Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last question on the lighting situation, I can understand the need to have cameras and lights around the building in case someone wants to trespass or break into our offices or something. I can see that. But why do they need to have the roof lit up? What is the security situation there? Are we afraid of someone intruding from above?

Thank you. Mr. Speaker.

If someone wants to get into the building, they can get in from the outside and that includes the roof. If someone wanted to make their way into the building, they can find their way from the exterior of the building which also includes the roof. I think this is part of the security system we do have and this is something that was acceptable to the 14th Assembly and they felt they had to implement this as part of the security measures. As you know we do spend a lot of money on security and I think it's one more means of enhancing the security of the building. We can't spend more money in the area of getting more bodies out there, but if there are ways that we can use cameras and other ways of lighting so that it makes it so much more by the people we do have in our security operation are able to track what is going on outside the building, but also being able to carry out their responsibility in the building. So it is part of the overall security system by enhancing the lighting outside the building, so that our cameras can pick up what's going on outside.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I just remind the committee that we are dealing with the 2004-05 budget, so can we stick to the relevant items on the budget?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I accept your advice. I would like to know whether or not there is any increase in utility bills from last year's budget to this year's budget. Not utility, but power bills, whatever it costs to light the building. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe there is a cost associated with having that extra lighting, but I think I will have to get back to the Member with that information. I don't think we have it right now to get down to that type of detail. We will have to get that information for the Member and I will present it to her when we do have it on hand.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mrs. Groenewegen.

I have a few general comments with respect to the budget of the Legislative Assembly. On the issue of the lighting that Ms. Lee referred to, I think it's already a foregone conclusion that we spent a lot of money on this building. I had my reservation about it when the money was first expended and when we were first making plans for a building of this nature. But I do think the lighting does enhance the very high priced architecture of this building. It was supposed to look like an igloo. With the lighting, it does look really nice. If we were going to spend all that money on a building that looked like this, we might as well highlight it.

One issue that I want to bring up was, when we talk about capital improvements around this building, as I said, it's a very nice building. I have visited a lot of legislatures in my work as committee chair and I have toured a lot of other Legislative Assemblies in Canada. Certainly, we have a very nice facility here. One thing that is very sadly lacking here is parking. I wanted to comment on an incident which happened here the day that our Finance Minister invited many people to a reception to celebrate the presentation of his first budget. Literally, by the time you put all the people who work in this building, those of us who have offices here, put them in the parking lot, there are no other parking spaces available. So we invite all these people here, we should put on the bottom of all our invitations, take a cab, because there is no place to park. Whilst we were in here, hearing the news of our Finance Minister's budget, security was having vehicles towed away out front. I know that was an intervention that they took which is their job and I'm not criticizing them for that, but I just think it's sad to have a $25 million or $30 million building and no place to park. We've got the Great Hall so people can hold functions here, but if we're here -- those of us who work in this building are here -- there is no place to park whatsoever. I think we seriously need to look at that.

We have put quite an effort into preserving the natural vegetation around this building, which is admirable, but if we don't have a place to park, it kind of diminishes the usefulness of the building, as far as I'm concerned. So I think parking is something I would like to have looked at. I know there have been lots of little upgrades of extra parking stalls here and there for contractors and different things like that, but even if we take a chunk of that circular area out there and turn it into parking I think we need to consider that.

One other thing that I would like to comment on is -- and maybe this is something that needs to be done internally or by some kind of payroll deduction or something -- when our most recently departed Speaker, Mr. Whitford, left the Assembly we have no policy or procedure on recognizing those people. Now upstairs in our hallway there, going down to the Ministers' corridor, there are portraits of former Speakers. I just find that it's left to happenstance of chance whether or not people holding some of these positions get thanked or recognized in any way. I understand when our Clerk departed it was an initiative of the staff to thank and recognize him, but then when one of us amongst us has served in a capacity like that and can depart here with not even a tea party or anything costly or otherwise...The reason why I make a point of this is I think we need a policy on this. If it's a Members' payroll deduction or something like that, that's fine. But we need to be a little bit more conscious of some of those kinds of protocols. I still think something should be done for the former Speaker and I certainly will be willing to participate in that if we can find the right time and date to do that.

One of the things I was curious about, too, is that in the 13th Assembly when we all first arrived here we passed a motion in the House with respect to any Members' or Ministers' indemnities allowances including entertainment that would include the cost of alcohol. We had passed a motion in the 13th Assembly that would not allow government functions at government expense to include the purchase of alcohol. I don't know if that policy, now two assemblies later, is still in place or not. It's one that I supported. I mean, if we have an event and we want to have a cash bar, no problem, but I am just only concerned specifically with taxpayers' money being used to entertain people, entertain ourselves when it comes to the use of alcohol. I think it was for a reason that we made that motion because it made a statement and I think we're all capable of picking up that tab.

I guess that's about all I wanted to comment on. Specifically I'd like to know if there are any plans in the works for additional parking around this building. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in regard to the different points raised by the Member, it is true that we do have a major parking problem, but I think it's because of the lack of parking and we also have to live up to city bylaws with respect to the fire code not being violated by way of parking on the road where vehicles cannot pass. I think that's one of the biggest reasons that vehicles have been towed. I believe we do have to do something with the parking at the Legislative Assembly and one of the ways we're looking into that is through the new cultural enhancement program through the Legislative Assembly, where I mentioned that over the next 10 years we're looking at $1 million. One of those initiatives will also look at the exterior of the building, including parking as one of those areas. Because the report has been adopted by the 15th Assembly Board of Management, now we have something to work with. I think it's something that we should deal with sooner rather than later and bring something back to this House to find a way to improve the parking at this Legislative Assembly.

