Good afternoon, Members, and welcome back to the Chamber for the continuation of the Fourth Session of the 15th Legislative Assembly and to the capital from your busy summer schedules in your constituencies. Hopefully you were each able to fit in a bit of quality time with your loved ones over the past few months.

On behalf of all Members here in the House, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest colleague, the Member for Monfwi, Mr. Jackson Lafferty.

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Also on behalf of all Members, I must also extend the Assembly's congratulations to the Tlicho people who this summer saw their dream become a reality with the election of their first ever Tlicho Government.

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I look forward, as the Tlicho people do, to a promising and prosperous future and to working cooperatively towards a better life for all northern people.

Before we get down to the business of the House, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of all Members to congratulate the Honourable Margaret Thom on her appointment as Deputy Commissioner for the Northwest Territories.

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Ms. Thom has had a distinguished history of service to the public and volunteerism and I know that she will serve our people well as Deputy Commissioner.

Colleagues, I would also like to acknowledge our Pages who will be serving us in the House this week. They are from Yellowknife, Lutselk'e and Whati.

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Finally, Members, before we begin, I know some of you have experienced the loss of constituents and family and friends over the past few months and I would like to pass on the condolences of the House to the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones.

Thank you, Members. Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the presence of a former Member of the House, Mr. Leon Lafferty.

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Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and all Members back to this Assembly after a busy and productive summer. I would also like to welcome Mr. Jackson Lafferty to this Legislative Assembly and wish him the very best as he represents the newly named constituency of Monfwi.

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Many Members of this Legislative Assembly spent the summer in our communities meeting with local councils, organizations and residents or attending summer assemblies and meetings. Of course, the highlight of the summer was the ceremony held in Behchoko on August 4th establishing the Tlicho Government and the community governments of the four Tlicho communities: Wekweeti, Gameti, Whati and Behchoko.

Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho agreement sets the benchmark for aboriginal rights agreements in the North and will fundamentally realign our relationship with the Tlicho people. The new intergovernmental relationship that is evolving with aboriginal governments means we must consider how government and this Legislature are structured to manage this new relationship.

Another important assembly held this summer in the Northwest Territories was the 26th Annual General Assembly of the Assembly of First Nations. This assembly brought together over 1,000 chiefs and other delegates, elders and interested observers from public and non-profit sector organizations, as well as First Nations citizens and the general public from across Canada.

Putting on an assembly of this size is an incredible logistical challenge. Credit must go to the regional vice-chief of AFN, Bill Erasmus, and his team, as well as the Yellowknives Dene First Nations for all of their efforts in putting on a great assembly.

Mr. Speaker, this Legislative Assembly began its term by establishing a vision and set of goals, and the government developed its strategic plan on the basis of this vision shortly thereafter. The strategic plan continues to guide the work we do as a government so we can take advantage of the opportunities presented to us while responding to challenges that emerge.

The Members of this Legislative Assembly have accomplished a great deal during our first two years of

office. Later this session, Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling a progress report that details the progress we have made over the past two years on the specific goals contained in the strategic plan.

With just two more years remaining in the term of the 15th Legislative Assembly, it is important that we focus our limited time on the most critical issues facing the Northwest Territories. Today I want to speak to a number of those issues.

Mr. Speaker, one of the key goals of our strategic plan is to ensure well-governed, sustainable communities and regions able to fulfill their potential. This is also a consistent theme we have heard from the Members of this Legislative Assembly, at both Circle of Northern Leaders meetings, and from our communities and our residents as we traveled the territory over the past two years. To accomplish this we must provide communities with the tools and decision-making authority to address their most critical priorities. Top down decision-making no longer works in a territory as diverse and complex as the Northwest Territories.

In response to this, the Government of the Northwest Territories will propose during this session to establish a $35 million community capacity building fund that would provide communities with financial support to address their priorities. This funding flows from the $40 million provided by the federal government at the launch of the Northern Strategy framework. Of the remaining $5 million, $4 million will be used to address the serious housing needs in our communities and $1 million will be spent on youth and healthy living initiatives.

