that are being presented. Are these actual service medals and I refer to the length of service medals. What type of awards are we presenting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department is proceeding with the production of special service pins to recognize two and five-year terms. Years of service medallions will recognize services of 10, 15 and 20 or more years of service. Further to that, Mr. Speaker, we have taken the whole question back to the NWT fire departments and the fire marshal to see if we can't improve on the type of awards, in particular the pins, in recognition of length of service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly when we are going to recognize our volunteer firefighters, surely we can do it in the form of a service medal that they can wear proudly and wear in conjunction with other service medals. There is a pretty standard form of medal that different groups receive for incremental years of service. I would hope that this department would look at medals and not pins for this. Certainly it can't be a money issue. Will the Minister commit to making these service medals and not pins? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, although I would probably prefer to commit to the Member that we could create medals rather than pins, I have to take into consideration the fact that we now put the question to the fire chiefs and the fire department, as well as the fire marshal, and I hate to jump the gun before we get recommendations back from them. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also asked the Minister back at that time if we could supply licence plates for our volunteer firefighters to recognize them, to give them some recognition in the community. Mr. Speaker, when I asked for that, I was asking for regular licence plates that go on the back. It's done in other jurisdictions that firefighters in the community stand out and it gives them some sort of special recognition. I would like to know with the Minister where this issue is with licence plates for firefighters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of MACA.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this particular question was taken to the Department of Transportation and we've been advised that it would require a change of the legislation to allow for such a licence plate. Although there may be some complications with actually keeping track of the licence plates afterwards, it was not recommended by Transportation that we do this. They recommended, and I believe both departments agreed, that the only way to go would be with front licence plates, rather than back licence plates and so long as they didn't have the NWT polar bear image on it, there would be no problem with creating such a licence plate. In that case, Transportation would have no issue at all with the licence plate. That was what we took back to the Member and to the fire departments for consideration. I know it's not what the Member recommended, but it's basically what the department arrived at as the only possible way we could respond to the question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister responsible for the harmonization initiative. However, in light of the Premier's response, I will change my line of questioning to what is calculated as income for the people in social housing. I would like to ask the Minister Responsible for the Housing Corporation, I have gotten a lot of complaints that there is a new methodology of calculating gross income and based on the income, your rent is adjusted. I would like to ask the Minister if he could tell me what's included as part of the calculations. I am told bingos and gambling winnings are all part of what is calculated. Could he clarify to me what is part of the calculations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister Responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will speak to the current status of what is declared as income. Since harmonization is not in effect yet, the other calculations such as bingo earnings and various other incomes are not calculated into the current rent scales. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been raised to me on a number of occasions that we are now trying to incorporate a system that will include items that are considered income. There may not be a formal methodology of tracking it. Could the Minister tell me what would be in place to ensure that information is not based on hearsay? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister Responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a very critical point that should be conveyed to the Members is that the NWT Housing Corporation is responsible for the implementation of the harmonization policy in terms of calculating rents. We have sent out a formal letter about the methodology that is going to be used to calculate rents. How we calculate income is something we need to address. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.