Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I have an emergency statement. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi is ill and will be absent from the House today.

Mr. Speaker, I also wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jim Antoine will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Western Aboriginal Affairs Ministers' Meeting in Victoria.

In the absence of the Premier and Deputy Premier, I will be acting for the Premier and will take any questions Members may have today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to announce that the three northern territories have reached agreement with the federal Secretary of State for Amateur Sport on a new pan-territorial sport strategy.

On February 22nd, the three territories concluded discussions with the Honourable Paul DeVilliers on a funding arrangement that will allow us to increase participation in amateur sport at every level and in every community in our territories.

The agreement includes funding for the current fiscal year, which will help us to lay the groundwork for full development of the strategy over the next year. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that Sport Canada will contribute $178,000 to the three territories this year for the development of the strategy. The Government of the Northwest Territories will receive $106,000 of this new funding.

The new strategy will support the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs in our goal of encouraging northern residents to be more physically active and to lead healthier lives. It will also enable us to increase our efforts targeted at ensuring that residents in all our communities have the opportunities to participate in sporting events.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight the following elements of the strategy for which planning is already underway:

• • the Esteem Team, a role model program that uses high profile athletes to make inspiring and educational presentations to youth, will visit six communities. Over the next three years, the team will make presentations to every school in the Northwest Territories;
• • in cooperation with the Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Western Arctic, we are contributing to a traditional Dene games camp to be held in Fort McPherson this weekend. In the future, we hope to work with the circle and Sport North to increase the quality and number of multi-sport camps, and make them available in a larger number of communities;
• • in cooperation with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, we have promoted active living activities in schools across the Northwest Territories for Education Week;
• • to encourage our high performance athletes, we will make a contribution towards the hosting of the Western Canadian Ski Championships which will be held in Yellowknife next month. Over the next three years, we will provide more opportunities for high performance coach and athlete training through clinics and camps;
• • the Kidsport fund is a national charity that raises funds to provide equipment and participation fees for children who would otherwise not be able to participate in sports. In partnership with Sport North, who manages this program in the NWT, we will work to increase awareness of this excellent program.
• • finally, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce that the Northwest Territories is taking the lead for all three territories in the development of coaching resources to promote traditional sports including Inuit and Dene games, Inuit wrestling and dog sledding. The new strategy will allow this work to continue at an accelerated pace.

Mr. Speaker, the pan-territorial sport strategy provides an excellent opportunity for us to work with our many partners to increase opportunities for participation in all our communities. I would like to acknowledge the support of Secretary of State DeVilliers, who met with us in Iqaluit last spring and since then has worked hard to make this new program a reality. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe it is incumbent upon us as elected Members of this Assembly to point it out when we see a demonstrated need in our communities and come up with a plan or programs to eliminate the situation. Mr. Speaker, one such program that would fill a void in Hay River is the independent housing program currently offered by the NWT Housing Corporation in various communities. This program assists low income families with housing needs to obtain a modest home. There are three market communities in the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker, that being Yellowknife, Inuvik, Hay River. However, the independent housing program that enables families to purchase homes is only offered in Inuvik and not Hay River. The argument that if the independent housing program operated in Hay River, it would cause market disruption does not wash with me, Mr. Speaker. We need to find a way to meet the needs of social housing market clients. The Housing Corporation's 2000 NWT housing needs strategy clearly identified that Hay River has a significant number of households in core need, 182 to be exact. I am sure that number has risen since the survey was conducted.

Mr. Speaker, one solution to the question of market disruption is to build into a client's mortgage a caveat whereby they would have an investment in the home and thereby pose no risk to the corporation of selling the home for less than market value. This would protect the financial investment and equity of private market homeowners. Mr. Speaker, it has always been my belief that this government should support homeownership and we should be promoting the idea of helping people to help themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard there are a number of people in Hay River who are out doing the right thing and earning a living for their families. They are falling through the cracks. Mr. Speaker, some of these people are single mothers who are able to qualify through a commercial bank for a mortgage, but are turned down by the Housing Corporation simply because their income is slightly below the core need income threshold of $48,500, disqualifying them from the Housing Corporation's expanded down payment assistance program.

Mr. Speaker, I believe there is something inherently wrong with our system when we can do nothing for people with a lower income other than to encourage them to apply for public housing. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do I hear any nays? No, I don't. You have consent, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. In Hay River, Mr. Speaker, we need a program that will fill in the void created between public housing and households that have a slightly lower income than $48,500, but would still be able to support a home. The independent housing program is a program that we should have in here, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to make a Member's statement regarding the elders in the Territories and how news gets around fairly quickly, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, in this House, the issue of harmonization was raised and before the day was done, I had a message that someone wanted me to call them back soon and making that call, I was told quite straightforward about their concerns of what they were hearing this government was planning to do.

Specifically, Mr. Speaker, I was told to remember what elders have done for our communities and continue to do today. Mr. Speaker, they continue to help out families by taking care of grandchildren, by still helping out family members, their own children today. They continue to have a productive part in our society through many of the elders' groups that are established in the communities and by spreading on their traditional knowledge in schools or through workshops in the evenings, put on by the cultural groups. So they have a very significant role to play.

Mr. Speaker, when the message of the harmonization was mentioned in this House, I had a concern raised to me: what is this and what are you doing again to the elders? Mr. Speaker, it was put to me quite bluntly. Why should elders pay for the mismanagement of funds by our government? They feel that they've produced, they've put into our communities across the North and they feel that they have done their share and why at this late stage are we going back to knock on their door and put bills in front of them.

Mr. Speaker, I'm torn between the realities we are faced with as a government and what is happening to our constituents, but I feel I must raise this concern on behalf of the elders in my constituency and hope that the government will look at these issues because the comment made was, if you are going to take what we earn as elders, if there is sewing and so on as extra income, and start counting that towards their rent, then be ready to pay on the social end when elders start having to pay all this other money and can't afford to help take care of their own children and grandchildren. Thank you.

---Applause

Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I once again want to voice my concern, my opposition to the harmonization initiative and the direction that the NWT Housing Corporation has taken towards the treatment of seniors and the students of the Northwest Territories.

In review of the standing committee briefing, it was stated that a quick random sample of 14 communities was taken to obtain feedback, which the Housing Corporation confirmed, and I quote, "the reaction we are getting is very positive." Low income single parents, who have been told their new rents are going to be affected April 1st are very anxious about why a rent increase is going to take effect. Mr. Speaker, I know when I have to pay more for services, I get quite anxious, I certainly don't get excited.

The consultation process appears to have been very ineffective in small communities and I suspect in the larger centres as well. The majority of the tenants are not aware of the long term and the full impact that the harmonization will have on their rents. Under harmonization, the tenants will be required to declare winnings from various gaming schemes, such as bingos and lotteries, incomes which are currently exempted by the NWT Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, my concern and the concern of the Aboriginal constituents is the obligation that the federal government has with respect to housing for Aboriginal people. It appears that somewhere in the transfer of funds to the GNWT, the federal government has tried to absolve themselves from the responsibility of providing housing to Aboriginal people. The NWT Housing Corporation, in turn, appears to be slowly turning public housing into a business and is losing site of its intent, which is to provide affordable housing based in part on federal government responsibility to Aboriginal people.

Mr. Speaker, it appears from the last sitting of the House, the NWT Housing Corporation does not take the concerns raised about the harmonization initiative seriously. It appears the implementation has been certain and to provide justification for this certainty, some consultation has taken place and we're expected to believe that tenants are happy and they are happy to see that their rents will be increased. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Deh Cho is seeking unanimous consent. Do we hear any nays? No, I don't. You have unanimous consent, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I suggest that the implementation of the harmonization initiative not be considered until such time as the full and long-term impact has been made clear to all seniors and students or, as an alternative, the factoring in of incomes of both seniors and students be deferred.

