The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say how much I appreciate the committee that did travel to Hay River and hear from many of our NGOs, including the family support centre, and I know that those MLAs who heard that presentation with me know exactly what I'm talking about today.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, as a government we need to prove that we are committed to protecting the victims of family violence and to keeping faith with the support workers in this territory who are the ones who are on the front lines, who are working to break the cycle of violence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the second day in a row I rise to speak about the Samuel Hearne Secondary School. Today I want to talk about the students' perspective and some of the things that they are saying. A few students have said that they don't mind using the college for classrooms because it prepares them for life after high school. One student wonders why the pilings were not repaired over the two-month summer break. She thinks the school should be knocked down and replaced before it knocks itself down. One young lady in her final year is worried whether her younger brother and sister will have a safe and healthy learning environment.

Mr. Speaker, the high school years should be some of the best young people have growing up before they head out into the real world. We have let our students down because we're not keeping the school safe, because people responsible for safety were not doing their job. The same people are still working and making decisions today.

Mr. Speaker, this situation is ridiculous. With all the construction going on around these students, many of them should have their trades tickets by now. Mr. Speaker, I'll say again that this government has let our students down. They should be enjoying their youth in a normal school, not worrying about whether it's going to fall down around them. I want to see this government live up to its obligation to fix the situation as soon as possible and make sure this never happens again in Inuvik or any other NWT community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are certain times in one's life that a person looks forward to, such as the birth of a child, a wedding day, graduation, or the first day of retirement. Mr. Speaker, my statement today is about retirement and how some of my constituents, former GNWT employees, are being denied their quality of life and the enjoyment that retirement should bring.

The two cases I would like to highlight for my colleagues on the other side of the House today are eerily similar. Both persons submitted letters of intent to retire from the GNWT. One gives five months' notice, the other four months. Both of these individuals repeatedly -- and I have all the correspondence to back it up, Mr. Speaker -- on as many as 13 separate occasions contact was made with Corporate Human Resource Services in FMBS to try and pin down a date and a time that they could get together to

go over the paperwork to conclude their careers with the GNWT.

In instance number one, Mr. Speaker, my constituent waited, tried, and waited some more for a meeting. With the help of the UNW they finally got one, four days prior to their retirement. The FMBS office that met with them came to the meeting, Mr. Speaker, with all of the paperwork pre-dated and pre-signed. The reason for termination was deemed resignation and not retirement. This individual retired on August the 12th and was promised the first pension cheque on September 30th. September 30th comes and goes, no cheque, no word. The person had to take it upon themselves to call the superannuation office in Shediac, New Brunswick, to find out what exactly the disposition of their file was, because there was definitely no way they could get a straight answer out of corporate human resource services. To their surprise, New Brunswick let them know that FMBS had failed on two separate occasions to send in two required forms.

In the second case, my constituent did not sign the paperwork until one full week after the retirement date. The story here is about exactly the same as the first. The same forms missing, 13 requested meetings, New Brunswick not having the forms, no pension cheque, and a major, major blunder on severance having to require a grievance being laid.

I have been supportive of the centralization of the HR function in this government...

Mr. Ramsay, time for your Member's statement has expired.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been a supporter of the centralized HR function for this government, and I can appreciate the fact that there will be some growing pains. However, what the government has to understand and take note of is that these are people's lives that we're dealing with and both of these individuals have 30-plus years of service with the GNWT, and for them to be treated as unfairly as they have been is a disaster. I certainly will have some questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Problems of drugs, crime and violence are a concern to residents across this country. Residents of the NWT, sadly, are not immune to these problems. Earlier this summer I heard from a number of constituents in a neighbourhood about increasing drug dealing and problems related to this activity, particularly crack and cocaine in Yellowknife. We know that these reports extend also from our streets, our neighbourhoods and even, most disturbingly, Mr. Speaker, from our schools. More and more citizens though are saying that they will not put up with drugs on our streets and are taking action to make this a reality. Individual citizens, community organizations, the City of Yellowknife and the RCMP, can and are working together to put a serious counter-attack on drugs and violence.

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago I was pleased to have the opportunity, along with other Yellowknife MLAs, to meet with the new officer in charge of the Yellowknife RCMP detachment, Inspector Roch Fortin. I saw there a new level of commitment and a new vision for policing in this city. They are adopting some new approaches; they are more visible and active on the streets and in the community. How are they doing this? They're taking new approaches; for instance, to administration through greater cooperation between our own Justice employees and their own RCMP officers. We're seeing new and better technology in the form of updated computer systems that are also assisting the fight against crime, and the RCMP and GNWT Victim Services Program will be enhancing their combined services to help the individuals and families who fall victim to the actions of criminals.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Inspector Fortin and Yellowknife Mayor Gordon Van Tighem for establishing a Yellowknife area Police Advisory Committee and the steps they're taking to make Yellowknife a safer and healthier place to live. This committee is set up to assist the RCMP in recognizing community concerns and priorities. It's another avenue for the community to have input into policing services.

There's more, Mr. Speaker. Apartment and property owners are joining forces to make their facilities more peaceful and crime and violence-free, as evidenced by Midwest Property Management joining together with the police in a crime-free multi-housing project.

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

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, Mr. Speaker. Many community organizations are working together to deal with family violence and drug issues. The Crack Busters program has the Tree of Peace and Salvation Army behind it. We have the Citizens on Patrol. We have the Community Wellness Coalition. Mr. Speaker, the message here is that there are community solutions to community problems if citizens take action, like constituents calling the RCMP. There are frontline service organizations, and I would certainly say there are MLAs to help get action. The message is we do not have to and we will not put up with drugs and violence in our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, each and every year there are travellers encountering more and more problems with bison on Highway No. 3. Motorists are continually being warned to pay close attention against collision with these animals. The problem, Mr. Speaker, is it's getting worse. As winter is fast approaching, darkness falls a lot earlier. Bison on the highway jeopardize safety of motorists and cause serious injuries or carnage of these animals.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine wrote off his vehicle because he ran into a full-grown buffalo on Highway No. 3. There is little time to react because they are not easy to see in the dark. I'm certain, Mr. Speaker, that I speak for most of the motorists in the North, especially the ones who travel on Highway No. 3, that it is a matter of time until a serious accident or multi-fatalities occur. Every year these bison get closer and closer to Yellowknife and as that portion of Highway No. 3 is used for the most part by my constituents of the Tlicho region, I am very concerned about that issue.

I have heard a number of suggestions from my constituents; ideas that I think will help formulate a strategy for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in dealing with this bison hazard. Mr. Speaker, waiting for a serious accident to occur before we set legislation in place is not being proactive, it's being reactive. We must not wait any longer.

Mr. Speaker, it makes more sense to use one of the suggestions of using fluorescent tags on these bison so motorists can see them from a distance. Also using rubber bullets to encourage them to stay away from highways. Another suggestion I fully support is local members harvesting these bison during the winter season, Mr. Speaker. I will have some questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on this issue. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement is on the Norman Wells Aurora College. Recent statistics on employment rates by the highest level of schooling demonstrates the importance of education. The employment rate for people with university degrees is over 90 percent in the Northwest Territories for 2004. For people with other certificates or diplomas it was over 85 percent. These statistics drop to 80 percent for people with high school only to less than 50 percent for people with Grade 9 to Grade 11, and to less than 35 percent for people with less than Grade 9 education.

As the late former President John F. Kennedy said: "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource." There are lots of present and future job opportunities in Norman Wells that the local people can benefit and take advantage of; however, they need infrastructure for a proper facility to provide quality education.

In the Aurora College Annual Report 2003-2004, under the president's report there was mention of the evaluations of the programs offered by Aurora College to be very good. However, they did not mention about any type of evaluation of the facilities. Under the regional highlights in the 2003-2004 Aurora College Annual Report they talk about a beautiful facility being built in Inuvik. There is no mention of the old, falling apart, cramped ATCO trailer in Norman Wells. Community learning centres do not have to be fancy or state of the art, but they should be an inviting place that encourages students and people thinking about becoming students to spend some time there; enough space and equipment to allow people to concentrate on their studies and work. With the recent Minister's statements about the energy initiatives by this government, let's put those words into action. If you build it, they will come. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to respond to what appears to be a theme day on the part of the Cabinet on energy issues. Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I like some of the points raised by Cabinet, especially the fact that the Arctic Energy Alliance is going to receive the kind of respect and financial resources that I believe they have deserved for a long time. There was lots of warm and fuzzy stuff said in those statements, but if anybody was looking for a very specific financial break in regard to the rising fuel costs, I don't think anything was to be had there.

Mr. Speaker, especially deficient is for the help of the working poor, who make just enough money to not qualify for any income support or supplementary income programs, but not enough to easily absorb the increasing costs of heating and lighting our homes this winter. I believe, Mr. Speaker, there is room for the government to move in this regard and that is by giving incentives to working people to make their homes more energy efficient. The Government of PEI is doing something similar for those making less than $30,000 and I don't believe, Mr. Speaker, anybody would suggest that the cut-off in the Territories should be at $30,000. I believe most programs in the Housing Corporation cut-off are about $70,000, and I'd like to suggest to the government that there be some incentive programs done up for those making up to $100,000 of family income where a package of $300, $500 or $1,000 could be given for the measures that the homeowners will take in conserving energy, whether they are replacing a leaky fuel tank, water tank, or extra caulking on their windows or hiring an expert to see whether their homes are energy smart. I believe there is lots of technology there and we, being the human beings that we are, will probably do more if there's some kind of financial incentive, and it would be to the benefit of the government and everybody.

I believe in the long run the best policy is energy reduction, and I have already asked the Minister of Public Works and Services to provide us with an inventory of all government buildings and see what kind of energy consumption measures could be taken there. I look forward to getting a report from him.

I would like to finish this statement by really encouraging the government to come up with incentive programs that would deal with consumption reduction. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today our Premier and all our Ministers spoke about energy. I commend our government in recognizing and addressing this huge impact of rising energy costs. We have yet to hear exactly how government will be addressing the real needs of our people, Mr. Speaker, people like granny from Nahanni. She wants to know how her fixed income will combat unprecedented rising heating and gasoline prices. She wants to know why, Mr. Speaker, she has to pay 10 times the national average for her power bill.

We do not need programs like a Beverage Container Recovery Program to add to her cost of living. We do not need restrictive income support guidelines that prevent us from accessing much needed programs. What we need, Mr. Speaker, is the guts of this government to say that every man and woman and child will get $400 this winter.

---Applause

It doesn't have to be a cheque in the mail, Mr. Speaker. This can be achieved several ways. One, we can subsidize essential foods for smaller communities. We can review our elders' pension programs. We can review the income threshold limits, like the honourable Member for Range Lake said. We can offer lower power rates in diesel communities.

Residents in the NWT should never have to decide between food or heat. This government must continue with their proactive approach to this situation. We must continue the initiative of other jurisdictions and offer more and equal comprehensive assistance to all. Let us make our goal of reducing the cost of living mean something to our people and to ourselves, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, reports of special and standing committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize a person that I've known for some time, a staff member of the office of the Indian Residential School Solution Canada, Ms. Irene Fraser.

---Applause