Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, municipal governments across Canada are increasingly challenged to keep pace with their infrastructure needs. A pressure shared by many municipalities is the need to maintain and replace aging water and sewage systems.

Tax-based communities in the Northwest Territories are no exception to this rule. The cost of replacing aging water and sewer infrastructure in the North is considerable. We've heard concerns raised by Members of this House about the lack of infrastructure support for tax-based municipalities.

I am pleased that in spite of fiscal constraints, my department has been successful in maintaining a cost-shared water and sewer infrastructure program. Under this program, tax-based communities are eligible to receive up to 50 percent of the total cost for replacing water and sewer infrastructure, depending on the number of applications received and their fit with program priorities which are identified annually.

I am also pleased to advise this Assembly that the tax-based communities of Inuvik, Norman Wells, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Hay River and Fort Smith will all receive some funding support towards water and sewer infrastructure this year, for a total of $2.5 million in funding.

In the 2002-2003 fiscal year we were able to enhance the funding available to these communities by accessing the Canada/NWT infrastructure program. Additional funding of $1.86 million was provided towards water and sewer system replacement, for a total of $4.26 million in repairs and replacement last summer.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year in his Budget Address, the federal Minister of Finance announced that new funding would be available through the Canada strategic infrastructure funding for municipal governments. We will strive to ensure that an appropriate portion of this funding is made available to provide further support for our tax-based municipalities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to have this opportunity to report on an agreement signed between the governments of Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This agreement will generate a guaranteed revenue of close to $1 million a year until at least March 31, 2006.

This agreement means that the Government of Nunavut will place a minimum of 15 offenders in NWT Department of Justice correction facilities. This will result in a guaranteed annual revenue to the Government of the Northwest Territories of at least $926,000 a year.

Mr. Speaker, based on past history, the Department of Justice expects more than the minimum guarantee of 15 offenders to be placed in our facilities. Over the past four years, the average number of inmates from Nunavut has ranged between 18 and 44. For 2002-2003, the department received $1,697,347 in revenue from the Government of Nunavut for placement of offenders.

The Department of Justice also receives revenue from the federal government for the placement of federal offenders in our correctional facilities. This means that Northerners serving federal sentences in the south can return to the North and serve their sentences close to their families and community.

In 2003, the repatriation of federal offenders generated $1,132,288 in revenue for the Government of the Northwest Territories. This number is expected to increase substantially with the opening of the North Slave Correctional Facility.

These revenues are mainly for adult male Nunavut and federal offenders. The construction of the North Slave Correctional Facility increases our ability to accept offenders. The revenue we receive will help pay the cost of providing these facilities and programs to NWT residents.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, this agreement speaks to the quality of supervision and programming provided by the Department of Justice. Establishing a safe and secure corrections system focused on rehabilitation, has resulted in a regular source of revenue from other jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Minister' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Speaker, I would like us all to take time to congratulate all our college and high school graduates who worked so very hard to get to where they are today. Every step towards education is a step well taken.

We all know that a graduate does not do it alone. There are many factors that support our students. Many people share in their success. We need to congratulate and recognize those who work with such dedication to ensure our graduates' success.

Let me especially thank and congratulate the families who give their support to make sure that their children have a supportive and stable home life. They are a key element of any student's success.

There are the teachers, adult educators and college instructors who work with such dedication because they believe in what they do to enrich our next generation. We have the principals, the administrative professionals and the college staff who provide the students with the structure and the necessary tools for learning.

As well, there are those that may not immediately come to mind when we think of the success of our graduates: the volunteers who give so freely of their time to help in so many ways throughout all our schools, colleges and learning centres; the board members and college staff who work throughout the year to assist our citizens in higher education; our superintendents, chairs and members of the educational councils and authorities.

