Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to report on my meeting last Friday with federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew; Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Scott Brison; and my colleagues from the other provinces and territories.

In January, Prime Minister Martin made a commitment to Premiers that provinces and territories would be more directly involved in Canada-U.S. relations and international matters. He tasked Minister Pettigrew to find ways to implement this commitment.

Minister Pettigrew and provinces and territories reached a consensus at the Montreal meeting that specific proposals on the participation of provinces and territories in Canada-U.S. relations and international matters be developed for review by the Council of Federation in July and adopted at the First Ministers meeting this summer. The intent is to provide a formalized agreement that allows a significant role for provinces and territories in international relations. Options will also be developed for review and adoption by First Ministers to coordinate the effective representation of provincial/territorial interests in Canada, U.S. policy and other intergovernmental aspects of Canada-U.S. relations.

The meeting provided an opportunity to get issues on the table and give direction to working groups on the product that is expected for this summer. There was consensus around the table that these proposals should reflect the commitment on all sides to make a new approach work and that success will require flexibility in arrangements to take into consideration international protocols.

Mr. Speaker, as I noted in this House last week, the Northwest Territories has a number of important interests related to Canada-U.S. relations and international affairs where we need and should be represented. Some of these issues include continental energy matters, ballistic missile defence and northern foreign policy. I had the opportunity to highlight NWT interests and the effect of policies and decisions taken by other governments in these areas during the roundtable discussions.

Mr. Speaker, in order to pursue our objective to become a have territory, it is critical that we continue to participate in these federal/provincial meetings to continue to build our relationships with our provincial and federal colleagues. This is not something that happens overnight. It will require a concerted and sustained effort to ensure that the interests of the Northwest Territories are considered in discussions amongst our partners in the federation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Premier Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to Members that a successful Intergovernmental Forum meeting was held on March 18th in Yellowknife.

The meeting was hosted by the Government of Canada and chaired by Senator Nick Sibbeston. The Honourable Andrew Mitchell, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development; Mr. Larry Bagnell, Parliamentary Secretary on Northern Economic Development; and, our Member of Parliament, the Honourable Ethel Blondin-Andrew, represented Canada at this meeting.

The Aboriginal Summit was represented by President Robert Tordiff of the Northwest Territories Metis Nation; Chief Peter Liske from the Akaitcho Dene First Nations; Sahtu Dene Council Grand Chief Frank Andrew; Tlicho Grand Chief Joe Rabesca; Chief Richard Nerysoo representing the Gwich'in Tribal Council; Eddie Dillon from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation; and, North Slave Metis Alliance President North Douglas.

I attend the meeting on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, along with the Honourable Floyd Roland, the Honourable Brendan Bell, the Honourable David Krutko and MLAs Kevin Menicoche, Robert Hawkins and Norman Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, the Intergovernmental Forum meeting discussions were very positive and served to renew our collective efforts to conclude a devolution and resource revenue sharing agreement within the term of the 15th Legislative Assembly. Further discussions centred on financing of governments, capacity building and the Economic Development Advisory Forum.

It was apparent from the meeting that leaders remain committed to the IGF process and recognize that we have a unique opportunity to move forward on important issues that affect the lives of the people of the NWT.

In addition to the meeting of the IGF, Minister Mitchell also took the opportunity during his visit to the NWT to sign the Northwest Territories lands and resources devolution framework agreement on behalf of Canada. Leaders representing aboriginal governments and the GNWT signed this agreement in January.

Mr. Speaker, the framework agreement is a process and schedule agreement that sets out the groundwork for the negotiation of an agreement-in-principle and a final devolution agreement. It identifies the subject matters for negotiation and target dates for the next stages of negotiations.

A great deal of work remains to be done in order to reach our target of completing a final devolution agreement by 2005 and implementation in 2006. Our negotiation team is continuing its work with the other parties to ensure that a fair deal on devolution and resource revenue sharing is reached. I would like to congratulate the negotiation teams from all parties in reaching this milestone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Minister Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut has engaged in progressive steps to strengthen regulations under the Safety Act and the Mine Health and Safety Act. These steps will protect northern workers from the proven negative health effects of second-hand smoke. They include research, public consultations and partnering with other government departments and outside agencies to address the serious workplace health issue of environmental tobacco smoke.

Mr. Speaker, second-hand smoke is not present in the workplace as a result of a manufacturing or work process, nor is it essential to any manufacturing or work process. Its presence is entirely discretionary. However, what is not optional are the damaging health effects for workers involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke. This is why, effective May 1st this year, smoking will be against the law in workplaces within the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

In September 2003, the governance council of the WCB approved the environmental tobacco smoke regulations to remove or restrict the source of pollution in northern workplaces by banning tobacco smoke. It forwarded the regulations to the NWT and Nunavut Ministers responsible for the WCB.