Further, Mr. Speaker, it is important that the NWT Housing Corporation revisit its mandate and its responsibility to Aboriginal people based on the federal funding for housing before attempting to push an initiative such as harmonization on Aboriginal constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Members' statements. Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to bring a bulletin from the finish line of the Canada Winter Games in New Brunswick. NWT skiers again show their skill and strength, Mr. Speaker. Two more medals were earned this morning. Sarah Daitch of Fort Smith...

---Applause

Yeah, let's give them some applause! Sarah Daitch of Fort Smith brought in the bronze in the women's 10 kilometre pursuit race, and Mike Argue from Yellowknife also added a bronze in the men's 15 kilometre pursuit. Mr. Speaker, Mike adds this to the silver medal he fought for from among 60 competitors on Monday in the men's 10 kilometre classic ski race. This makes three medals for the NWT contingent, so far. It's the first win that we've had at the Canada Winter Games in 20 years and I am especially as proud to carry this news, Mr. Speaker, as Mike who is with his parents John and Marsha down in New Brunswick. The thrill and excitement of the moment at the finish line shrieking through loud and clear at the finish line when John phoned me with the news this morning... And did I mention that the Argue family are constituents in the riding of Great Slave? Both Sarah and Mike won't be coming home right away, Mr. Speaker. They are going on to other national and I believe international events for the NWT and for Canada.

Over the next two weeks, this week and next week, Mr. Speaker, the NWT contingent of 72 athletes, coaches and support staff will be competing in eight games and their numbers include a three-person arts delegation. We are proud of all of them for doing their best and for representing the NWT so well, Mr. Speaker.

I have a little bit of time left here, and it is perhaps no coincidence that these wins for the NWT coincide with the news we hear from Mr. Steen, the honourable Minister for sport in the NWT that we have a new deal, a substantial deal to help us with our sports strategy across the North and I am really looking forward to what this $106,000 is going to do here over the next three years, including the ski team, which I'm sure that Sarah and Mike are going to be part of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about some of the broader issues affecting the way our government operates and some of what may seem to be new trends. These subtle changes in the way we do business may make perfect sense to the people who are involved firsthand, from a front row seat. But, if not communicated well, people are left to speculate as to their significance. Better communication on the part of this government is necessary. I am referring to the questions which were recently raised concerning the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the Gwich'in and the creation of a new regional director's position in the Beaufort- Delta. What surfaces in the MOU seemingly sets off a few alarms and triggers some debate is the involvement of an Aboriginal government in the GNWT capital planning process and first dibs on 50 percent of the government contracts let in that region. The press release regarding the creation of the regional director's position at almost the same time clearly indicates that this office will be responsible for coordinating communication and activities amongst the various levels of governments in the Beaufort-Delta. This position was filled, not through conventional GNWT hiring practices, but in consultation with governments in the region.

For years in the North, we talked about political evolution, Aboriginal self-government and First Nations governments assuming more responsibilities and authorities in their respective regions. Therefore, when we start to see movement on this front, it should not come as too big of a surprise. However people in the public who follow politics and even some of us who have sat around debating the options of constitutional reform and governance models for many years sometimes picture these things in a fairly abstract versus specific way. So let's just analyze these recent announcements in light of previous precedents, good process practices and maybe in terms of how better communication might have put them in the context of a continuum of change that's been actually going on for years.

First, on the issue of having an Aboriginal government involved in this government's capital planning process, it's been the practice of this government to notify municipalities and local leaders of their intent for capital projects for some time now. It has been done in an attempt to determine if there is agreement on what priorities for equipment, renovations and capital infrastructure are for people who are served by these programs and facilities. Consulting with an Aboriginal government is the very same thing, only perhaps with a more regional perspective which is good for many reasons. No community is an island or stand-alone. That what is available in the region, would or could be devolved to smaller communities is a very important lens. Capital planning is a process. We may have views about who should be doing it, deputy ministers, Ministers, MLAs, but bottom line, Mr. Speaker, it's a job that needs to get done. Thank you. I will conclude this statement tomorrow. Thank you.

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

The Member for North Slave is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do I hear any nays? No, I don't. You have unanimous consent, Mr. Lafferty.

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