Mr. Speaker, behind each and every one of our graduates there is a network and a system of support of dedicated Northerners. I ask you to join me today to show our appreciation not only for the graduates of the North, but to each and every one who assisted them as they reached their goals. Congratulations.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to raise the issue of the cost of living in our communities, and I refer to the community I represent, Inuvik. I've heard on a number of occasions, through constituents, about the cost of living and the cost of power, specifically, in Inuvik. We heard a lot and asked about the rate rider that was placed on customers across the NWT. But, Mr. Speaker, that issue alone has only stirred it up amongst constituents about what we're getting for our dollars and why the continued increases. I've approached the Minister to try to address some of my constituents' concerns about the rising cost of power.

Mr. Speaker, I've been informed that there are a number of different things happening, but questions need to be answered, at least for my residents in our community, about what opportunities they have and how they can address their concerns through the Power Corporation if it's a complaint about their bills, or if it's about the increases they face in their community.

It's not good enough just to say that your power bill has doubled because you've used the power, when residents are questioning the fact that they seem to have startling increases not just because of rate riders, but for their consumption. Mr. Speaker, when you throw that on top of the potential for further increases as the Power Corporation has gone forward for rate increases across the board, constituents are concerned about what this winter will bring. I will be asking the Minister questions about the Power Corporation and how residents can seek satisfaction regarding their billing inquiries. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Qujannamiik. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about why a bridge across the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence is a good thing to the entire Northwest Territories and not just those residents north of Great Slave Lake.

Mr. Speaker, I went home for lunch yesterday and I was pondering out loud what I should make my Member's statement on, and my son was there -- Jordan -- and he said, Mom, talk about the bridge. So to the younger generation this is a very, very important thing.

We're kind of nostalgic about the ferry and that gravel that used to come as far as Manning, Alberta. We talk about the old days. But we can't stop progress. So the Deh Cho Bridge will provide an all-season link to Fort Providence, Fort Rae and Yellowknife, and this is long overdue. There will be increased tourist traffic once the bridge and the paving is completed, and the uncertainties of ferry and ice bridge openings and closings are removed.

Mr. Speaker, increased tourist traffic means more people stopping along the way and purchasing goods and services. This is good for business and will result in increased economic development to meet the demands for more goods and services.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, the mines serviced by the winter road going north of Yellowknife will benefit from an all-season link to the south. Marshalling activities related to transporting of materials can take place in Hay River, Enterprise and Yellowknife without having to worry about whether you can get your goods across the river when it's time to transport north. This could reduce the strain on our highways by spreading out the load over a longer period of time and also make it safer for members of the public travelling on our highways in the winter.

The Deh Cho Bridge is also good for the environment. Mr. Speaker, we all remember when the fuel tanker broke through the ice bridge a few years back, and how lucky we were that there were no serious environmental consequences. The bridge will make it safer to transport hazardous materials all year long. The people living downriver should be relieved that the potential for environmental damage will be reduced by the completion of this bridge.

I also believe, Mr. Speaker, that the construction of the Deh Cho Bridge will be good for consumers north of the lake by reducing the costs passed on to them during freeze-up and break-up cycles. Of course, that cost of living will never rival the low cost of living in places like Hay River and Fort Smith, though.

Mr. Speaker, the construction of the Deh Cho Bridge is an example of what can be accomplished by a small community when they are willing to work together to find a solution to a common challenge and to achieve a net benefit for their people. The Fort Providence Combined Council Alliance, along with the Government of the Northwest Territories, is to be commended for working together on developing an economically viable bridge across the Deh Cho that will ultimately benefit all residents of the Northwest Territories. I wish the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation every success and look forward to driving across this bridge in 2005. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I will just bring to the attention of the Members that when they make Member's statements they should be cautious that they don't make statements of items that may be on the Order Paper already. The chair took this under advisement, and it felt close to but not quite on. Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of negotiated contracts is one that has caused much discussion, mostly negative, in the construction industry. However, Mr. Speaker, negotiated contracts are a beneficial option to those communities outside the larger centres, in that they provide an opportunity for capacity building.

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that a draft negotiated contracts policy is currently under consideration and, until a decision is made, those guidelines established during the 13th Assembly by this government give us authority to enter into negotiated contracts. Mr. Speaker, those guidelines clearly state that a proposed negotiated contract is to provide opportunities and to improve the skills and experience of residents and northern businesses, or to realize economic benefits for residents.

To enter into a negotiated contract, the parties are required to have the support of not only this government, but that of the community as well. This requirement ensures effective community consultation.

Mr. Speaker, upon review and reflection of those guidelines, I only have to look at those communities in the Deh Cho to understand the reasons why such guidelines are in place. It is the smaller communities, such as those in the Deh Cho, that have limited capacity and resources, but when combined do have the qualified people and businesses for many of the capital projects this government undertakes.

It is these communities, people and businesses that have the best interest of the whole community at heart. These people and businesses employ local people, they train local people and they use local goods and services.

Mr. Speaker, we can continue to have contractors from outside the smaller communities undertake many of these projects, but what is the real benefit to the people and the community? Who is monitoring these outside contractors to ensure that they are following the BIP guidelines?

Mr. Speaker, this government should consider the positive impact that negotiated contracts have on the communities' ability to build capacity over time. This government should consider the benefits of having community people and businesses undertake such capital projects over a number of years, to provide consistency and stability in employment, training and growth. Every project taking place in the smaller communities should be considered for negotiation first, and tendering second. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Northwest Territories business incentive policy, better known as BIP. The BIP is a policy which greatly extends opportunities in the Northwest Territories. The Government of the Northwest Territories supports the creation, growth and improvement of northern business as a foundation of the Northwest Territories' economy and provides opportunities to northern business with incentives to operate in the North. The BIP allows northern businesses to compete with southern-based businesses and also provides employment to those northern businesses, securing employment opportunities, ensuring that revenues from the northern businesses remain in the North where it is circulated throughout our economy and creates other initiatives.

Mr. Speaker, sorry to burst the bubble; however, it must be revealed that the perfect world of the BIP is often just an illusion. The BIP begins with the criteria that grant northern business status. In order to qualify as a northern business, a business must be majority owed by northern residents and must employ a manager in a storefront in the Northwest Territories. But, Mr. Speaker, the criteria to becoming a northern business are certainly not perfect.

The problem with the BIP is that there are loopholes so that any southern or multinational business with an interest in the North, with deep pockets and a nose to find loopholes, is able to worm itself through the BIP process, to disguise itself as a true northern business and gain preferential treatment from the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, to give an example, Diavik uses services from an electric company based in Yellowknife. The company is classified as a northern firm and involved in many important projects in the mining industry in the areas of design, construction, supplying generation of boiler houses and heating systems, just to name a few. It is approved as a northern business.

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

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his Member's statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Krutko, you may conclude your statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this may not seem remarkable, but for the fact that on paper this business just has one employee based in a small office here in Yellowknife. It's beginning to affect the industry by having an individual to carry out an operation out of a storefront. That's truly remarkable, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, digging a little deeper, one learns that this one-employee company that so generously accepts the incentives from the Government of the Northwest Territories through the BIP, is itself a subsidiary of a larger company based in southern Canada. But the tale doesn't end there, Mr. Speaker. This larger partner company turns out to be part of an even larger company which has interests in California, New Jersey and the Grand Camen Islands. Indeed, a northern company, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, sometimes we must look deeply to see what it is the business incentive policy's intentions were, and how to fill the loopholes. In order to protect the original intent of the business incentive policy, government must come up with a more appropriate set of criteria that truly are there to benefit northern businesses which are built in the North, generate jobs in the North and keep their profits in the North.

Mr. Speaker, southern corporations, such as the one I mentioned, should not be receiving BIP under the existing policy. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister responsible for this program questions later. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for the North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.