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The government recognizes that each community, no matter the size, requires a certain base level of funding to begin to address priorities in their communities. For that reason, we are proposing the community capacity building fund be allocated on a formula blending base funding needs and population pressures. This will ensure that all communities receive a meaningful level of funding to address community priorities.

Mr. Speaker, eligibility criteria are designed to create an incentive for all governments, whether public or aboriginal, within a community to collaborate in developing and subsequently endorsing a community plan that benefits the community at large.

The proposed community capacity building fund is a one-time-only allocation. Once the community has agreed on how the funds would be used, the money can be drawn down anytime over the next three years, beginning November 1, 2005.

Mr. Speaker, during the past few weeks we have been witness to the impacts on the North American and global economies as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Key oil producing and refining industries located on the southern coast of the United States were not immune to the devastation, and the disruptions to these industries have reached us here at home in the form of increased costs to fuel and, in turn, to other goods and services.

The steady increase in the price of oil and natural gas in the last few months has required all governments across the country to assess how these increased prices will impact on our communities, businesses, government institutions and most vulnerable citizens.

Fortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has a number of programs or measures in place that will help protect those in our communities who can least afford these increases. People in public housing will not see a change in their rent as a result of higher prices in home heating fuel, and the seniors' fuel subsidy provides an important subsidy that allows seniors to help offset these costs. The Territorial Power Subsidy Program is a program designed to provide equitable power rates throughout the Territories.

It is clear, however, that higher energy costs mean all goods and services will be more expensive. The NWT economy must be resilient enough to weather these global fluctuations in energy availability and price increases. To do this, we must have our own energy plan that will ensure our communities and residents are able to deal with increased costs this winter.

In the short term, the most effective way to deal with these increased costs is by simply reducing the amount of energy we use; simple conservation measures we can take at home and at work that can add up to considerable savings.

In the long term, this plan must set a course to develop our own sources of long-term, affordable and clean energy. By doing this, we achieve a greater level of self-sufficiency for our energy needs.

Mr. Speaker, during the current session we will be discussing with the Members of this House various initiatives related to energy consumption and conservation. We look forward to the debate on these initiatives and the input from all Members.

Mr. Speaker, there can be little doubt that the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be felt for many years to come. Not only is there the human element to this disaster but, as I stated earlier, it also points to the very real need for dependable and secure sources of energy to power our lives and economies.

While foreign sources are increasingly unreliable and conventional basins are depleting, energy consumption in North America continues to rise significantly. It is now certain that diversified continental supplies, particularly arctic hydrocarbons, will be critical to a long-term continental energy solution. This is yet another reason we must push ahead with the Mackenzie gas project so we can begin to see natural gas flowing from the Northwest Territories as early as 2010.

Today I want to bring this House up to date on the progress we have made over the summer to move the Mackenzie gas project forward and the work we need to do to resolve the challenges that remain.

Mr. Speaker, in my sessional statement last May, I made note of the important work undertaken by the Members of this Legislative Assembly in partnership with representatives of the business coalition and aboriginal governments during NWT Day in Ottawa last spring. Our purpose was to convince the federal government to work in partnership with the Northwest Territories to provide interim funding to deal with the serious challenges our

communities and residents face as they prepare for and deal with the development of this important project.

This work has started to pay impressive dividends. The most significant development over the past several months was the announcement by the Government of Canada this past July to establish a $500 million fund to help address the socioeconomic impacts from this project for all residents along the pipeline route.

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To put the magnitude of this fund into perspective, more money will flow to some regions as a result of this agreement than was received by land claimant organizations in their comprehensive land claim agreements.

Mr. Speaker, this funding will be disbursed over the next 10 years in the regions directly affected by the project. We expect the federal government to proceed with legislation to establish this fund during the current sitting of the Parliament this fall so this funding can begin to flow shortly.

This fund will provide critically needed funding in the interim of a resource revenue sharing agreement to allow each impacted region to prepare for and mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of pipeline development in areas such as training, social support programs, treatment programs and counselling.

