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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Remaining silent on the issue of negotiations with healthcare specialists has not been easy. Now that we have the procedural problem we ran into behind us, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today on behalf of my constituents on this issue which impacts not just the people of Yellowknife, but all of the citizens of the NWT and of the Kitikmeot region, Mr. Speaker. No matter how big or how small our interest is or concern is in this issue, we all have an opinion on the present medical specialist contract and healthcare situation.

Mr. Speaker, I am not involved in the negotiations. I don't have all the facts concerning all sides. I will not judge or get into a finger pointing exercise in this Assembly about who I think might be right or might be wrong. That, Mr. Speaker, is the job of the negotiators to weigh all sides of the deal. Really, the only issue that should be before this Assembly, Mr. Speaker, is why aren't those parties negotiating today.

I have read the press releases, the letters and I have the e-mails. I have the briefings. I have talked with medical practitioners and constituents, not only about this situation, but about the heath care system as a whole. It is the system as a whole which we must be working to maintain. From my constituents I have received a lot of thoughtful and urgent and sometimes conflicting opinions. But there are two consistent and fundamental points which come through. Mr. Speaker, healthcare services is an integrated system and the whole system must be maintained. All the parts need to work together.

Both sides need to be communicating and must immediately get back to the negotiating table. It is untenable, it is unacceptable and deeply disappointing that the negotiations are not proceeding at this time. Both sides must know that they can't wait until the 11th hour for an agreement. My message is to the doctors and this government to direct their negotiators to get back to the table now and find a solution acceptable to both parties. There won't be any winners if an agreement is not reached quickly. The consequences of a stalemate, if it is not broken, will be enormously costly to us in dollars and in human terms. We have 20 days, Mr. Speaker. A lot can be done if the will is there. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as reported in the Yellowknifer last Friday and CBC Northbeat last night for the second time, a young, healthy mother in my constituency is about to follow up with a very difficult decision to induce her otherwise healthy, unborn baby in her 37th week of pregnancy. This is because she and her family doctor do not have faith in the contingent of locums the Minister of Health has in place for July 1st in the event it becomes necessary to rely on them. Mr. Speaker, this is a totally unnecessary medical intervention and a real glaring example of how what we do and not do in this House translates directly into the real life of real people in our communities.

I have been hearing a lot of other compelling medical stories, as well, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my strong belief that all of us as leaders inside and outside of this House have a role to play in bringing a resolution to this crisis. I also understand and accept the age-old principle that politicians should not get involved in labour negotiations. The important fact to keep in mind here is that there is no negotiating going on for us to be interfering with. It is the government that has been negotiating, and this legislature is not the government.

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Minister's press statement last Monday, June 2nd, was entitled Specialist Negotiations End Without Contract. The Minister has also stated that the doctors have rejected a final offer, and an offer of arbitration from the government was rejected and that there was no other offer being worked on by the government. The Minister has also presented his contingency plan on this premise.

Mr. Speaker, this stalemate cannot be allowed to continue. There is just too much at stake and I call upon both parties, the specialist doctors and the government, to go back to the negotiating table and restart the negotiations, not at the end of the month, not when they hear from the other side, but now.

I urge both parties to pick up the phone and set the dates for negotiation at the earliest possible opportunity and not at the end of the month. I urge them to keep talking until they hammer out their differences. Mr. Speaker, I have been hearing a lot from the constituents on my press release and other public statements in this regard. I can tell you that I am hearing a full spectrum of opinions. Believe it or not, I heard from someone who said...

Your time is up, Ms. Lee. Ms. Lee.

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

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Believe it or not, I heard from someone who said there is only one intelligent way to deal with the current specialist designation crisis: give them what they want. Another said let them all go, it's time to start a clean slate of specialists.

Mr. Speaker, I can also tell you that the majority of our constituents fall in the middle of this spectrum. The overwhelming majority wants to give the negotiation process one more chance. I am certain that both parties understand that people are not going to put up with anything less than professional, reasonable and justifiable positions. As long as the parties are not talking, we have no realistic chance of coming to a resolution in time, Mr. Speaker. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I, once again, urge the people and the leaders in and out of this House to urge both parties to start talking to each other and get reasonable and professional. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a constituency meeting I held last week. I had a very good turnout, one of the best ones since the last election. Mr. Speaker, a number of topics came up. People came to tell me of their concerns and they provided some advice. One of the first topics to come up was about our fiscal situation. There was concern expressed about the approaching debt wall and funding from Canada, the royalty revenues from non-renewable resources and devolution.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents recognize that it will take some time to make a deal on devolving the ownership of resources and, therefore, royalties won't flow to the North for some time. They are concerned about what will happen in the interim. They expressed considerable frustration that the federal government has so far not recognized that while our economy is booming, it is contributing to our fiscal problem as we get stuck with infrastructure costs like road repairs and the increased costs to our social programs. They all said we should keep up the pressure on Ottawa, and a couple said that they were going to take occasion to press the issue with our Member of Parliament to ensure that she continues to work on our behalf.