The regulations require that:

• • Employers prohibit workers' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in enclosed work sites.
• • Workers cannot smoke in enclosed work sites.
• • Limited exceptions are made for private residential units, institutional facilities and live-in work camps.
• • Workers and Employers who fail to abide by the regulations may be fined.

Mr. Speaker, in December of 2003 the regulations were approved in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, calling for implementation throughout the NWT and Nunavut effective May 1, 2004. I want to assure employers that information and expertise is available from the WCB to help them comply with the new law.

In keeping with this vision and mission, the WCB continues to assist workers and employers in the North to make workplaces safer in northern Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT and Nunavut have become national leaders in worker safety in the industrial disease area as a result of these comprehensive regulations. I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, the Honourable Joseph Handley, and his colleagues of the day for introducing these important improvements. I congratulate all who were involved in moving these regulations through to the implementation stage of May 1, 2004, and look forward to ensuring a healthier work environment for all northern workers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise in this House today to congratulate the first duly-elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada: Mr. Stephen Harper. The other candidates, Ms. Belinda Stronach and Mr. Tony Clement, should also be recognized for putting themselves forward to challenge for this important function in the new Conservative Party's short history.

I will be inviting Mr. Harper to visit the North in the near future so that we can learn and understand how a Conservative government under Mr. Harper would treat northern Canada and the Northwest Territories in particular. On Saturday, Conservatives from across the country voted on the united right in trying to put an end to Paul Martin and his Liberal Government's scandalous decade-old regime. Canadians and Northerners alike are getting tired of the arrogance, corruption and waste coming out of Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, with the election of Mr. Harper, Canadians and northerners will finally have an alternative to the Liberals, and taxpayers from across the country should rejoice. I would like to wish the recently minted Western Arctic Riding Association and their executive the best of luck in finding a candidate for the riding in the upcoming federal election. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2001 a major legislative review of the Workers' Compensation Board for Nunavut and the NWT was conducted, and this report was presented to the Ministers and resulted here in this legislature, Mr. Speaker, in June 2003, with several major amendments to the legislative side of the Workers' Compensation Act. It was, within its terms of reference, a very well-prepared and a very well-documented report.

But there remains, Mr. Speaker, a significant piece of unfinished business. One of the principal recommendations of this report, which is called Act Now, was to conduct an operational review of the Workers' Compensation Board. What I would like to do, Mr. Speaker, is just read a couple of lines from this report that helps to establish just how significant this recommendation is.

The panel did receive comments from stakeholders about their dealings with the WCB. This was encouraging, but in the panel's view a positive comment should be the norm.

What the panel heard tells us is that the workers' compensation system has become an adversarial one between stakeholders and the WCB. The panel does not believe that legislative change alone will address the many operational issues raised by stakeholders. The panel views legislation as a means to an end. A change to legislation cannot ensure a change to operational attitude.

This is why, Mr. Speaker, it's time to take this very serious recommendation forward on behalf not only of a number of my constituents, but workers across the NWT and Nunavut to seek the attention and the priority that an operational review of the WCB deserves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the last nine years, I have frequently gotten up in this Assembly and spoken about the doctor and nurse shortages at the H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital and the Hay River Medical Clinic. I could do that today as Hay River once again finds itself short of doctors and nurses.

However, Mr. Speaker, in today's statement I would like to comment on the positive. I would like to publicly commend all of the doctors and nurses in Hay River who are working through the latest shortage in medical practitioners to provide the best possible care that they can for the residents of Hay River.

Mr. Speaker, when times are good and all of the doctors and nurses positions are fully staffed, I am not sure that people really appreciate all the hard work that medical practitioners put in. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that everyone involved in the medical profession in Hay River is working to capacity to deal with this latest staffing emergency, and I can also tell you that it is greatly appreciated.

But, Mr. Speaker, in any system that is staffed by people who are working past their point of capacity, you will see people begin to burn out. We cannot afford to lose any more doctors and nurses to burnout. I know of doctors and nurses who liked it in Hay River but could not stay because of the workload imposed by chronic staffing shortages. It is a vicious cycle. We lose doctors and nurses for whatever reasons, which causes the doctors and nurses who stay to pick up the workload, which causes them to burn out, which causes them to move on, which makes us worse off than we were before the whole cycle began.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority is working hard to fill the empty medical professional positions in Hay River, and I know the Department of Health and Social Services will offer any assistance they can to the Hay River authority. So I say to the doctors and nurses in Hay River who are dealing with the present staffing shortage to please hang in there, help is hopefully on the way.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a minute to publicly commend Dr. Dalia Bernard for her dedication and commitment to the people of Hay River. We are truly fortunate to have such a caring person in our community, and I hope that she will be there for many years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to raise an issue that came up during the election campaign last fall. In speaking to a resident in Hay River, the gentleman and his wife brought up an issue regarding the WCB benefits.

