Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm sure that we will, in the future, meet even more of the honourable Member's expectations. I think that from where I'm sitting, I'm looking at an Inuvialuit carving sitting over the top of the Speaker's chair. There's the reflection of the talent and work that is in our Mace here. If you look out at the back of the hall here, you'll see an enormous sculpture that was created by Inuvialuit carvers. I think that his concerns are probably very well represented in this building as it is, and we hope to work to achieve even more in the future, with his input.

General comments. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Three points; first I'd like to reflect on Mr. Nitah's discussion about Pages, and Pages coming in to serve here in the Assembly from the communities. I learned something tonight, that we have perhaps in the Commonwealth the youngest Pages of potentially any Parliament, and I think that's something we should be proud of and we should enhance. The discussion is one that I would like the Board of Management to pursue -- and I would only like to recommend tonight, Mr. Chairman, that perhaps through the course of our discussion, Mr. Whitford as the chair of the board, and the Members have heard enough and I hope that this can be carried to Board of Management at its next meeting or a meeting in the near future -- that it could consider revisiting the policy on how Pages are brought in from the communities. I think it is an issue that deserves some further consideration. But I would like to at least recommend that we leave it to the Board of Management to consider.

A question that I would like to pose, Mr. Chairman, regards public access to the Great Hall. There was a request that came in last year at some point. A territorial group wanted to use the Great Hall for a workshop. Because of some considerations that were in our policies at the time, their request was declined or denied. That's fine. It was done by the rules or the ideas that were on the books at the time. But I do recall that the Board of Management, in response to a request from me, said they would reconsider the policy of access to the Great Hall. I'm wondering, Mr. Chairman, if that policy has indeed be reconsidered, and do we have a new set of criteria for access by public groups to the Great Hall? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I am aware of the concerns of the member. Part of the decision to make the decision that we did was based on concerns by committee chair. At the time, the committee was reviewing a particular bill and it was too close to the meetings of the committee and the group that was going to be meeting. Board of Management is always concerned with the non-partisan use of the Great Hall. We have certain restrictions as far as picket signs and protests, where there are concerns, so we enforce that. We're also concerned when groups want to deal with certain issues that are perhaps to be confused with committee meetings that are taking place at approximately the same time on the same subject, and this was part of it. The policy hasn't been developed yet that will totally address all of the concerns of the public. I think there has to be some latitude for the board to make certain decisions on particular use. So that's where it stands.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So just for clarification, has the policy of access to the Great Hall been considered and has it been decided to leave it as is, and that is the decision of the board? Just for clarification. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No, we haven't yet finalized the decision. We're having some difficulty in determining the interpretation of non-partisan, which is causing the most concern. We're trying to come up with a proper interpretation of that term.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the answer and I'll continue to monitor the meetings and the agendas of the board and see if we can work toward a revision of that policy. I don't have it before me tonight so I don't want to pursue it anymore in this context.

The third and final item I would like to ask about, Mr. Speaker, and it concerns potentially -- let's call it part of the d‚cor -- and the symbol and the identity here in the Legislative Assembly. I would direct members' attention to the polar bear hide that's on the floor in front of us, colleagues. This is obviously an important symbol and I think a popular one and a well-respected one among Northerners, and obviously among visitors. Our bear is sort of showing signs of use and fondness, as the hair on his poor snout is getting kind of threadbare. Some of the taxidermy around his great jaws is a little shabby. Mr. Chairman, I'm wondering if the restoration and the care of this bear is something that is under the responsibility of the Legislative Assembly. To restore his dignity, could the Chair look into some restoration? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's indeed a very good comment, good question on the honourable bear that is here. This bear has a long, long history for this Assembly. This bear was donated by one of the honourable Members -- I think Mr. Pudluk -- some time ago. He used to be Deputy Speaker and a long-serving Member, the Dean of the House for a while. Indeed it has seen an awful lot, and it's felt an awful lot as well. It's an attraction for young people. Indeed it is losing its hair, like some of the honourable Members.

---Laughter

As soon as the Assembly is over, Mr. Chairman, this bear is going to be taken by a taxidermist company here in town and properly stabilized and restored to its dignity. Mr. Speaker would also welcome any other suggestions for a display of some of our history, some of our historical connection to the land. A suggestion has been for the honourable Member for Nunakput to donate to this House a muskox carpet, perhaps, or a bison from Thebacha or the Deh Cho that would symbolize the connection to the land. But I can assure the honourable Members that when they return in the June session not only will they see new uniforms on the Pages, but a rejuvenated bear.

Okay, great, thank you. If the board would be so kind as to share any information it can find out about hair restoration, some Members, I'm sure, would appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I don't want to take too much time; it's getting fairly late, but I do have a couple questions. Mr. Nitah raised the issue of Pages, and it's been a very good program and I've tried on an annual basis to try to get a couple Pages in here and it's been working out fairly well. However, I'm quite concerned when Mr. Nitah brought up the issue about liability. It was always something I thought was covered under this House, and I'm not so certain anymore. Could the Speaker tell me when we have Pages travelling en route and when they're here, who assumes the liability? Do I assume it as an MLA when I bring Pages down? Is it my liability? Do I have to assume the liability on that? Could the Speaker answer that?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, indeed, the Member is quite correct in his concerns. There are two different types of liability, I assume. When the Pages are travelling with the honourable Member, they're covered to the same extent, I've been informed, as duty travel if they're assigned to be here for that particular purpose. If they're on their own, they're on their own. That's a different matter, if they come on their own. But if they're coming with a Member and they're the responsibility of the Member, they would be covered under duty travel.

Mr. Chairman, I also asked about when the Pages are here in the city of Yellowknife, does the liability fall under my responsibility?

Mr. Chairman, thank you. The honourable Member is correct. In the past -- and I'm going only on historical data here -- the Member would assume that responsibility. They would be happy to chaperone the students, to put them up in their own accommodations and to look after them, or in a hotel with a chaperone. I believe some of the honourable Members have had their constituency assistants travel with them, stay in a hotel with them, and they took on that responsibility. The honourable Members in the past have always enjoyed that kind of rapport with their young people. You know, this Legislative Assembly has made a lot of effort to involve youth in its programs, and we take great pride that we're going into our fourth year for Youth Parliament, which is recognized throughout the Commonwealth as being one of the forerunners in Youth Parliaments. It takes place in here every year. It is very well represented by students from across the North representing the honourable Members.

But for the Page program, historically, Members took on that responsibility, chaperoned the students or had their assistants do that, and the program seemed to have worked well.