Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Hamlet of Holman for a simple request to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, to change the name of Holman to Ulukhatok, which, I understand, means a large bluff where we used to collect raw material to make willows.

Mr. Speaker, the Hamlet of Holman, and the Holman Dictionary Project, have done considerable work in identifying locations near and around Holman. Many ancestral and historic locations have already been identified and given names in Innuinaqtun by the residents of Holman.

One individual that should be recognized is Ms. Emily Kudlak, language coordinator for the Holman Dictionary Project, but, most importantly, Mr. Speaker, the elders and the Hamlet Council of Holman. I applaud the efforts of the elders, the Hamlet and the Holman Dictionary Project in taking on such a huge task in identifying these historic sites, and providing Innuinaqtun names.

Mr. Speaker, I don't know if the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has a process in place to make a simple request for a name change, or whether there is a cost associated for such a request, or whether the Hamlet of Holman needs to provide more background information to the department.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I support the request from the Hamlet of Holman in their request to change their name to Ulukhatok. By changing their name to Ulukhatok, it will give the people of Holman their identity, dignity, and culture they are asking for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today to speak on the continuing problems of Samuel Hearne Secondary School. I have spoken to the situation before. I have spoken to it from the community and the students' perspective, but, today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to it from the contractors' perspective.

I received many calls from contractors, wanting to know why there was not a public or an invitational process for the work on the piles in the school, even though it was stated publicly that this would be the process followed. The contractors were upset that this wasn't followed.

Mr. Speaker, with this being an emergency, and a lot of local contractors qualified to do this type of work, they could have all been under there. They could all have been given a block to do, and they could get it done quicker, and the students would be back in the school. They would be able to finish out their year, hopefully with no more disruptions.

Mr. Speaker, Public Works has lost a tremendous amount of credibility with their handling of the situation with the school, and the way they administered the contracts. We should do what we can to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

Mr. Speaker, even one of the premier pile repair specialists in Inuvik wasn't given the opportunity to bid on the work, and yet he has a tremendous amount of experience. We should not allow this oversight to happen. We should hold those people responsible and accountable for this. I will have questions for the Minister of Public Works and Services later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment talked about the Student Financial Assistance program, and some of the very welcomed changes that are being made to it. I want to congratulate the Minister, and the department, for the changes that he described to us. I know, on behalf of a couple of my constituents, these have been areas of concern. It is really gratifying to see that the attention we put on it has been listened to, and accommodated.

Mr. Speaker, there is always something else that can be tuned up. I want to bring to the attention of the Assembly a matter that is out there. It is in regard to the provision of student financial assistance to adults who are taking courses at the Native Women's Association programs here in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker.

The contrast that I would draw here is that those adult students, who take adult basic education at the Native Women's Association, do not qualify for student financial assistance. However, if they go a few blocks down the street and take the same course at Aurora College, they can get the Student Financial Assistance program. There is a gap here, Mr. Speaker, that I think I would like to draw attention to. Over the last five years, 175 students have gone through the Native Women's Association. It is a very specific and a needed kind of service for adults who, many of them, are in difficult situations. We are reminded, Mr. Speaker, that education is a productive choice for those people who are on income support. I am sure the Minister is going to be able to give me some good answers, as he has responsibility for both income support and student financial assistance. Thank you very much.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Member's statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Third World conditions, overcrowding, no running water, no disability access, leaking roofs, indoor household mould -- these are some of the things people are describing within our housing conditions currently in the Nahendeh and other communities across the North.

It is unfortunate that the housing concerns in Nahendeh, and other small and remote communities, have developed into a deteriorated situation. Enormous immediate investment is required to maintain even basic standards, Mr. Speaker. Most small and remote communities are far below the national housing standards. I ask why, Mr. Speaker.

Why is this government 1,400 homes short? If we calculate four people per home, we are talking about 5,000 people who need homes and who are on waiting lists.

Mr. Speaker, the housing conditions, and the costs in the territory, are at a crisis situation. This crisis situation must be dealt with. This government must start acting tough, and not just talking tough on badly needed housing.

Housing costs in the small, remote communities are out of control, putting more and more pressures on housing assistance, and governments must respond.

During the summer, I had the honour to visit some of my constituents within the Nahendeh, and the conditions that some families are living in can even break the coldest hearts. We are not just talking about the quantity of homes either, but also healthy conditions of existing homes; for example, indoor household mould effects. These rundown conditions affect the development of children and produce fatigue in adults. If we had families in Yellowknife living in dilapidated homes, there would be such a community uproar. "How can this happen in our capital city?" would be the cry. Yet, in the regions, in my region, many families do live in these conditions all year round, Mr. Speaker. It is appalling to have substandard housing conditions in our communities in this year of 2005.

Another issue is the waiting list and overly crowded housing conditions. Studies have shown overcrowded housing conditions affect all sorts of progressive development, from education to healthy living. 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. Menicoche.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my honourable colleagues, as well. Another big issue, expressed time and time again, with no real progress, is the lack of flexibility in the home loan guarantee policies. Many feel, as well, that regional office approach is unresponsive and gives bureaucratic answers and responses.

Lastly, I have been requesting a housing forum for the Nahendeh for a while. Time and again, there always seems to be reasons for the delay. This forum would be an excellent opportunity for the regions to discuss concerns, and possible solutions. Like our Housing Corporation annual report, Mr. Speaker, the answers have to come from the ground up. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this session, I have been asking many questions surrounding how the government conducts business. First, it was how the Housing Corporation went to public tender for two housing units in the community of Behchoko, and how they had a respondent fitter, which so happened to be my constituent, but the Housing Corporation cancelled this legal public tender, only to enter into negotiations at a higher price with the only company left.

