Bonjour, mes amis. Welcome back from your summer break. This will be the last session before the dissolution of the 14th Assembly. I wish to inform the House that I have received the following message from His Honour Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories: "Dear, Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories the passage of Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2002-2003, and Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2003-2004, during the Sixth Session of the 14th Legislative Assembly. Yours Truly, Cal Mains, Deputy Commissioner."

The chair recognizes the Honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent, Point of Order.

Point Of Order

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a Point of Order today because I believe that a Member may have misled the House. Mr. Speaker, while the statement that leads me to this conclusion happened some time ago, it was not until August 15th of this year that it became apparent that Members had been misled. This is the first occasion the House has been in session since then and, therefore, the first occasion I have had to raise the issue.

Mr. Speaker, I will set out the details now. On February 21, 2003, Minister Antoine was asked in Oral Question 68-14(6) about the status of revisions for the business incentive policy by Mrs. Groenewegen. According to Hansard, in return to that question he said, "I have to work with my colleagues on the other side and the direction to date is not to move forward at this point in time because of one area with regard to cost. We are saying that we could probably leave this for the time being and introduce a registry to gauge what the costs are to have this policy in place. So at this point in time, the decision is for us to not proceed..." Mr. Speaker, with this statement, the Minister clearly advised the House, and since he used the royal "we," the government would not proceed with implementation of revisions to BIP. As his department, RWED, is responsible for developing the revised BIP and he was the lead Minister on the file, Members have every reason to take his word that no changes would occur.

Then, Mr. Speaker, on August 15, 2003, the Minister held a press conference to announce that the BIP was being revised as originally set out. So, Mr. Speaker, the Minister told the House that the policy would not be changed in February, then announced that it would be changed in August when Members were not in session. Had the Minister told the Members in February that he was still considering implementing the changes, Members would have had an opportunity, either in the winter or the spring session, to debate the issue, but the Members understood that we had the Minister's word that no changes were forthcoming. The Minister had further opportunity in June to set the record straight when we had our spring session, but he again failed to notify Members that he was considering such changes. Following meetings with committee, the Minister knew there was considerable interest in this issue and a lot of opposition to the proposed changes.

Mr. Speaker, by the way the Minister has handled this issue, he has deprived Members of the opportunity to debate significant change to a very important government policy. His statement in February that the policy would not be changed left Members no opportunity to publicly question the government. By that statement and his actions on August 15th, I submit he has misled the House. I believe the Minister owes this House, at the very least, an apology and a commitment not to implement the new policy until we have debated it in this House.

If he won't do that, Mr. Speaker, he should resign. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. I am bringing forward your Point of Order. The Point of Order was long. I will take that under advisement and report back to the House at the earliest opportunity as well.

Colleagues, today is a special day in this House and I would like to draw your attention to the new uniforms worn by the Pages on duty today. I am pleased to see the beauty of our northern landscape and cultural diversity captured by two of our most talented artists and featured on the new Pages' uniforms. The artists who created the beautiful vests are Karen Wright-Fraser of Whispering Willows and Suzan Marie of Bush Tea Resources. The vests are made of black stroud to represent oil in the North. The bottoms of the vest are trimmed with bias tape and ric rac in blue representing the rivers and the lakes, green for the trees and red represents the bright northern berries. The white caribou hide represents northern diamonds. A circular patch of smoked caribou hide symbolizes the moon, the sun and the drum of the Dene and the Inuvialuit on the back of the vests. Our brilliant northern lights are captured by beads, ribbons and cording. The beads represent the Dene people, the ribbons represent the Metis and the black cording is intertwined with colourful cording to represent all the different peoples living together in harmony under our northern skies.

Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide Members with a brief update of the government's fiscal situation.

Later today, I will table the 2002-03 public accounts. I am pleased to note that this is the earliest the accounts have been completed meeting the target date recommended by the Auditor General. The accounts show a final operating deficit of $32.7 million, a significantly improved position compared to the forecast in February.

When I updated Members on our fiscal position in June, I noted that we faced considerable uncertainty with respect to population counts. Last week, Statistics Canada released revised population numbers for the period 1996 to 2003 which incorporate the 2001 census results and coverage studies. The numbers held some relatively good news for the Northwest Territories. The final NWT census net under-coverage rate was estimated at 8.11 percent. This final coverage estimate reflects a substantial improvement from the preliminary estimates released by Statistics Canada but is still below what we believe the actual undercount was.

The final coverage estimate of 8.11 percent was the result of considerable work between the GNWT Bureau of Statistics Canada and incorporated significant revisions to the Statistics Canada approach. While the result is still lower than our own estimate of 10 percent, and we continue to have concerns about some aspects of their approach, we are pleased that they did make some substantive changes to their coverage estimates. The Bureau of Statistics will now begin work with the federal agency on the 2006 census, to ensure that the same sorts of coverage problems are not repeated.

These new estimates will be used to calculate funding entitlements under the formula funding agreement with Canada. It is expected that the new estimates will result in a cumulative one-time positive adjustment to 2003-04 revenues of $35 million, which has lowered our deficit forecast.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, we have resolved, to our benefit, the issue of the calculation of our "tax effort factor" in the current formula funding agreement which expires in March 2004. This removes a major element of uncertainty from our short-term fiscal situation. However, the treatment of tax effort in the new formula financing agreement remains under negotiation and adds to our longer-term fiscal uncertainty.

The revenue gains we have achieved in 2003-04 have been partially offset by lower than expected corporate income tax revenues. We are undertaking research to determine the reasons for this as we expected better results given the level of economic activity and the anticipated profitability of corporate operations in the NWT.

On the expenditure side, we have achieved the $15 million short-term savings we targeted for 2003-04 without seriously impacting services to the public. Unfortunately, we were not able to constrain supplementary appropriation requirements as much as we wanted due to factors such as the severity of the forest fire season and the compensation increases to physicians. With our somewhat higher revenues, however, we are able to maintain our 2003-04 deficit forecast at $77 million.

Despite our improved short-term fiscal situation, Mr. Speaker, our medium to long-term fiscal outlook has not changed. Our revenue growth is being quickly outstripped by spending demands. Without significant spending reform, we are still looking at reaching the federally imposed debt limit of $300 million by the end of 2006-07.

As we said in the June session, there is no short-term or easy fix to this problem. We need to find creative solutions. The task teams we struck last winter to develop these solutions have continued their work over the course of the summer and will have options ready for consideration when the new government takes office in December. This will allow the 15th Legislative Assembly to factor some of these options into its agenda.

With appropriate funding from the federal government, I am confident that we can meet our fiscal challenges and still protect our ability to achieve critical objectives. The current negotiations for renewal of our formula financing agreement provide one of our best opportunities to secure adequate federal funding levels.

In May, I met with finance Minister John Manley to discuss the Prime Minister's commitment that the adequacy of our funding would be addressed. Over the summer, GNWT officials laid out our case in great detail with Finance Canada. I will be meeting with Minister Manley at the end of next week to review progress on these discussions.

Another key piece of our fiscal picture is the devolution of resource revenues along with a fair net fiscal benefit. It is essential that we make progress in these discussions and finalize a devolution arrangement as soon as possible. We cannot continue to hear the costs of development without access to the fiscal benefits.

Mr. Speaker, we all know the Northwest Territories' economy is vibrant and strong. The Premier's recent trip to North American business centres to promote the NWT has once again brought international recognition of our vast potential to the fore. NWT leaders are working together to promote and manage sustainable and responsible resource development. The federal government is starting to recognize the legitimacy of our issues and the quality of our plans and strategies. Although we still face many challenges, opportunities abound. If we continue to work together for the betterment of all NWT residents, we will make the NWT a success story politically, culturally, economically and socially. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to inform the House that later today I will be tabling the Government of the Northwest Territories' response to the final report of the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories acknowledges the tremendous amount of time, effort and care that has gone into developing "One Land, Many Voices." This pivotal report of the special committee, which was two years in the making, was tabled in this Legislative Assembly during the March 2003 session.

We understand that at the heart of the special committee's report there is an abiding respect for the role that languages play in the lives of our citizens and of the value that languages contribute to our culture and society.

The Government of the Northwest Territories shares these views and goals of the special committee and is committed to ensuring that the findings of its report are implemented to the greatest extent possible and in the most expedient time frame.

The Government of the Northwest Territories' response outlines in detail the ways and means by which the government intends to action, both immediately and over time, the special committee's recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, as detailed in the Government of the Northwest Territories' response, it is our intention to give immediate effect to a number of the special committee's recommendations by way of a bill to amend the Official Languages Act that I would give notice of first reading this afternoon.

As recommended by the special committee, the bill defines the powers and duties of the Minister under the act. Through this bill, the government proposes to establish in legislation an aboriginal languages revitalization board with representatives from all official languages, aboriginal language communities, with a mandate to advise the Minister responsible on government and community efforts to maintain, promote and revitalize aboriginal languages.

This bill will concurrently establish in legislation an official languages board with representatives from all official language communities of the Northwest Territories to advise the Minister responsible on the administration and delivery of services by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Each board will be able to make recommendations to the Minister within its respective mandate.

Additionally, the bill will:

• • amend the preamble to the act to recognize the important role of language communities in preserving and developing their own languages;
• • recognize North Slavey, South Slavey, Inuvialuktun and Innuinaqtun in section 4 of the act and remove them from the interpretation section;
• • remove repealed sections of the act and correct spelling, terminology and translation errors;
• • include provisions requiring the government to respond to the annual report of the Official Languages Commissioner within 180 days of tabling the annual report;
• • include provisions for the recognition of the collective language rights of aboriginal people within their homelands;
• • include provisions for smaller scale evaluations every five years beginning in 2008; and finally,
• • the bill addresses the role of the Languages Commissioner.

Mr. Speaker, as the report of the special committee indicated, some of the proposed recommendations will take longer than the remaining term of this government to implement. For those findings that cannot be implemented during the balance of the

14th Assembly, this public response should be viewed as a strong recommendation for a course of action that may be undertaken by the government of the 15th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, we know that languages are of untold value for individual and cultural identity and social well-being in maintaining the collective history of the Northwest Territories and in preserving cultural diversity. Once again, I refer back to the words of the special committee, "Languages are about our identity -- who we are and how we understand and interact with each other and the world around us."

I'm proud as a Member of this Assembly, Mr. Speaker, to be able to present the Government of the Northwest Territories a course of action designed to ensure that the voices of the people of the Northwest Territories are heard in whichever language they choose to speak for generations to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jim Antoine will be absent from the House today and tomorrow, attending the Ministers of Energy and Mines meeting in Halifax. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over a year ago the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development released draft revisions to the business incentive policy. Since then, he's heard from Members of this Assembly and from the business community that not only do the revisions not fix the problems with the existing policy, but they create even more problems.

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight has consistently asked for a cost-benefit analysis of the business incentive policy so Members can make a rational decision about what is really broken and how we should fix it. Without this information we can only guess at the possible consequences of the revised policy.

I and others were lead to believe that the Minister had understood this and had agreed not to proceed with the changes when he said in the House on February 21, 2003, and I quote, "We could probably leave this for the time being and introduce a registry to gauge what the costs are to have the policy in place. So at this point in time the decision is for us not to proceed, but to have a mechanism in place developed by Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development."

Mr. Speaker, imagine everyone's shock when the Minister announced in the middle of the summer, while most Members were in their constituency or away on holiday, that the revised business incentive policy would be coming into force on October 15, 2003. As one of my constituents asked, what has happened to consensus government?

Mr. Speaker, Hay River businesses are worried about the caps that the Minister is planning to have in place in less than two weeks time. To take the construction industry as an example, there are a lot of projects out there that cost more than $1 million. So if a general contractor is able to get a large project, once they've accounted for the first million dollars with northern labour what incentive is there for them to hire local sub-trades for the rest of the project? People have also told me that their businesses will be badly hurt if the policy no longer applies to boards, agencies and municipal governments.

Mr. Speaker, how can the Minister know, without having looked at the costs and benefits of the existing policy, what consequences his changes will have for Northwest Territories businesses? How can he go ahead with this when he knows that there are serious concerns out there that have not been addressed?

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be directing questions to the Minister and ask him to do the responsible thing, which is to delay any changes to the business incentive policy until his department has the facts and has done something to address the concerns raised by the Members of this House and by the public. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Miramar Con Mine recently announced that they would close underground operations at one of the oldest operating mines in North America. Con is located in my constituency, Mr. Speaker.

The closure of Con Mine will have an impact on us all. Of course, the biggest impact will be felt in Yellowknife where significantly fewer dollars will flow into the local economy. However, if a significant number of laid off miners were to leave the North, the Government of the Northwest Territories transfer payments would suffer. That would have an impact on everyone in the Territories.

Mr. Speaker, our Statistics Bureau tells us that the salaries lost with these nearly 200 jobs disappearing will be $15 million a year. On top of that, Miramar has been spending an additional $24 million a year, much of that with northern firms.

Mr. Speaker, we hope that many of the affected workers will be able to find other jobs in Yellowknife, but if none of them could the Statistics Bureau estimates the closure would result in up to 350 direct and indirect job losses. So the potential loss to our transfer payments is staggering. We have to do our best to help these residents stay in the North.

Mr. Speaker, on top of losing their jobs, some 25 families may no longer have a place for their homes with the closure of the trailer camps on the mine site. They will face having to relocate or lose their homes just after they lose their jobs. The problem is made worse because there may not be enough vacant mobile home lots in town to move the mobile homes that are currently at the Con Mine trailer park. For many of the homes, relocation may not even be possible because of changes in the building code since they were installed that make them uneconomic to bring them up to current code, as is required when mobile homes are relocated.

So, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of those residents, this government must continue to try to help to work out a deal between Miramar, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the City of Yellowknife to let the residents purchase the land and stay where they are. My constituents in the Con Mine trailer camp have been working for years to try and work out a reasonable solution. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Vince Steen, has worked on behalf of the Con camp residents and was instrumental in bringing the management of Con Mine back to negotiations. I'd also like to recognize the efforts of Premier Kakfwi. Since the announcement of the closure, he has coordinated and chaired several meetings of Ministers and has brought the mayor, mine management and union officials together with Members of his Cabinet and senior staff to focus on the most important of people involved in this crisis: the affected Miramar employees, in particular the residents of the trailer parks.

Mr. Speaker, the City of Yellowknife has been a partner in discussions about the potential transfer of the land to the residents for quite some time. In spite of the upcoming election and the new council that will be elected, I hope the city will continue to work diligently to assist the residents of Con camp to keep their homes. Time is of the essence.

I also urge the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to consider assisting residents of Con as he did the residents of the Husky Trailer Park in Inuvik. 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. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, honourable colleagues. Mr. Speaker, it would be important to encourage the employees of Miramar Con Mine to try to remain in the Northwest Territories. Many are skilled trades people, and Minister Ootes and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Human Resources Development Canada are working together to find other opportunities for those that would like to work here in the North. Many of my constituents who have been affected have lived in the North for a long time and contribute to this town in many ways.

Mr. Speaker, all residents of Yellowknife will be affected by the closure of Con Mine. As part of Yellowknife's heritage, economy and skyline, the closure of the mine will be felt by all of us. However, I believe that if we continue working together and focus on what is possible, it can reduce the negative effects of this closure and help affected employees continue with their contribution to the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to raise an issue that comes around about this time of year, every year almost. As long as I've been a Member of this Assembly it comes out. This time of year brings about many changes; changes in the colour of our environment from green to red to yellow and soon to white as the snow covers the ground. But, Mr. Speaker, along with that it seems that an annual mailing or seniors that go into the income support offices to apply for seniors' fuel subsidies get their application forms and have to fill them out.

Mr. Speaker, it's been brought to my attention that these forms have become increasingly more difficult to fill out and understood by many of the seniors who own their own homes. If you're not a high school graduate or have a degree in something or another, it's difficult to go through these forms.

Mr. Speaker, I have had an opportunity to review these forms with seniors and, indeed, it would take quite a bit of effort to go through the whole process to make sure you qualify. In fact, they've been signing the documents to say that if you have not put the accurate information down you're liable. Mr. Speaker, not only do seniors in small communities find this a concern, it's almost like an insult that we're not taking their word for granted. Now there are cases, Mr. Speaker, that probably brought this to the department so that they had to address it in these forms, but, Mr. Speaker, I think we've gone too far. We've made it too difficult for seniors to go through these forms to qualify for the fuel subsidy.

So, Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the appropriate Minister, but I'd like them to consider that they look at why they're doing these forms and making it even more difficult. Is it in fact so that they can save more money? So that they don't have to give more funds out to seniors who own their own homes? That it's so difficult that they feel like it's not worth going through the hassle? Or is it just because they're trying to curb some misuse of those funds? I'll have a question for the appropriate Minister. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every year the residents of Hay River, and in particular the residents of Old Town and West Channel, find themselves at the mercy of Mother Nature and faced with the question of how will all the ice and water caused by spring breakup find its way out to Great Slave Lake without damaging their homes and properties?

It is not easy, Mr. Speaker, to predict what events will unfold and what actions residents should take to protect themselves and their property. Equal uncertainties are faced by town administrators and what actions they should take. Over the past several years the town has taken a number of steps to guard against flooding, at a considerable expense to the town, I might add. However, Mother Nature is, as I have stated, unpredictable and the power of the water and the ice tends to take its own course and make up its own mind as to what time of day or night the big push will come.

Mr. Speaker, this past spring the big push happened on April 30th. Unfortunately, the safeguards put in place by the town were not sufficient to protect all properties. On that date, Mr. Speaker, I was in Fort Providence on standing committee business when I received a call that I should come home as my constituents were phoning for me. I made arrangements and arrived home at 1:00 a.m. on May 1st and was shocked to see the amount of water and ice over roads and covering residents' properties. I was also informed that all residents of West Channel had been evacuated from their homes.

It became very apparent to me, Mr. Speaker, that the residents would be suffering financial losses and would be seeking some sort of compensation. I put a request in to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to come to Hay River and witness the situation. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Steen and our Premier, Stephen Kakfwi, who came to Hay River and had a look through my riding and Hay River Reserve.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I hadn't invited them strictly for a site-seeing tour. I had them there knowing that I was going to be approaching them for some sort of funding. All summer I have waited and told my constituents that the Minister was looking at some sort of package and that I was looking forward to some positive outcomes.

On September 9th I received a letter from Minister Steen that none of the claims fit into any of their programs. So they would not be compensating anyone.

Sorry, Mr. Delorey, your time for your Member's statement is over. Mr. Delorey.

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

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

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I also was informed that the town of Hay River received a letter stating that because of their good financial situation, that they would not be receiving any funding for the expenses that they went through in the flood. This, Mr. Speaker, in my way of thinking, is penalizing Hay River for good financial management. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the residents of the town of Hay River and the town of Hay River itself deserve some sort of compensation and to say nothing of the recognition that the many volunteers deserve for their efforts during the spring flood. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you Mr. Nitah. The chair did bend the rules there a bit but soon realized the topics were very similar. The wealth of my experience and the wealth of the Territories. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for the North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The Honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is good to see you and everyone in the House and in the gallery.

Mr. Speaker, on August 27th our community received an announcement that Miramar Con Mine would close its operation at the site by the end of this November and it might even be sooner. While many of us knew this would be coming eventually, it still came as a shock and it is very sad news indeed, Mr. Speaker. Mining of gold at Giant Mine and Con Mine and others in the area are what has given this city our modern history. The Robertson Shaft and the Con Mine has been a steady and reassuring presence in this town for many decades. My family members have worked at the mine as miners and I would even go so far as to say I probably wouldn't be standing here today if it weren't for that very mine. I'll save that story for another time.

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that I have had a chance to talk to a number of affected Con Mine workers who live in my riding. I know they are all doing their best to cope with the situation, but

mining and working in a mine are a way of life not just a job. For many of them, young or old, they have spent a better part of their life at the mine. It will mean a great deal of adjustment and change, not only for the workers, but for their families and friends in our community. There is no question in my mind that we will feel the economic, financial and emotional impact of the closure of the mine for a long time to come.

On a good note, Mr. Speaker, I must say it's good to see how quickly and comprehensively the responsible departments in the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government have responded to the transitional needs of the affected workers. It has been proactive and organized. They have all done a very good job so far and I want to thank them and encourage them to keep up with the good work until the job is done.

I also appreciate that the Con Mine Trailer Park transfer is working through its various jurisdictional stages and this Legislature must support and do its part for a speedy resolution to that issue.

There's one more issue, Mr. Speaker, that we need to work more on and that has to do with the abandonment and reclamation planned for the mine currently before the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. I need to advise you that the employees had expressed great concern that the plan proposed would be approved and implemented by the end of this year without much public scrutiny and participation. They believe this would mean that the mine would be closed at the end of November, the Robertson Shaft demolished and the process for flooding...

Ms. Lee, your time is up for your Member's statement. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I speak unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her Member's statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. May I just conclude my statement by advising you that the employees have a great concern that the reclamation and closure plan might go through the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board without participation and public process. I must say, Mr. Speaker, I share their concern and I have joined other Yellowknife MLAs and the workers expressing our concern to the Minister responsible in this government. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my concern on behalf of not only the affected workers, but on behalf of all citizens of Yellowknife, that proper public process is done to clean up and mitigate any harmful environmental impact of the closure of the mine before any steps are taken to close and flood the mine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. About a week ago, I was pleased to host about 20 people at a Great Slave constituency meeting. That's a pretty good attendance and I want to thank all of those who came out.

One overall issue that came out, Mr. Speaker, again and again and again is my constituents tell me that we in government have fallen down and fallen down badly on the prevention, treatment and follow-up for people with social problems, abuse and neglect. Mr. Speaker, here is what some constituents said last week.

We need more treatment centres in Yellowknife and across the Northwest Territories. We need to do more, much more, to prevent the drinking that devastates so many babies because of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The caseloads of our frontline social workers are too heavy and unmanageable. They need more tools and resources. Alcohol abuse is getting worse. There should be a major commission on alcohol abuse in the NWT. Cocaine and other hard drugs are causing a troubling spiral of danger and violence in downtown streets. Yellowknife's overcrowding and unaffordable housing is a lead cause of depression and domestic conflict that is spilling out of our homes.

Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of our term, we put together a document called Towards a Better Tomorrow, Our Vision for a Prosperous Future. We talked about healthy, educated Northerners making responsible choices for themselves and their families. Despite our robust economy, prosperity for some, even for many, Mr. Speaker, it is far short of our goal when we don't have a healthy community for all. What's happening?Mr. Speaker, in the NWT in 1999 to 2000, Criminal Code incidents increased more than 33 percent. In terms of violence, it has increased 15 percent and drug charges under federal statute have increased 23 percent. In Yellowknife, the number of incidents for the Yellowknife RCMP detachment has gone up from just over 3,000 in 1999 to almost 4,900 in 2002.

The NWT Liquor Commission annual report of last year shows that total volume of liquor increased by eight percent over 2001, primarily due to increased sales in Yellowknife, Inuvik and Hay River. Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek 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. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the most disappointing actions during our four-year term is the money we've spent building new correctional facilities instead of funding new ways to prevent violence and treat offenders. Mr. Speaker, the health of our society depends on our commitment to listen and act on what our people are telling us. Are we listening? Is the government listening? Sadly, Mr. Speaker, it would seem not. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to also raise some concerns about the government's decision to do an absolutely 180 degree turn on the implementation of revisions to the business incentive policy. Mr. Speaker, over the last month or so, I, like many of my colleagues -- and I know from talking to them -- have been receiving phone calls and letters from concerned constituents and business people across the Territories who thought they had a deal and thought they had agreement on behalf of this government to accurately analyze what these revisions to the BIP would mean to small business, what they would cost. Because admittedly -- and our government has admitted this -- we have no idea currently what the BIP is costing us.

Mr. Dent, in a Point of Order today, spoke about the commitment we thought we had from the Minister of RWED. Mr. Speaker, it's broader than that. I don't think there's a Member on this side of the House that would believe the Minister of RWED decided to implement these changes to the BIP on his own without consulting Cabinet. Mrs. Groenewegen indicated earlier some time in the dog days of summer with Members out in their constituencies, this government decided to do an end run, despite the fact that they were more than aware that Members on this side of the House had all kinds of concerns, the public had all kinds of concerns.

Mr. Speaker, this Cabinet, these supposed stewards of our consensus system, decided that despite our concerns, they would jam it through under the cloak of darkness and it leaves people out there, Mr. Speaker, wondering what could be so reckless and destabilizing about these changes that they need to be snuck in the back door. I think we will spend the next several weeks poking holes in the proposed changes, asking questions that the government can't answer, Mr. Speaker. At the end of that, I hope with some good sense, this government will decide until they have the kind of blue chip information we are looking for, it makes no sense to try to railroad these changes through. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today it gives me great pleasure to indulge in intellectual achievements of a young female constituent of mine who resides in Inuvik Twin Lakes. Ms. Candice Ciboci was recognized for her academic achievements. I will describe her academic accomplishments as a social pride for the entire community of Inuvik. Ms. Ciboci will continue to serve as a model and inspiration for other young people in our region. Ms. Ciboci has received several citations to her credit, which is listed as follows: She is a recipient of the Governor General's Academic Bronze Medal for Academic Excellence 2001-2002; Shell Canada Limited Academic Award Recipient; Honourable Mention, Canada-wide Science Fair, Kingston, Ontario, 2001. She's also had outstanding achievements at Samuel Hearne Secondary Hearne in a mathematics school contest. She also received the highest score in Grade 11. She was also an honour roll student in the year 2001.

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Ciboci is now studying at the University of Alberta. I want to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to a well-deserved recipient and further want to wish her a great success in her studies of choice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Groenewegen on June 12, 2003, with regard to government sponsored insurance programs.

The Government of the Northwest Territories regulates insurance companies operating in the Northwest Territories through the NWT Insurance Act. The Department of Finance, through the superintendent of finance, is responsible for administering the act.

The superintendent of insurance does not approve rates charged by insurers or standard risks. Automobile insurance premiums charged to the residents of the NWT are significantly below premiums charged to residents of Alberta.

For example, for high risk drivers, property damage and public liability coverage of $1 million costs $1,979 annually in Alberta, but only $569 a year in the NWT.

Accident benefits coverage costs $132 a year in Alberta, but only $46 annually in the NWT. Low automobile rates charged to residents of the NWT are due to the low risk road system and dry weather. NWT automobile insurance premiums are lower than those charged in any province.

The office of the superintendent of insurance continues to review rate changes filed by the Facility Association, an association of insurance companies which insures all high risk applicants and to monitor premium rate changes in the standard insurance market. Insurance brokerages and the superintendent of insurance have received some complaints regarding the availability of insurance, but relatively few complaints with respect to increases in premiums. The superintendent of insurance has not received any complaints regarding the level of insurance premiums.

Given the small population of the Northwest Territories, a government-run insurance program would not be economically feasible. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. It's nice to see so many people in the visitors' gallery. Welcome to the Assembly. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize so many visitors from our neighbouring communities and also to recognize the presence of some of the elders in the gallery. Mr. Speaker, I would like to especially recognize one elder who makes a tremendous difference in my life, my mother Mrs. Esther Braden. With her today is Barb Hood of the NWT Seniors' Society. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome some Yellowknife residents in the gallery: Ms. Kathryn Youngblut, Ed Jeske, Dave Wind and a very active mother, Marlo Bullock with her two children. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Connor Bullock and Nelson Bullock who are here with their mother Marlo, as Sandy just indicated. Their ages are 8 and 11 and they've come to see the proceedings of the Assembly here today. So I hope my colleagues will join me in welcoming them. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Major Karen Hoeft and Captain Al Hoeft from the Salvation Army, as well as two other members from the Salvation Army. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize all the people from the Dogrib Nation in the gallery today, but there's one I work with, Mr. Speaker, that I would like to recognize. That is Violet Camsell-Blondin, the chair of the Dogrib Community Services Board, which is responsible for both education and the health and social services department. I would like to recognize her, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Colleagues, I would like to direct your attention to the presence in the Speaker's Gallery of Karen Wright-Fraser, the designer of the new Pages' uniform. With her are four ladies who assisted Karen with the piecework on the vests and they are: Lucy Black, Christine Doctor...There are only two.

---Laughter

There is Karen Wright-Fraser and Mr. Fraser. Please welcome them.

---Applause

Are there any other recognitions? I would like to take the opportunity to welcome everyone to the Legislative Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment which the senior fuel subsidy falls under. I would like to know from the Minister what work was undertaken with seniors in the development of the application forms for seniors' fuel subsidy.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not familiar with that particular work that had been undertaken and whether there has been consultation with seniors. I must say though that a lot of changes have been introduced into the seniors' fuel subsidy over the last several years. I heard what the Member has said and we need to look at this application form to see if it is a difficult form to follow. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When will the Minister undertake to have a review of these forms? When he does that, will he find out if seniors were contacted with how they felt these forms should be put together? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will get onto that item immediately, Mr. Speaker, to see whether consultations had taken place, whether there was input from the seniors' society and whether there was input from other seniors. We will certainly look to see whether the forms are possible to change very quickly if they are too difficult to follow, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the department in all communities prepared to work with individuals who would come into their office to help fill out the forms? They are more difficult this time around than previous years, I believe. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, a lot of changes have taken place. First of all, we changed the fuel subsidy regionally, so there's a higher level of support for individual seniors if they are in a colder climate area with longer winters. The second case that took place was the change in the level of income that a senior can have. A number of those changes have taken place and no doubt, the department, in its wisdom, has made changes on the forms as well. What we did do, as well, Mr. Speaker, is put out a publication to allow seniors and others on income support to understand the program, but I will immediately get on to the question that the Member raised here. If we can provide assistance to seniors in communities to help fill out the forms and secondly to see if the forms are appropriate and if we need to make changes on the forms.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister indicated that a lot of changes had happened and some increases to the limits as well, so will the Minister provide that information as well when he goes through and does this other work? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I had instructed the department to develop guides for income support, guides for the senior fuel subsidy and all the programs we have so that those guides can be handed out to individuals, which would give individual seniors in this particular case the opportunity to see in print what their eligibility requirements are, what they are eligible for and so forth. I'll ensure that if those aren't being distributed yet, that they will be distributed shortly. It's my understanding that it has already been done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. As I stated in my Member's statement, Mr. Speaker, a number of my constituents were involved in flooding which caused a lot of damage to properties and personal items. This flooding did not wipe out everyone in West Channel, Mr. Speaker, but it did have a degree of hardship for all residents.

Mr. Speaker, even though not all residents suffered financial loss, this doesn't lessen the level of damage suffered by a few. Could the Minister tell this House how many claims were received by his department with regard to the flood in West Channel? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the information the Member is asking for, but I'll have the department supply the information and pass it on to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like the Minister to provide the total of those claims that were presented to the department; the number of claims and the total amount in dollars that were put to the Minister. I would like the Minister to inform the House as to whether he approached Cabinet with a benefit package or a compensation package for affected residents of the flood. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. There are two questions there. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we did receive the total for all individuals and I have a total here for West Channel Village $66,946; the Hay River Reserve was $3,020; and the Hay River Reserve new village was $3,400. The overall total for all individual claims was $102,000.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second part of that question was did the Minister take any kind of a compensation package for approval to Cabinet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the recommendation the department and myself took to Cabinet was that we would not pay compensation. There was a committee established to review compensation requests. Their recommendation was that we don't pay compensation, and I accepted the recommendation and took it to Cabinet, and that's what the ruling in Cabinet was. We weren't going to pay compensation.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a letter also went out to the Town of Hay River that because of their good financial situation the department would not be reimbursing them any money for the expenditures that they incurred during the flood for residents of Hay River. Could the Minister justify why he would make that kind of a statement? Had the Town of Hay River been broke or badly managing their funds, would the Minister have come forward with some money at that time, but simply because they have good financial management they would not be reimbursed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Town of Hay River put in their expenditure statements at $18,885 and the First Nation put in $10,397 as claims. However, whether the town is in a good financial situation or not has no bearing on the policy. We would have paid if we felt that it was widespread and that proper steps were taken to prevent damages. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, thank you. I would like to ask some questions of the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger, concerning facilities for our increasing alcohol and drug problems. Mr. Speaker, in the NWT we have some facilities, for instance the Salvation Army, our hospitals, but it seems that the number of facilities overall is diminishing. I would like to ask the Minister whether our facilities are keeping pace with the demand for alcohol and drug-related treatment in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clearly we will always have, as far as I can anticipate, far more problems than we have resources for. As the Member indicated in his statement, the alcohol consumption rates, incarceration rates and crime rates due to alcohol abuse and such have not diminished. We have not eliminated or cut back on any facilities. We've, in fact, tried to enhance the services that we do provide and we've done that with communities with money added into paying alcohol and drug workers adequately to bring on more staff and clinical supervision for mental health and communities wellness. So, Mr. Speaker, it's a difficult battle. We haven't cut back any resources or closed any facilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Minister is right. At least in the term of this government I don't recall any closures of facilities. But we've lost some over the course of a longer history; for instance, T'loondeh in the Mackenzie Delta; Somba K'e here in Yellowknife and also what was called the Detox Centre on Franklin Avenue. So we haven't been replacing these facilities, and we've been losing them, Mr. Speaker. Is this an indication that residential alcohol and drug treatment facilities in the NWT are no longer a priority for our continuum of care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we've attempted to do over the last few years is focus attention at the community level with the increase in social workers and the money, as I indicated just in my previous answer, in terms of increasing the pay range of alcohol and drug workers so that they are fairly compensated for mental health workers, for clinical supervisors. We're working more closely with the existing facilities, we've tried to improve the services and the medical coverage, transportation coverage for the Salvation Army. Mr. Speaker, the fundamental issue is the personal choice people make to drink. Mr. Speaker, we will spend all the money we have and the millions and millions of dollars to deal with the issue of addictions and the results of the ravages of alcohol, but really and truly the fundamental choice, as the Member touched on, is how do we get people to make that personal choice so that we can in fact deal with prevention at the community level. As of yet we have not succeeded. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I cannot disagree with the Minister. In fact, this is what my constituents told me. That where we're falling down is on prevention and treatment, as well as follow-up. So what then, Mr. Speaker, what can I go back and say to my constituents that we have done and we are doing to tackle these problems from the front end, from the prevention and awareness side? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the city of Yellowknife there is an initiative that's underway, spearheaded initially by the RCMP to bring the various practicing non-government organizations and support groups and services that are currently provided to the table to see how they can better coordinate and collaborate on their efforts, both on the prevention as well as dealing with the issue of alcohol abuse as it currently exists.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to work with the communities, the health authorities, with this legislature in terms of funding requests and program development, to see how we can, in fact, deal on a treatment side. Once again, Mr. Speaker, the fundamental issue is how do we get people to make the right choices so babies are born healthy, that we avoid the abuse that's tied to alcohol and we get the people to make the right choices when it comes to the consumption and abuse of alcohol so that they avoid doing that? Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to getting that message across, we don't seem to be very successful. The numbers would seem to indicate that we're going the wrong way. What innovation is the department bringing to getting this message across? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Health and Social Services has a budget of about $230 million this year, which is up almost $40 million over the last three to four years. A significant amount of that money is tied into dealing with issues that are related to alcohol, to the effects, the treatment issues, the drug abuse. Mr. Speaker, we're working, we have a strategy that's approved, a mental health and alcohol and drug addictions strategy, that's been approved that we're getting funding for. We need ongoing funding to implement it. We're consistently working with the authorities. We always welcome the advice and direction that we can get from our colleagues in the House. This is a very terrible and complex problem and it is a battle that we are not winning.

So, Mr. Speaker, we don't have any pat answers. We're pouring enormous amounts of resources into treatment of the health issues related to this. We have yet to come to grips with a final answer. 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 Finance, Minister Handley.

Mr. Speaker, no, I'm not aware of the government ever doing any comprehensive study of the impact of decentralizing a lot of positions. We look at each situation case by case in terms of its impact, but not a comprehensive study. This government certainly hasn't done one. Thank you.