Related to the fiscal issue, Mr. Speaker, is the issue of government restructuring. Government employees are obviously concerned that the recommendations that we are going to be seeing this fall might lead to layoffs. I was able to advise those in attendance that the report would likely be a set of recommendations to the 15th Assembly, so there will be a fair opportunity for discussion. I also told them that in my experience we could not save much money by cutting jobs, so I thought the restructuring recommendations were not likely to result in wide-scale layoffs.

Mr. Speaker, a number of other issues came up, such as the Deh Cho Bridge, the cost of living in the North and the shortage of housing. These are all important issues with my constituents. But, Mr. Speaker, probably the biggest issue since the announcement was made that negotiations with the specialist doctors have broken off, is that of the specialists. All present wanted to see the issue resolved. They felt that specialists played an important role in the quality of healthcare that we enjoy in the North. Most expressed displeasure over the doctors' tactics of submitting the resignation letter, and noted that without any discussion going on the issue is not getting any closer to resolution.

Mr. Speaker, all of them wanted to see the parties back at the table, and soon. They were not impressed by the suggestion that negotiations could resume at the end of June. They do not want to wait or do not want to take a chance of waiting until the last minute. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to complete my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, honourable Members. Mr. Speaker, there was very strong support from the constituents of my riding for using binding arbitration if the parties could not come back to the table on their own. So, Mr. Speaker, I hope both the Minister and the doctors will hear what the public I represent have to say, and that is, get back to the table now. If you cannot resolve the issue yourselves at the table, then use binding arbitration. Let us settle this dispute. Resolve it so that our healthcare concerns can also be resolved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like Mr. Dent, I had occasion to have a constituency meeting last night and it ended up going quite late. Quite a number of constituents attended. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, the only issue that anybody wanted to talk about was the deal with the specialists or the lack of deal to date. There were many concerns about, specifically, the contingency plan and whether or not arrangements would be made for them to receive service safely. What would happen for pregnant moms? Would they be able to deliver babies here at Stanton Territorial Hospital or would they be forced to go to Edmonton for the service? If they were forced to go to Edmonton, would there be assurances that Edmonton was able to handle the extra workload? I was not able to give them enough detail on the contingency plan and I think that is because as Regular Members we do not have enough of the detail that we probably need, and I think this is one of the problems that the public is really faced with and that is not enough information and the fear and rumour and concerns are really starting to swirl.

Before we talk about a contingency plan, Mr. Speaker -- and I think it is responsible to talk about that -- most of my constituents wanted to talk about the breakdown of negotiations. They wanted to see a reasonable offer made, a reasonable offer accepted and many acknowledged that they do not know exactly what that is. Mr. Speaker, that is certainly my position. I cannot and am not in a position to tell you who has made the fairer offer in this situation, but I am in a position to tell you that my constituents want to see the issues settled, they want to see the issues settled quickly, and they want to see an avenue for dialogue so that both parties can seek out common ground and agree to agree on these issues and move this forward. I do not think we are best served by agreeing to come back to discuss these things the 28th and 29th of this month if we know that July 1st has been the imposed drop-dead date. I think that it is certainly dangerous and irresponsible to leave things so close, Mr. Speaker.

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

Yes, thank you. The honourable Member seeks unanimous consent to conclude his Member's statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Bell.

Thank you. My constituents, both at the meeting, Mr. Speaker, and also the constituents who have taken the time to call me and phone me, were certainly in agreement on the model that we have for healthcare in the Northwest Territories, the fact that we have spent a number of years staffing up to gain a number of specialties here in Yellowknife. Not all jurisdictions are as fortunate. For instance, Nunavut I do not believe has any specialists. Whitehorse has far fewer specialists. These jurisdictions rely primarily on locums who come up to provide the service and also on shipping residents out. We are fortunate for the most part not to have to do that for most specialties and I would like to keep it that way, my constituents would like to keep it that way.

So I guess the real question is where are we now, Mr. Speaker? My constituents, I think, all want to see the model. They want to see this model be sustainable. They want to see both parties seek out, as I said, the common ground and look for an avenue for dialogue and I do not think they are prepared to accept that, with 20 some days left to go before we know that there has been a certain failure, that we are not going to engage in an ongoing dialogue to try to solve this problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Minister Antoine.

Mahsi, Minister Antoine. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize from Kakisa Jillian Landry, who is the chair of the Deh Cho health board and also the education board and owner of Kakisa Contracting. My constituency assistant, Sherry Landry-Braun. Welcome.

Thank you. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasant surprise and I would like to recognize Grade 6, Mr. David Speakman's class from Range Lake North School. This class is very special to me because they invited me to talk to them about my experience in Nigeria observing elections. I did that and they sent me the most wonderful thank you cards that brought me a smile and sometimes tears. I would like to thank them for that as well, and thank them for coming. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Welcome. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize today my constituency assistant, Ms. Denise Yuhas and as well my summer student out of my office in Fort Smith, Thomas Hobart, who will be going off to study political science at the University of Calgary. Ms. Yuhas has been with me for the full term and I owe her a great debt of gratitude. Thomas is learning the ropes and has a very fine set of sideburns.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. Julian Landry and Roy Desjarlais who are here with the Aboriginal Sports Circle, who are hearing a lot about sports and where the Minister is going with this offer. Also, I would like to recognize my assistant Sherry Landry-Braun.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's with great pleasure that I recognize a loyal constituent and a person who I think has reserved seating now in the gallery. She's here very often. It's Major Karen Hoeft of the Salvation Army. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes, acknowledged the hard work of students and other people in our education system, students who are returning for the year. My daughter, Carmen, is in the gallery today, Mr. Speaker. She is back from a two-year program at Lester B. Pearson College at the Pacific. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is the day for educators and students. I would like to recognize the chair of the Yellowknife District Education Authority Roy Desjarlais, and Julian Landry who has been introduced before. He's the chair of the district education council for the Deh Cho. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Any further recognitions? With that, I would like to say on behalf of all the Members, welcome to the Legislative Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question will be directed to the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. Mr. Speaker, in line with my Member's statement, I would like to know from the Minister what avenue customers have when they are disputing their monthly power bills beyond just going to the local office and saying they disagree. If they feel the responses they've received are not adequate, what other routes do they have?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, the avenue that customers have, their first option, if customers are dissatisfied with their power bill is to go to their customer services representatives and the community people to whom they would pay their bills. The information then is sent on through to the Power Corporation. If at all possible, then those situations will be looked into to find out what the problem may be to try to rectify the situation. If they are not satisfied with the response they are getting from the Power Corporation, then I would certainly be ready to refer any requests I get from MLAs to the board and to the president of the Power Corporation. I am sure the board Members and chairperson would also be ready to do the same. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, when customers feel they are being charged for usage they didn't incur, you are saying that they should bring that to the board or to ourselves and make it a political situation. Is that the only avenue that's available to them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, once they have exhausted all their avenues through the Power Corporation, that's mainly through the local office, the superintendent, all the way up through the system in the Power Corporation, then they have their MLAs who represent them. They can bring it to me and I can take it on to the board chair or the board members or they could take it directly to the board members. All customers have the option when the Public Utilities Board meets on a fairly regular basis on rate applications, to make their concerns known then. But if it's about a specific power bill, a specific issue in their own house, then the best avenue is to work through the Power Corporation. I have to say, Mr. Speaker, the evidence I have is that they have been very thorough in looking into any of the complaints that are brought to them as a corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Power Corporation have staff available for customers to go into their homes to inspect equipment and provide onsite inspection to see if there are faulty pieces of equipment in residents' homes? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes. In addition to the customer services group, they do have technicians and professionals who will look into it and they have done that in the past. They have gone in where there have been complaints and put in test meters, for example, to check out the meter and see if there is a problem there. They have also in the past referred people to the energy efficiency program, for example, where there are staff, and they will, through the Energy Alliance, do an assessment of someone's house, their heating system, their efficiency and determine what measures they will be able to take to save on energy costs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Did the Minister state that customers would have access through the Energy Alliance to have someone go in and do an inspection in their homes? If that's the case, would the Power Corporation pick up the tab for someone travelling outside of the capital? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, there is a program referred to as the energy efficiency program that is administered through the Energy Alliance. The Power Corporation has one member on it. A lot of their work though is coordinated by RWED. There is a small fee for them to come in and do an assessment of someone's home, but to my understanding, that program is available to anybody in the Northwest Territories who is concerned that their house may not be as energy efficient as it should be. That's not just for large communities or just for Yellowknife, it's for everybody. I know for a fact that it is available to residents in Inuvik. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department's plan for dust control at this time...I believe the Member is referring to the chipsealing program that we are just undertaking this year. So far, the only funding we have obtained for this is spread over a five-year period. That is, $1 million a year for the program. Not all communities are identified under that particular program. We have only a certain number of communities that are identified at this point in time.

The long-term plan of the department is to have chipsealing or some form of dust control in all communities. However, we have not identified future funding yet. Although the department would certainly like to speed up the program to allow for more communities to be done in the five-year period, that is all the funding we have at this point from Financial Management Board Secretariat. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time the five-year plan covers Kakisa, Hay River Reserve, Fort Providence, Enterprise, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Wrigley, Fort Liard, Edzo, Tuktoyaktuk, Tulita, Fort Good Hope, Fort Resolution, Dettah and that is it. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the rate of funding that we have available at this time it would take a lot longer than the five-year program that we have. However, we are looking into other options. We have been approached by two other communities with different forms of dust control very similar to chipsealing, but it is a different form of dust control. We are asking Transportation to work with us and see whether or not this process that has been identified for these other two communities is in fact feasible and whether or not it will be efficient or effective in the communities. So depending on the type of processes that are available to us and the amount of funding, we are looking at a lot longer than a five-year period to address all the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Your final supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Municipal and Community Affairs does not have a program of that nature, that is for sure. But my colleague advises me that Health and Social Services has been expending $230 million a year towards their contribution towards the health problems in the communities. I think the Member has a good point, Mr. Speaker. I am not trying to work around his concern. Municipal and Community Affairs is making whatever effort we can make to work with the communities to address the dust problems in the communities. We are open to suggestions. Whether or not it would involve the communities taking on the program themselves and then asking Municipal and Community Affairs to contribute to the cost later, that has already happened in a couple of communities. So the option is there.

Thank you, Minister Steen. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pick up on my line of questioning to Mr. Antoine regarding the contracting of Twin Falls Gorge in the community of Enterprise. I got some response from the Minister last week regarding definition of innovative services. I am glad to see that it is more than just coloured toilet paper in the campgrounds. However, I have a concern when this method of awarding contracts is used, especially on campgrounds where it is straightforward operations and maintenance. When a request for proposal is used we lose the local content. In every other instance in a tender we have a business incentive policy that applies where there is preference given to the northern contractor or the local contractor. But when you go into a request for proposal it is broken down into 40 percent price, 30 percent personnel, 30 percent innovative services. It does not give any preferential treatment to the communities. In this case, Twin Falls Gorge is right within the community of Enterprise's boundaries. So I would like to know, why there is no allowance made for points to the communities?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Minister Antoine.

Thank you, Minister Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I read that the request for proposal allows for a business incentive policy, but if the points awarded for 40 percent of the contract that is only based on price, then the five percent business incentive policy becomes what? Two percent? A percent and a half? I would like to know if the Minister would review the policy for request for proposals and include the preferential awarding of points for when it comes to contracts that are within community boundaries. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Minister Antoine.

Thank you, Minister Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this instance with the Twin Falls Gorge contract, we had a number of people bid on the contract or submit proposals, three from the community. They were not considered and they claim that the business incentive policy in the request for proposal in this instance does not work. I would like to ask the Minister if he would go into the community or send a delegation or some other official into the community of Enterprise to explain how the points were awarded and how and why they were left out of the process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Minister Antoine.

Thank you, Minister Antoine. Your final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to point out to the Minister again that in the instance of a request for proposal, only 40 percent is based on price. So, if you are using five percent of 40 percent, the business incentive policy incentive is such a small percentage point it becomes meaningless. There has to be more in there. It has to be reviewed. I am hearing the Minister say that he will review it. There is more than one person that bid on this contract. I have three letters of people that submitted proposals. So, I would like to know when the Minister can send his officials in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Minister Antoine.

Thank you, Minister Antoine. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. It is about his statement this morning about how the people in tax-based communities are pleased to hear that there will be some money put towards water and sewer infrastructure this year. However, $2.5 million spread among the six communities is not going to go very far. He talked about Canada's strategic infrastructure fund for municipal governments. Can the Minister advise this House whether or not we are likely to see any of that money in this year's construction season?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe I have had any information indicating that we could be receiving any of that money this year.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So that means that, in effect, the tax-based municipalities are going to see a reduction of almost $2 million in what they have available to them for cost-shared sewer and water replacement this year. Is the Minister confident that we will be able to provide the municipalities with lots of warning as to what will be available by next year?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Minister Steen.

Mr. Speaker, I think my statement refers to funding that we had from last year that we would be using for this year. That is the reference to the funding. The money that is going to the tax-based communities is in fact monies that we have from the federal government's previous infrastructure program. I believe it was called the green program. That is what we are referring to in that statement.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.