We are very pleased that the federal government has responded to this request from northern leaders in such a comprehensive and constructive manner. Credit for this response must go to Prime Minister Martin and Deputy Prime Minister McLellan, along with our Member of Parliament, Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

Mr. Speaker, while this commitment by the Government of Canada was an important step in resolving a number of obstacles facing the project, much remains to be done before this project moves into the regulatory phase. We have now reached a critical decision point for this project with a number of important agreements required over the next four or five weeks.

Last month, the Mackenzie Valley Producers Group wrote to the National Energy Board and Joint Review Panel describing the progress made over past months. The producers group also outlined the challenges that remained to be resolved prior to beginning formal hearings for the proposed natural gas pipeline. In particular, they noted the need to make further progress on two issues: access and benefit agreements with aboriginal organizations and an agreement with governments on the fiscal framework for the project.

Our collective goal must now be to address these issues in a manner that meets the interests of all parties to allow the project to go forward to public hearings in early 2006. We remain confident that the basis is there to resolve the outstanding issues if all parties come to the table with realistic expectations.

Mr. Speaker, at this critical point in time, it is important we step back and look at what this project can provide to the Northwest Territories.

I have already spoken about the $500 million in funding that will flow to communities along the pipeline route over the next 10 years should this project go ahead. As well:

• • This project will result in increased investment and job creation that will benefit the residents of the Northwest Territories and all of Canada. The numbers are impressive: $7.7 billion in total labour income and 157,000 person years of employment. This will create unprecedented employment and business opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories.
• • We are in discussions with the proponents and the federal government to convert workforce housing used in the construction of this project into critically needed housing in our communities.
• • As well, aboriginal communities will see a substantive return from the equity position they have in this project through the Aboriginal Pipeline Group; and,
• • Aboriginal groups will also realize benefits in the form of access fees and specific procurement, employment and contracting requirements.

Another important long-term benefit from the Mackenzie gas project is the opportunity it can provide to diversify our economy. This project and other large-scale development in the oil and gas industry can provide this opportunity if we take the necessary steps to ensure this development helps build our local and regional economies in healthy and sustainable ways. For example, we are talking to the proponents of this project about the potential for powering their compressor stations and hydropower from the Bear River.

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Mr. Speaker, if we do it right, this project can offer substantial benefits to all parties: to industry, to government, to aboriginal organizations and to the people of the Northwest Territories. This government is committed to working with the other parties to resolve the remaining issues so this project can move forward.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to speak about the long-term potential benefit that can flow to all governments in the Northwest Territories, both public and aboriginal, from the negotiation of a devolution and resource revenue sharing agreement. While the socioeconomic impact fund provides a short-term solution to dealing with the social impacts resulting from the Mackenzie gas pipeline, the long-term solution remains the negotiation of a fair agreement that returns a fair share of revenues to the North, funding that can be reinvested into critically needed programming.

Restructuring our fiscal relationship and funding arrangements with the federal government is pivotal to our ability to create a territory that can meet its own energy requirements, improve its infrastructure and create vibrant, sustainable economies in our communities. Adequate funding is essential for the territorial government to deliver programs and services. There are too many examples of where the current arrangement simply does not work for the Northwest Territories.

For these reasons, the government has worked hard this summer to ensure the federal government's Expert Panel on Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing and the Panel on Fiscal Imbalance established by the Council of the Federation fully understand our views on the fiscal issues facing the Northwest Territories.

Both panels will make recommendations that will significantly impact on decisions the federal government will make on the structure of equalization and territorial formula financing. We anticipate that both panels will make recommendations on the treatment of resource revenues for provinces and territories, recommendations that will profoundly impact on devolution negotiations. It is, therefore, critical that we continue to press our case for the fundamental reform that we believe is required for the financing of this territory.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken today about a number of the critical challenges we must address over the next several months, challenges critical to the long-term future of the Northwest Territories. I look forward to working with all Members of this Legislative Assembly and our other partners in meeting these challenges. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Minister's Statement 24-15(4) be moved into Committee of the Whole.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order and is not debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Minister's Statement 24-15(4) will be moved into Committee of the Whole for debate today. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

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(Translation) Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In the short time that I have been a Member of this Assembly -- it has been two or three months -- there have been significant activities happening in the community.

This summer, on June 13th, there was an election for the Tlicho chiefs. The chiefs that have been elected -- some of them are here -- are Chief Leon Lafferty from Behchoko/Rae, Chief Charlie Jim Nitsiza from Whati, Chief Henry Gon from Gameti and also Chief Charlie Football from Wekweeti/Snare Lake. These are the four chiefs that have been elected.

On August 4th, we had a big celebration in Rae-Edzo. Almost 3,000 people were in Rae-Edzo/Behchoko for the first sitting of the new government. On September 1, 2005, the first grand chief was elected. The new grand chief is George Mackenzie.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the Tlicho Government, Chief Monfwi was the first one that put the wording there, and we are still holding onto the words that he said at that time.

Mr. Speaker, there are 39,000 square miles of land in the control of the Tlicho agreement, when we signed the agreement. Many people have worked on this agreement. People like the negotiators, the chief, the elders, and many others have worked on this and that is what we celebrated. We know that many people have worked on this agreement; for example, Tlicho Grand Chief Joe Rabesca, and we are very grateful for him. Also the negotiating team: John B. Zoe, Eddie Erasmus, James Erasmus and Ted Blondin, and also many elders that are not present with us today. They have worked on this and this is now visible.

Mr. Speaker, when we look at this important date...Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for consent to conclude my statement.

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

(Translation) Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Recently we have just come to our new job, and sometimes when we have to make implementation of that land, we want to work really well with the territorial government and also with the federal government. Many elders have mentioned this in the past and this is true. When we look at it, when we talk about this and we talk about the long-term vision, we have to look at how we are going to work with each other, how we are going to work with people in the community, especially for people that are still negotiating their land claims and self-government.

When you look at the vision, as a Tlicho Government, we are working really well with the territorial government and also the federal government. We are hoping that things will go peacefully and later on I will ask questions and keep the House up to date.

On behalf of the Tlicho region of Monfwi, I just thought I would bring that up and I just wanted to say that in my statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. My apologies, I referred to you as Mr. Jackson instead of Mr. Lafferty.

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Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, I, too, welcome the new Member for Monfwi, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. Welcome.

Mr. Speaker, I am saddened to report that in the early summer, the community of Fort Simpson had two elders go missing and consequently lost their lives. Many residents, family and friends have expressed their enormous disappointment and frustration with the RCMP's weak search and rescue efforts.

Search and rescue should always involve the Canadian Rangers and other organizations with specific expertise in grid patterns, search abilities, mapping and local knowledge of the land. Their involvement would have been of great assistance.

The RCMP called off their search, Mr. Speaker. A search and rescue has to begin to be called off. It was left up to the local First Nations group to pick up the ball. The Liidlii Kue First Nation must be commended for their organization and dedication to the exhaustive search and rescue they coordinated and volunteered with.

All of the signs were that the men were lost and needed immediate assistance. When the RCMP arrived at the camp, they did not treat the site as evidence. They slept in the facility and disregarded evidence lying around, Mr. Speaker.

Another concern is that this is not an isolated incident in Nahendeh. A couple of years ago, the RCMP regarding concern about a missing woman raised criticism and complaints. Fortunately, the end result was positive and she was still alive when found some 24 hours later. Search and rescues must never be decided on monetary criteria; they must always be considered serious.

These elders have been valuable members of the community and will never be forgotten. The two men involved from the Nahendeh were well respected and very knowledgeable in the bush, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I just noticed the time. I'd like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. The residents of Fort Simpson have questioned the official slow response and limited resources during the first 48 hours of this search, which is the most critical time. The comprehensive coordination and initiation of resources and expertise within the community would have dramatically assisted with the efficiency and effectiveness of this operation.

What improvements are the RCMP making to their search and rescue approaches for the next time this happens? The community needs to know, Mr. Speaker, that something is being done and changes are being made about how search and rescue operations will be conducted, not only in the Nahendeh but throughout the NWT. I am also aware of an investigation that the RCMP is conducting regarding the concerns of the community, and we are anxiously awaiting the results of this investigation. As well, Mr. Speaker, appropriate questions will be forthcoming to the Minister of Justice. Mahsi.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome Mr. Lafferty to the Assembly and express the pleasure that I shared in joining the Tlicho people at their celebration this summer.

Mr. Speaker, just when we thought we were getting back to normal with critical things like the CBC getting back to work and NHL hockey getting back on the ice, we get clobbered in the pocketbook by energy prices that are back on the increase. A litre of gas in Inuvik earlier this summer, my colleague was just telling me, was $1.44; $1.19 here in Yellowknife; a litre of heating oil in Yellowknife just over a buck. Thankfully, it seems those prices are on the way down. But the signal we're getting, Mr. Speaker, is we better get used to these prices staying about 30 percent higher than they were a year ago.

For my household, that means that I'm going to be spending about an extra $700 to heat my house and I think about an extra $400 for my car expenses. That's $1,100 this winter in direct expenses. But what is the ripple effect going to be on all of us when we start to see the airlines kick in with higher ticket prices, power cost increases, and I think the one that's going to impact most northerners is the rental rates where landlords have to start covering their costs as well? It was $1.50 per litre in Colville Lake this summer for gasoline. Where is the relief?

Mr. Speaker, the average yearly temperature in Inuvik is minus 8.8 degrees; in Yellowknife it's minus 4.6; in Hay River, minus 2.9; in Edmonton it's a very balmy 3.9 on the plus side. That's a spread of between seven and 12 degrees every day of the year between here and that tropical paradise of Edmonton. And believe me, I know something about tropical paradises.

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So what can we do? To some extent we have control over our own lifestyle, how warm we keep our houses and how much we drive our cars. But it's the governments that have the greatest ability to make a difference in tax reductions and rebates, Mr. Speaker. The federal government has just announced it's ready to do this, and I applaud this, Mr. Speaker.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, colleagues and Mr. Speaker. You know, along with the much welcome rebates that the federal government is proposing, I must make the case further that northerners bear the brunt of the weather and the cold climate more than most Canadians. Remember that 12 degree difference between Edmonton and Inuvik. I call on the federal government to take a real, good, hard look, a dollar and cents look, Mr. Speaker, at the true cost of living north of 60. This is not an original idea, but I think it's one that we should bring forward, and we have a seven percent answer right now before us, that's the GST on fuels. Can we start there, Mr. Speaker? Thank you very much.

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Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to thank the Tlicho people for making a contribution to this Assembly through Mr. Lafferty here. The history of the North is filled with stories of contributions that the RCMP special constables have made to the administration of justice. In the early days, many RCMP would have died out on the land if it weren't for the knowledge and the skills of these special constables that would accompany them on their patrols. The constables were also invaluable in providing interpreting services and helping out the RCMP officers in terms of interacting with the local aboriginal people.

The new focus on only recruiting aboriginal people as regular members does not necessarily meet the needs of the North at the community level. It is a reality that some of these new aboriginal RCMP are reluctant to return to the North and work amongst their families and friends. I cannot blame them for this. Everyone has the right to pursue their chosen career in a manner that best suits them. However, people in the small communities still deserve to have the law delivered by the people who speak their language and understand the local cultures and customs and the family relationships. The role that used to be accomplished by the special constables is not being met by hiring full-time regular aboriginal RCMP officers. We need to bring back the Special Constable Program and adapt it to the new realities of the 21st century. Local people helping the RCMP at the community level would reduce friction in some of the communities and would be a valuable resource in tandem with an effective community justice committee.

George Washington said, "The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government." Sometimes I think this government has taken that to mean that we need to build a new courthouse in Yellowknife. I think it needs to be explained to the administration of justice at all levels. Special constables would be an important step in improving the administration of justice at the community level.