Hopefully, through the review of that document and the Board of Management, that's one area we can look at. In the budget for this year there are no dollars for that, but I think that's something we can look at as a possible supplementary budget item because it is dealing with fire code violations. I think we do have to find a way to get around that because we have had a lot of vehicles towed because the bylaw officers are enforcing fire code violations to ensure the fire trucks are able to get through. I think that's one of the biggest reasons vehicles have been towed. I think it's important that we look at that.

...(inaudible)...go outside of the Chamber and talk.

----Applause

So in regard to the parking thing, I think it's something that has to be looked at and I think we should bring something back by way of the supplementary budget. The Board of Management should seriously look at this matter because it has caused a lot of people who come to the Legislative Assembly for various events and activities and find out their vehicles are getting towed. It doesn't say much for attracting people to the Legislative Assembly and making use of the Assembly. I think that's something we do have to look at and I think that's something that will be recommended to the Board of Management to look at the cultural enhancement program, which is part of that study.

With regard to the other issue that was raised by the Member about recognition of service of Members of this Legislative Assembly, not only the Speaker or Premier or other officials. I think in other jurisdictions across Canada they do have service awards for Members of the Legislative Assembly with respect to 15-year service awards, et cetera. The Government of the Northwest Territories does have service awards which they give to long-term employees and I think that's something that we have to look at as the Legislative Assembly for people that have served their time in the Legislative Assembly by way of being a Member, a Minister, a Speaker. I think that's something that we should consider accepting, because that is accepted in other departments within the government for the long-term service awards. I think that's something that we have to consider by way of recognition of a Member's years of service. Like we all know, you do put a lot of time into years of service, and at the end of the day you had to give up a lot to provide that service. I think we should, as a legislature, look at implementing such an activity by way of recognition of years of service for Members of the Legislative Assembly and Ministers and Premiers.

With respect to the other issue about the alcohol policy, this legislature does abide by that policy and it is still in place. The policy stands as a policy of the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I also wanted to just comment on a couple of the programs that take place here related to youth. I just wanted to speak in favour of the Youth Parliament that is held. I think it is an extremely valuable program, as is the paging program. I would like to see that continue. We have many young people come back and report on just how exciting they find being in this building and working in this building and how informative and how it gets them interested in politics. After having been here they do follow along more often with what goes on here and so on. There was a Youth Parliament where a young man from Hay River came here and served and ultimately went on to be Page in the Canadian Senate. We saw him when we were down there from the Northwest Territories. His interest in that job was as a result of work that he had done here in the legislature. I think it's a very valuable program. I think it's something that we should continue, if not perhaps consider enhancing. The more people we can get involved in our process here the more valuable this is as a public government that people can feel they can participate in some way. I think that's all I'm going to have to say for now. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to thank the Member for that. I think it's important that we as a legislature and the Legislative Assembly do more to not only promote the Legislative Assembly, but find ways of enhancing the political structure of the legislature and the Government of the Northwest Territories through other means. Youth Parliament is one means, but we also have to look at curriculum development so it can be presented in the schools. Also ensuring that we do have some sort of documentation that a lot of people haven't been able to have an opportunity to see what goes on in this legislature, but also understand the makeup of the consensus government. The young man that you mentioned from Hay River, his last name is Unka. He started in this legislature as a Page, he attended the Youth Parliament and now he's a Page in the Senate of Canada attending University of Ottawa studying political science. I think that's the type of effort we have to find ways of promoting, not only to our youth, but also people in the Northwest Territories, that you can achieve your goals. It doesn't mean you have to be a politician at the end of the day, but there is a career that is out there with regard to the area of political science and the political field. One of the things I can consider is working with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to start promoting these things in the schools so that students can take a course that looks at the social and cultural makeup of the Northwest Territories, as well as the political makeup of the Northwest Territories and how the Legislative Assembly works. That's something that I think we have to look at and I'd like to thank the Member for the question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Just a further comment in support of what the honourable Member for Range Lake was talking about with regard to the cultural enhancements strategy. I feel the same way, that our workforce should reflect the people that we work for. We do have a thing called a management access program. Perhaps I'll suggest to the Speaker that we should have something like a Legislative Assembly work program where we can bring in employees from the government to see what the workplace is like over here. I can appreciate the difficulties in recruiting in the general workforce, per se. Just a suggestion to the Speaker. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think it's important that we do improve the enhancement of the building, but I think we have to start promoting the policies that this government carries by way of the affirmative action policy and other policies in government. I think we look at the numbers in the different government departments and I think we're not immune to it. I think as the Legislative Assembly we do have to do more to attract people to the Legislative Assembly, but also take into account that we have to reflect the people that we do serve. I think it's important that's something that we build on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Menicoche. Thank you. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to comment and ask a question about the policy of the Board of Management, which of course the Speaker is reporting on behalf of, and it concerns something that I've had some feedback on from constituents. It's about the housing allowance policy that is in place to provide those MLAs who don't live in Yellowknife adequate resources to set up in effect what amounts to a second household for them. Understandably there are costs incurred for them and the Assembly quite rightly has a responsibility to provide that. The cost of rental housing in this city has been a frequent topic of mine and others. In relation to the policy that we have here though, some of the feedback that I've been getting is that the policy seems to be overly generous and that the ability of an MLA, even the ability of an MLA to simply say it's costing more and get more from their employer, there's a sense of imbalance. It's too easy a road, if you will, to simply say it's costing more and they get more of an allowance.

I think at least some of this kind of opinion, Mr. Chairman, is based on a lack of information or maybe some perceptions about the policy. So I wanted to ask for the public record here if we could get an explanation of how those Yellowknife living allowances are set. How often are they reviewed? What kind of scrutiny goes into making this decision? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Speaker.