Mr. Speaker, by way of background, this gentleman was unfortunately injured on the job several years ago and, as a result, he receives a monthly WCB pension which he will continue to receive until his death. Mr. Speaker, the injured worker brought up an interesting point, that WCB pension benefits cease upon the death of the injured worker, unlike other pensions such as the Canada pension and private pension plans. Mr. Speaker, other pension plans provide benefits to the surviving spouse, whereas WCB pensions do not unless the injured worker dies as a direct result of the injury.

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, in the Northwest Territories WCB pension benefits end with the death of the injured worker. Exceptions to this policy only occur in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan where they continue to pay benefit to the surviving spouse for a period of three months. In the case of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, they may also continue to pay other conditional benefits to the deceased worker if the deceased worker qualifies.

Mr. Speaker, I will have some questions for the appropriate Minister during question period. I think that in most cases we should recognize individuals and their spouse as one. So at the appropriate time I will have questions for the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A recent news release on the topic of the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline regulatory process requires this government to give certainty to the influence it has over the environmental assessment for the pipeline. Mr. Speaker, a speculative time frame and a series of deadlines raises enormous concerns for the investment and the exploration sector that my riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes so much relies on. Of great importance is the concern that a spokesman for Imperial Oil says delays in the regulatory process could derail the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. The report also says that Imperial Oil is looking at renewed prospects of Alaskan gas coming to market.

Mr. Speaker, I have often spoken about our level of industrial investment in the Northwest Territories, and now I feel it's time to step into the influential role that we must play to support a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Failing this, exploration for oil and gas could conceivably falter as it did in the mid-80s to the early 2000s.

Inuvik Twin Lakes has always been on record to support the oil and gas sector, so let's put this on the priority list of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as our constituents are well aware, this House is going through the review, debate and approval of the government's budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2004-05, and I would just like to let my constituents know what rules and standards I am following in providing my comments and deciding on my votes where they occur in this House with regard to the budget.

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I believe it's important that we value every taxpayer dollar and that we are intimately aware of the high cost of living in the North and, yes, including in the city of Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, our residents are overburdened with the high cost of housing, taxes, fuel, power and water. It is our job to make sure that we do everything we can in our power to tighten our belts in house and keep the government spending on a tight rein, before we make any decision to raise taxes that would increase the cost of living and cost of doing business in the North.

Mr. Speaker, towards that goal, I have been asking for a breakdown on all categories under expenses in the government budget for every division and department. This is because I believe it's important that I get in-depth and accurate figures on what our expenditures are before I can make constructive suggestions as to where we might tighten our belt.

The second area, Mr. Speaker, that I would let my constituents know as to how I make my decisions is that there are essential spending decisions that we must make, and that's in the areas of education and health and other important areas of spending. My role is to make sure that we save where we can; that we make sure that we have enough money to provide programs and services that we need to provide; and, thirdly, when all else fails and if the government proves to me that we have no way to go but to raise taxes, that's the only time when I would agree with the plan of increasing taxes.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to let my constituents know what it is I'm spending my time doing here and what rules I'm following. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Just to remind Members if there is anything which is presently under review in Committee of the Whole, such as taxes, these are issues which are before the House and should not be brought up through your Member's statement. I've just touched on it, but I will give you some leeway.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the NWT travel budget. Mr. Speaker, to the untrained eye, the travel budget for the Government of the Northwest Territories is quite scary. My concern is, as I see it, that there truly is no official policy or accountability with numbers being nailed down. All of these numbers are dug out from historical numbers and given to us as prospective numbers for the future. The budget for 2002-2003 actuals totalled $22.5 million. That seems so large. It could almost be a department on its own.

Mr. Speaker, I observe that this travel budget truly is difficult for even a guy like myself to nail down and truly get a good grip when they say we have 25 percent reduction across the board. The way it's designed, Mr. Speaker, seems that if there is money left over, that could potentially be travel money. I think that causes concern to all Members here.

Later today, Mr. Speaker, I will be directing my questions to the appropriate minister and asking if they will be willing to bring the total global travel budget under the control of their ministry. Mr. Speaker, I would like to see that Minister take control, lead by example, grab the travel budget, organize it under that department, define clear policies, and demonstrate clear accountability of management on this valuable resource of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause