Thank you. Just a couple of points. On the Page program I've been listening, and I'd like to also recommend that the Speaker, as the chair of the Board of Management, take this issue to the Board of Management to look into it further. I acknowledge that and I appreciate that I think the Page program has improved over the last two or three years, because prior to that we didn't have a system where the out-of-town members could bring Pages here. But I think it is a fair point that the Yellowknife Members take it for granted that our school children come here and they get to see the workings of the Assembly and have the benefit of it, and that similar services and programs should be available to the other Members and their young constituents.
This is such an honourable place, and I know that Youth Parliament, for example, has given an opportunity for the young to come here and see what their Members do. I know that the Paging program in Ottawa is one that is very prestigious and that attracts students from all over Canada to serve as a Page in Parliament, except that I guess in Ottawa, they have older Pages and some of them are in college and university, so you don't have to worry about looking after them and lots of other things that come to play here. So there are a lot more cost implications, I appreciate that, because we have Pages who are much younger.
Maybe to accommodate the out-of-town MLAs, maybe we could raise the age of Pages who come from out of town. Maybe they could be teenagers. Well, maybe they need more care, I don't know. But there are lots of other things to consider. I know that for Youth Parliament, lots of staff actually volunteer and give up their personal time to supervise them for 24 hours a day. So just to have them for a week is the thing. But if Board of Management could put their brains into it and address the matter in detail and in a thorough manner, maybe all of these issues could be looked at and addressed. I think that if we could come up with $250,000 to put a camera outside of my window, I think that we could address our minds to come up with a program to address this issue and to really give a fair chance. This is not about the Members, it's about the kids who could have that opportunity to see what happens here and I think that's very important. So that's one issue.
The second issue that I want to ask the Speaker to bring to the Board of Management, and it's something that came to me when I received correspondence from the Speaker's office in February... I don't know how much of it is public so I don't want to divulge too much, but I think that we're aware that there is some sort of succession planning in the offing and I'm sure that appropriate and well-deserved recognition will be given in due course. So I know that the Board of Management is considering this, and I'm wondering if the Speaker would consider looking into some sort of affirmative action for the management of the Assembly? I say this because this is such a symbolic place and we are looked upon as a public example to do good and to follow the policies of the government wherever possible. For me, the House officers and Clerk's office is the management of the Legislative Assembly. I really believe that wherever possible that it should reflect the affirmative action that we espouse.
So I'd like to know if the Speaker would address with the Board of Management to set up a program to train and hire aboriginal House officers and women House officers, as well as everyone else. I mean that for future planning. I don't mean that for any of the incumbents here, because I know we are certainly given very good service and advice and I appreciate that very much. But I think that whenever an institution like this is going through succession planning that only comes once in a while, it might be a good time to look at that. So I'd like to know if the Speaker would be willing to bring that to Board of Management.