Next, I questioned, at length, the Minister of Public Works and Services, over how his department sole sourced a contract for office space in Fort Simpson, contrary to their own policy. When I asked about responsibility, it was very unclear who ultimately takes responsibility because, according to the Minister, Cabinet can delegate authority on sole sourcing. With this, it makes it so convenient, and easy, for Cabinet to wiggle off the hook and blame the bureaucrats.

This is just completely unacceptable to me, Mr. Speaker. I still do not know who made the decision to sole source the office space in Fort Simpson. Was it the Cabinet? Was it the Minister? Was it the Premier, or other regional authorities? Sole source and negotiated contracts make up $60 million that this government spends each year. This is $60 million that does not see any competitive process. The recently released audit on the contracts with the firm Keyscarp, with the former departments of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources and RWED, demonstrate to me, Mr. Speaker, that we have some problems.

The departments collectively spent over half a million dollars on contracts with Keyscarp that, Mr. Speaker, clearly did not always meet the government contract regulations or the FAM directive. When the audit was done, the department had very limited documentation to prove value for money.

Poor contract administration was clearly evident in the administration of these sole-source contracts. Even if sole sourcing was required because of the fact that no one else was capable of performing the contract the first year, the ongoing nature of work definitely contradicts this view. There was no evidence to justify sole sourcing of contracts for seven consecutive years. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given all of the issues, as of late, with negotiated contracts and sole sourcing, is it not time that we had a good, long and hard look at how we spend our money? We are the stewards of public funds, and we can't forget this fact.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the government today to examine government spending practices when dealing with sole-source and negotiated contracts. There seems, to me, to be a very grey area there of responsibility between Ministers of the government and the bureaucracy. I remain very skeptical that this type of activity is not happening in other departments. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the government at the appropriate time. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I should thank Mr. Menicoche for reading probably the best part of my speech. He seemed to have scooped me today. Mr. Speaker, when we were on the road doing pre-budget consultations, one of the issues was the housing conditions, and how the disabled and our elders are treated under those conditions.

Many of the residents across our NWT are on fixed incomes. I am referring to the seniors and disabled people, Mr. Speaker, so they have very limited resources to spend on their homes. We heard, especially in many communities, that there was no one there to help fix those homes, let alone even if they did have the money.

Mr. Speaker, regional centres like Yellowknife realize that a lot of these seniors have fixed incomes so they can't even afford to fix these homes. So what is this government doing? We heard a lot about the communities that the only people out there that can help them are the local housing authorities' maintainers, who have to help them on their off hours because their priority is the social housing units. So good on them. They truly are the local heroes in those communities. Many of these housing maintainers do this on their off hours. I don't know if this government ever takes a moment to pause and say they are truly putting their responsibility of taking care of those folks on their backs, which it should be on the government's, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, taking care of our seniors and disabled people needs to be more than just lip service. It needs to be a principle carved into the walls of this Assembly. We need to take care of seniors and the disabled, period. That needs to be a mandate. I know Aurora College runs a housing maintainer program out there, so why are we using our local authorities to work with these housing maintainers in their training? Why are we doing things like creating a little training trailer unit to go out there and have our maintainers work, get skills, education, and help our seniors and disabled communities by helping those seniors who have leaky windows, doors that don't swing, and things like that?

Mr. Speaker, I know we can do this under the NWT Housing Corporation, but I think it has to be led by the Education Minister to start thinking outside of the box. The bottom line is, we could be doing two wonderful things and have it accomplished. As I say, skills being taught to our people at the local level and taking care of those people who need it most. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to wish Peter Kay, Sr. a happy 90th birthday.

---Applause

I would like to send my delayed birthday greetings to Peter on his 90th. Peter is a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and also, I believe, a great-great-grandfather. Peter has lived a traditional way of life in Fort McPherson and the Mackenzie Delta area all of his life, and he has

raised a very large family. Today, Peter Kay has been a role model to all of the people in the Mackenzie Delta, the Beaufort Sea, and also in the Yukon.

Peter has made the lives better for the people in our communities just by his presence, but, more importantly, by sharing his wisdom, his culture, and also his traditional way of life. Peter is renowned that he does have a very active lifestyle by his dancing, jigging, and you can always see Peter at all the major dances, and also functions, that happen in all the communities where he makes an effort to go to Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, Aklavik, Tsiigehtchic, and the other communities just to perform at these dances.

I think, with Peter's presence in our communities and being 90 years young, that he has definitely touched everyone in our communities. I would also like to wish the family of Peter Kay all the best and, knowing Peter, he will have many years to come. The family and the friends of Peter will be celebrating his birthday in Inuvik on Friday at the Ingamo Hall. At this time, I would like to wish Peter all the best, and also in many years to come.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to also take this time to wish giguu Margaret Vittrekwa, who is also celebrating a birthday today, a happy birthday, and wish her all the best for many years to come. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, time has happened upon us. I am sure many people have thought about but nobody ever expected it to come to a reality. It is the fact that there are two Miltenbergers in this Legislature this week. I would like to recognize my nephew, my brother's son and heir from Hay River. His parents and his grandfather in Hay River, and his aunts, uncles, and cousins, are very proud of him, as is his grandmother, aunt, and cousins in Fort Smith. I would like to welcome him to the Legislature.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize in the gallery, Lyndon Duong and his mother, Hung Li and my assistant, Cathy Olson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause