Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 20th, the Aboriginal Summit and the GNWT signed a framework agreement on the process for negotiating devolution of resource revenue sharing. I hope the federal government will sign it this week and, if that is the case, then that document will outline the process and mandate and may some day result in legislation. But we want to move this ahead step by step. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No disrespect to the Premier's answer, however, I still feel that the people of the Northwest Territories, especially in my riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes, lost confidence in that document and any subsequent documents thereafter. So I am going to again ask the Premier if he is willing to bring forth this process to discuss further with the western and northern Premiers in the conference in Inuvik in July. So I would ask him if he would begin this work, the political work to start generating support for this process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, this has certainly been an issue of interest to my colleagues across the country. All of the Premiers have asked me about devolution and where we are at. Mr. Speaker, this is a process that is trilateral, it involves aboriginal governments, our government and the federal government. The framework agreement I referred to is a first step. Second, we hope to have an agreement-in-principle and we commit to working toward that by this summer, and a final agreement by 2005 with implementation in 2006. That is a pretty ambitious schedule. I hope constituents across the North don't lose confidence in the process, but I really believe we have to take it step by step and I fully intend to do everything we can to bring this to a conclusion during the life of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we all recognize the difficulty in trying to persuade the federal government to acknowledge that we are an emerging territory. So I am going to ask the Premier again, failing his undertaking on a trilateral level, if he would call upon the chief electoral office to conduct a referendum on the question of the creation of the Northwest Territories as a province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, that is something that will most likely get discussed at some point by our partners, the aboriginal governments, and it may be something that we want to do at some point here, but I would certainly have to talk to the partner governments, the aboriginal governments in particular, before we would do it. I wouldn't want to try and do it unilaterally or people will feel we are stepping out too far ahead. Thank you.

Your final supplementary, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't see the relevancy in the discussion with a third party in terms of the constitutional relationship between the federal and territorial governments. I am going to ask the Premier again if he is willing to bring a bill of intent to the Prime Minister's office through the normal process. Thank you.

Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I've certainly made this issue known to the Prime Minister; that this is an issue that is at the top of the agenda for our government as well as for aboriginal governments. I will continue to do that. I think we also have to keep in mind that all of these processes take time, they are not things that you can do overnight. In fact, the Member made reference to Alberta and Saskatchewan. They got provincehood in 1905 and they didn't get control over the resources and land until 1930 or shortly after that. So it is a long process. We have been at it a long time, but I believe that we can make a lot of progress by working together rather than trying to move it too fast and having the other partners feel that we are moving ahead of them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to today ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment some questions around a comment that he made in an article that appeared in the Yellowknifer on Wednesday, February 4, 2004. The Minister comments on how the opportunity for all people in the North is at an unprecedented high rate with the demands for qualified, skilled trades people increasing here and throughout

Canada. During that first week of February, Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of attending the Apprenticeship and Certification Week Awards ceremony here in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly, where the Minister once again spoke of these opportunities. I am wondering today, Mr. Speaker, if I can get a commitment from the Minister that he will address the dire financial reality that the average person has in getting into and staying with the trades program. It's a question that I have for the Minister, and I have some supplementary questions, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories program provides a wage subsidy for employers to take apprenticeships on, so that a significant portion of a first-year apprentice's salary is, in fact, paid by the Government of the Northwest Territories, through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, in order to facilitate the young people getting into the trades. The government also provides funding for the school training that is required to be taken by all apprentices, so there is support for the books and that sort of training. I think that what we're providing for apprentices meets a fairly good standard, and I would be interested in hearing from the Member exactly where he thinks our program is deficient in comparison to others in Canada.

Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for the response. The first thing I'd like to say is that folks who are in the trades program have to leave the North and go to school. Maybe sometimes it's Fort Smith and other times it's Edmonton or Calgary. When they leave the North, they're on their own for the two months while they're away. They don't get paid for the two months while they're away.

Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering why the trades are different. Why can't apprentices in the Northwest Territories access our student financial assistance program to make sure that they have the resources and the financial wherewithal to see the trades through to completion? We're losing a great number of individuals who can't afford it. During the first two or three years of an apprenticeship program, the average apprentice is making $12 to $15 an hour. It's not a great deal of money, and if you have responsibilities at home, a family and what not, it's a tremendous burden.

I'm wondering, Mr. Speaker, will there be a resource available to those in the first years of the trades program to help them financially to get them through this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, NWT apprentices do qualify for financial assistance for books, for travel if they need to travel to take their training, and for living expenses. So there is funding available to support apprentices in those areas already. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the final supplementary that I have is can I get a commitment from the Minister that he will look at putting trades on par with other post-secondary pursuits of individuals in the Northwest Territories so that everybody is on an equal footing in terms of access to financial resources? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.