Good afternoon, colleagues. Orders of the day, item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise that the Kyoto Protocol comes into effect internationally today.

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As Members are aware, the Kyoto Protocol falls under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It establishes targets for developed nations to start curbing their greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada's target is to reduce emissions to six percent below 1990 levels, starting in 2008. Currently there is no Kyoto target for the Northwest Territories or any other provincial or territorial jurisdiction. The Canadian target is for national emissions only.

Mr. Speaker, this government supports actions to reduce emissions and plan for climate change adaptation because we know, firsthand, that climate change is a concern to residents of the Northwest Territories. We are experiencing many of the changes described in the recent Arctic Council Impact Assessment on Climate Change, changes the Arctic council believes will accelerate as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere.

These changes are already impacting the people of the Northwest Territories. We are already seeing increased costs for constructing and maintaining infrastructure, roads and buildings because of changes in our permafrost regimes. We are also beginning to experience greater unpredictability in our weather here in Northern Canada.

In 2001, RWED led efforts to develop a NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy. Mr. Speaker, despite our limited resources, this government, the Arctic Energy Alliance and the Northwest Territories Power Corporation have undertaken many initiatives to improve energy efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories. Some key actions include:

• • promoting public awareness and understanding;
• • increasing energy efficiency in public facilities;
• • assisting communities in developing progressive energy plans; and
• • promoting renewable energy, including an expanded role for hydroelectricity in the NWT.

In addition, the department is currently reviewing the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy with climate change stakeholders in order to ensure adequate focus on climate change adaptation.

Mr. Speaker, I hope these actions will make us, as a government and as individuals, think and act more responsibly about our current levels of use of fossil fuels. As we continue to address the high cost of energy in the NWT, we will need to ensure that other sources of energy are seriously considered, such as hydroelectricity and renewable energy sources, and that we all do our part to use energy wisely.

The Government of Canada has issued a challenge to every Canadian to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne per year per person. I encourage all Members of the Legislative Assembly and every resident of the NWT to take the one-tonne challenge. Fewer emissions will help protect our climate and contribute to cleaner air and healthier communities for all of us. Seriously consider using less energy, reducing waste and conserving water in your daily life. Mr. Speaker, you'll be surprised at how quickly you can meet the one-tonne challenge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to share information with Members about the eighth annual Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference.

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This event is taking place over the next three days in my home community of Fort Providence, and I am happy to say that I will be travelling there this evening to greet the youth and to open the conference.

I am also pleased that Mr. Kevin Menicoche, Member for Nahendeh, and Mr. Robert Hawkins, Member for Yellowknife Centre, will be able to join me for the opening ceremonies, as well.

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Over the past number of years, the conference has continued to grow and to become more and more popular with the youth. This year, the youth will be hosted by the

students and staff at the Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School in Fort Providence.

It is exciting that all regions of the Northwest Territories will be represented at the conference. At this time, we understand that youth from Fort McPherson, Deline, Wha Ti, Detah, Ndilo, Jean Marie River, Wrigley, Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson, Hay River Reserve, Kakisa and, of course, Fort Providence will be attending.

The theme that they have chosen for the conference is Following Our Dreams. I think this theme is very appropriate, as it encourages youth to use their imagination, set goals and take action on their dreams to become stronger, more independent and successful northerners.

One of the practices that organizers have followed is to provide sessions to the youth, based on what they want. They have listened to what the youth say in previous evaluations, which is why the youth continue to want to come back. This year, the sessions will include: a hockey clinic, a sports camp, driver's education, break dancing, First Aid, workplace safety, woodworking, drama, art, cosmetology and disc jockeying.

By working with the school system, organizers have been able to ensure that youth can earn career and technology studies credits by taking some of these sessions.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that life in the North is changing rapidly. We also know that today's youth will be tomorrow's leaders. I believe that conferences such as the Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference are valuable learning events. They foster friendships and inspire youth to dream. They help to build the skills youth will need to be our future leaders.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is proud to have supported this conference. Through our Youth Contributions Program, we have provided $12,500 to support the school in Fort Providence to provide meals and other logistical support. An additional $7,400 has been given to various groups to support travel for youth delegates from several communities. As well, staff from Municipal and Community Affairs' Deh Cho regional office have been very involved in helping to make this event come together.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, it is important that we recognize the organizers, facilitators, chaperones and volunteers who have invested many hours in preparing for this gathering. Without their contribution, the youth would not be able to enjoy such a wonderful event as the Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker...(English not provided).

Mr. Speaker, the pipeline is very important to my region and I wish to speak about it today. Unfortunately, the federal government still isn't listening to the Deh Cho when they say they want a meaningful role in the pipeline's environmental assessment. So it is my hope that this time the GNWT is able and willing to create a socioeconomic agreement with some teeth.

I have always maintained that I fear that history will repeat itself. The pipeline from Norman Wells created the majority of short-term jobs in Fort Simpson. Economic boom was there, but for the prepared and the wise, Mr. Speaker. As well, this time around, the oil and gas companies still aren't giving us any indication that they would be even remotely interested in enhancing our infrastructure. Furthermore, our businesses do not see how there is going to be any advantages to them from this pipeline. My communities are overwhelmed by the amount of information associated with the pipeline that is just being thrown at them, Mr. Speaker. We don't have the lawyers or the staff to review and act upon all of this information. Then there are the environmental concerns. The Canadian Arctic Resource Committee released a report in January that said the pipeline could threaten nesting birds, the boreal forest, the muskeg, and the bear and caribou populations. The report also criticized industry for not providing enough information about all of these adverse effects, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the pipeline is not just threatening business and the environment; it is threatening, as well, a culture, a people and a way of life. We need a socioeconomic agreement that is going to mitigate the effects of the pipeline and guarantee substantial long-term benefits for the Deh Cho region. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has historically provided funding to third-party organizations such as municipalities and band councils to hire a person to pursue economic opportunities on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, some larger communities like Yellowknife, Fort Smith, and Inuvik have secured such an arrangement. The need for this type of support has particularly come to light at this time in view of the impacts and opportunities from resource development. Hay River is a major surface transportation hub in the Northwest Territories, located at the origin of the Mackenzie River barging system and at the end of the railway and major highways in Alberta. As such, things like the Mackenzie gas project are expected to have significant impacts on the town and its citizens. There would be greatly increased road, rail and barge traffic activity. The town wants to ensure that there are no adverse effects and that maximum economic benefits are realized. The town believes it is well positioned to compete in an open, fair and transparent basis for economic opportunities resulting from resource development. On behalf of its residents, the town also has an interest in ensuring the potential environmental socioeconomic and cultural impacts of development are properly addressed and monitored.

Hay River currently has one economic development officer working for RWED. This position also services the Hay River Reserve and Enterprise. The primary function of this position relates to acting as an agent for BBC and the Development Corporation in assisting clients with proposal development, contributions and debt financing for business start-ups. Another RWED employee in Hay River has been primarily assigned to be an oil and gas advisor for the entire Fort Smith region.

While we greatly appreciate this support to the economic endeavours in the community and the region, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Town of Hay River administration does not have the capacity to deal specifically with economic opportunities in numerous sectors.

Hay River has traditionally had a fairly diversified economy, and many sectors, I believe, could flourish with a locally-focussed economic development officer. This would allow existing and emerging economic opportunities to be capitalized on. We would envision this position being staffed and overseen by the local town council and funded through direct contributions similar to those in 15 other communities.

As a government, I believe we need to do what we can to ensure a viable, sustainable and supported economy in all regions and communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been seven years in the making, but today, as the Minister of RWED indicated in his opening statement, the world has the Kyoto Protocol at its doorstep. Mr. Speaker, this is a significant piece of work. I think we should reflect here in this Assembly that it is entirely consistent with one of the main fundamental goals and values that the Assembly has set for itself; not only this 15th Assembly, but the previous ones, Mr. Speaker, have all valued the environment very highly.

Depending on who you listen to, Canada is going to fare very well or very poorly because of Kyoto. It is amazing the diversity of opinion on what this is going to do. But, you know, we should look, Mr. Speaker, at at least one startling statistic out of the organization of economic cooperation in developing countries. There are 32 in that list. Canada ranks fourth highest in the production of greenhouse gases. That amounts to 16.7 tonnes per person, Mr. Speaker. There is no doubt that there is increasing climatic change and instability in the world today. There is no doubt in my mind that I and everyone here and around the...there are some 6.5 billion people in the world who are a major cause of it. Whatever actions are taken will not quickly turn the ship around. So it leaves us to see what we can do about it.

The Minister has already indicated two of the things that, here in the NWT, I believe are quite significant. One is our own internal efforts with the work of the Arctic Energy Alliance, which was created about six years ago to help coordinate and bring together the work of primary energy producers and users. The other one is the initiative, Mr. Speaker, to harness and put to work the vast hydro potential that the Northwest Territories has, not only for us, but for everyone in our neighbourhood. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use my Member's statement today to talk about one of the great industries in my riding of Kam Lake. That industry, Mr. Speaker, is dog mushing. I am very proud to say that the riding of Kam Lake is home to the largest population, and, arguably, the best population, of sled dogs in our territory. It is also home to a number of constituents who are dog mushers. Many of my constituents are known around the globe as world-class dog mushers. Just recently, Mr. Grant Beck and his team competed in the inaugural La Grande Odyssey in France. This race was a gruelling 1,000-mile race which began in France and took the mushers to Switzerland and Italy over some very mountainous and treacherous terrain. As if the elements weren't enough, Mr. Beck fell ill with 300 miles remaining. Through sheer determination and heart, Mr. Beck fought on and finished a very respectable third place in this race against a very strong field.

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I would like to congratulate Grant Beck on his fine finish and for being such a first-class ambassador for the Northwest Territories.

Another constituent of mine, Mr. Sam Perrino, is competing in the Yukon Quest which challenges mushers and dogs with 1,000 miles of trail through some of the most spectacular and dangerous geography in North America. The trail follows old mail routes, gold rush trails, and other Klondike air transportation routes. The race trail demands phenomenal endurance on the part of all the dogs and the mushers. Whiteout conditions, temperatures in the minus 50s, fierce winds and summits are some of the obstacles to success. At this very point in the race, Mr. Perrino is in fifth place and running an incredible race. The Yukon Quest is one of the premier events in the world for dog mushers. I would like to encourage all Members of this House and interested persons to follow Mr. Perrino and his team as they try their best to win the Yukon Quest. The web site is www.yukonquest.org. Good luck, Sam. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that Inuvik is still disappointed the government has not decided to put the Mackenzie Valley pipeline office in our town where the leaders of Inuvik believe it

should be. It is a decision I still hope the government will reconsider at some time.

Today, I would like to discuss moving the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment's minerals, oil and gas office out of Yellowknife and into Inuvik.

---Applause

I have every faith that my community would do a great job of managing that office for the people of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, at some point in time, this government is going to have to establish some of the responsibility for oil and gas and administration to where there actually is a pipeline. Inuvik is the hub of the gas and oil industry of the NWT. We have shown unprecedented initiative by hosting the Inuvik petroleum show which attracts people from across North America. We have an on-land gas production field. We have the pipeline and gathering systems near Inuvik. We have the office space, and we have the staff accommodation. Finally, if the pipeline construction goes ahead, we will have a 1,300-person camp within 20 kilometres of Inuvik. All we do need, Mr. Speaker, is for the government to recognize the reality of where all the gas and natural anchor fields are going to be.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important matter to my community. I'd like to encourage the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment to continue his discussions with the mayor of Inuvik on the transfer of minerals, oils and gas office. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well said, Mr. McLeod. My Member's statement today is with regard to the Beaufort-Delta Regional Council office in Inuvik. I won't speak on their resolution today, but I would like to bring to the attention of the responsible Minister the importance of funding the Beaufort-Delta Regional Council office in Inuvik.

Mr. Speaker, discussions have been held with regard to the office of BDRC and whether a decision should be made to fund a full-time coordinator. The information I've received and read to date is the requirement, as identified by the BDRC, for a full-time coordinator. They see this position as essential, Mr. Speaker, in order for the BDRC office to operate. This government needs to fund the coordinator position as a full-time employee.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my opening statement, there are a number of resolutions that came out of the BRDC meeting in November 2004. As the Member for Nunakput, I'll be raising these issues with the different Ministers during this sitting to make sure they pursue the implementation of the resolution. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to speak in support of the creation of a full-day, every-day-during-the-week drop-in clinic in Yellowknife staffed by nurse practitioners, doctors and other health care professionals, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that a local doctor in Yellowknife had already started this last year or a couple of years back at the Centre for Northern Families with great success. I believe it is time for the government to support expanding this.

Mr. Speaker, just last week I received a call from a constituent with young children with special medical needs who had to wait for three hours at the emergency unit when she missed her doctor's appointment by three minutes. The same mother also had to deal with her daughter who developed white spots in her mouth. She couldn't get an appointment for a whole week and when she called Telehealth, she got really good information about a medication that she could use. Excited, she went over to the drugstore and then found out she needed a prescription to get this medication, a very simple one, which sent her back to the doctor's office or have her line up at the emergency for another three years. Three hours.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, certainly I believe that there is a better way to look after the needs of mothers and their children that lessens the demand on the doctors we have and lessen the line-up at the doctor's office, as well as putting less pressure on the emergency unit. I know yesterday the Minister had indicated that he is looking at setting up a health clinic, re-profiling the emergency unit, as well as the possibility of consolidating the clinics. My concern though, Mr. Speaker, is that all this must be going on in his head because we're not hearing of any public discussions. We don't have a board at Stanton. I think it's time that the Minister tells us what he has in plan. Obviously he has lots in the works. The demands are there. I want to know if he's talking to the professionals to get their buy-in. I will be pursuing questions during question period with the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the population of the youth in the Sahtu, according to the 2003 statistics, indicate that Colville Lake has 20 percent, Fort Good Hope has 30 percent, Norman Wells has 16 percent, Tulita has 30 percent, and Deline has 29 percent. That's a high population of youth in our region, Mr. Speaker. The future of the NWT depends on the ability of our youth to eventually move into leadership roles. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow and we, as the leaders of today, will hopefully be the elders of tomorrow.

The youth will be the ones to carry out the important initiatives that we put in place today.

The youth can be difficult at times, Mr. Speaker. It is easy for young people with a lot of potential to get into trouble. I believe it is the responsibility of this government to do all it can within its power to foster healthy leadership characteristics amongst our people. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate this government in supporting initiatives for the youth. As the Minister of MACA indicated, there is a conference in Fort Providence. However, Mr. Speaker, over a year ago the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment made a commitment in this House to work formally with the Minister of Youth, Minister of Health and Social Services and Minister of MACA on a plan to stimulate community-level activities aimed at youth in communities. Mr. Speaker, I'm still waiting for that plan to unfold within this government here.

Mr. Speaker, the communities are looking forward to after-school programs for our youth that would guide them to leadership roles, keep them healthy and give them some healthy choices in their lives. Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, there are no questions about the value of putting resources into youth programs. We can either put government money into programs for youth that support them to make productive life choices or we put the money at the other end, like in youth justice programs, to deal with kids after they've gotten into trouble. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a concern. There has been talk of many back-room discussions by this government and residents of the NWT for as long as it has existed. Mr. Speaker, the affirmative action policy itself and the issues surrounding the affirmative action policy that this government implemented nearly 20 years ago have gone full circle and then some. I feel it has to be addressed by our government about its merit today.

The affirmative action policy as it stands today carries very little weight in this government's recruiting practices or in the recruiting practices of our northern industry, for that matter. Mr. Speaker, I'm not advocating for tighter measures and practices to ensure this policy is strictly adhered to by our hiring committees, but I do want to emphasize the need for a full review of this old policy by this government so we can put many issues surrounding the merit and intent of this policy to rest.

Although the initial intent of the affirmative action policy has contributed to a more meaningful representation by this government for the residents of the Northwest Territories since being implemented in 1986, it seems to have reached the end of its useful life and it's now starting to become counterproductive in nature to the original intent. Mr. Speaker, I think it is time to re-evaluate where we're going with our goal of equal public service representation and look at more innovative measures of fairness and equality in our hiring processes to ensure our residents that we can treat everybody with respect and dignity when being considered for employment by this government. Colour, sex, race or place of birth cannot be the determining factors in which careers to pursue in our public service by our residents. To me, Mr. Speaker, this is the direction many northerners are headed toward because of this outdated hiring policy if it is left as is.

Therefore, we as a government have to act and develop a plan to address the policy and a directive which is not unreasonable and sends a message to our youth, who many will soon become casualties of this policy while others who are deemed as disadvantaged will be left with feelings of apathy towards career opportunities put before them.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, for the kids' sake let's take some positive action and reassess this affirmative action policy so we can all learn of better ways in which to work with each other and make more meaningful, productive choices which, in turn, will make better role models for our children to follow. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I want to talk about my support for the tourism industry. Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry in the Northwest Territories is by far the largest renewable resource that we have going on up here. Mr. Speaker, tourists bring new dollars to the Northwest Territories that employ our good people. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is full of a vast array of natural, unique features and cultural attractions that truly draw people from around the world. Unfortunately, the tourism industry is very competitive and we have a lot of people working very hard to steal those potential tourists away from us.

Mr. Speaker, $44 million in 2002 was the amount of tourism industry dollars being spent in the Northwest Territories last year. The tourism season is year round. We have winter and spring aurora viewing for tourists to come here from as far away as Japan, and we have rubber tire traffic that rolls up in summertime for fishing, hunting and viewing our natural landscapes.

Mr. Speaker, I'm concerned that we have the world knocking on our door and, unfortunately, we've rolled up the welcome mat when it comes to our investment in the participation at the Japanese Expo this year. Mr. Speaker, over the last 10 years, our Japanese tourists coming to view one item, the aurora, have spent so much money and it's grown substantially, we are saying no to them with a meagre investment in the upcoming Expo.

Mr. Speaker, we've spent millions as a government in Spain, but where are the Spanish tourists? They're not coming. We have Japanese tourists coming every day all winter long and they're coming in huge numbers, so where is our return on their investment? Mr. Speaker, last year the Japanese spent $16 million in the Northwest Territories, and there are countless government documents that cite that. Where is our commitment?

This raises two questions and two problems at this time. What are we doing to compete when we have Fairbanks, Alaska, offering direct flights; we have the Yukon saying they can offer just as good a product, as well as Norway and who knows where else demanding for these tourists to go there. Mr. Speaker, the second problem that arises is where is our true commitment to the people that come from Japan to see our aurora.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will have appropriate questions at the appropriate time for the Minister in charge of this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 3, Members' statements. Colleagues, before I go on, I would like to draw the Members' attention to the gallery. We have a guest from the Office of the Auditor General for Canada with us.

---Applause

They are Nelson Mayrand, Chris Polselli, Andrew Ross, Chauna Hanson, Stefanie King and Donna-Lee Shaw.

---Applause

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly and to the North. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the president of the NWT Status of Women Council, Ms. Gerri Sharpe-Staples, who's in the gallery with her son Josh.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome the auditors to our Assembly and I hope that they will stay for my oral question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize a constituent of mine and the president of the NWT Status of Women Council, Gerri Sharpe-Staples, and her son Josh. Welcome to the Assembly.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of RWED, Mr. Bell. In my Member's statement today, Mr. Speaker, I spoke about the unmistakable fact that there will be some resource development taking place in the Territories in the next while. On the verge of such unprecedented development, all communities and regions, I'm sure, want to capitalize as much as they can and realize as much benefit as they can.

Mr. Speaker, this government, through the Minister's department, has made contributions directly to communities and development corporations. Actually, 16 transfers take place on an annual basis for a total of $1.067 million. My question to the Minister today is how does Hay River take advantage of this program and this opportunity, as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First I would like to say that I agree with the Member that there is a need for us to be ready in communities for economic development and the opportunities that will come our way from major developments. I think one of the signals that we're moving in that direction is the upcoming split of RWED and our need to be more focused on program delivery and more focused on our clients.

In terms of EDL funding, we handle this in a different manner in various different communities. Some communities do get contribution funding for the position of EDO. Some have chosen to have an RWED employee handle that responsibility. In Hay River there are a couple of RWED employees who are focused on business development, one more so toward petroleum advice and the Member spoke of that in her Member's statement. There isn't a position specific to EDO, so it's handled a little differently in Hay River.

There's also a Community Futures organization that's situated in Hay River and I think that's largely because of the amount of industrial development and the need that Hay River has. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had indicated that we certainly do appreciate the RWED presence in Hay River. I do believe though that we need an economic development officer with a specific focus on Hay River and the various sectors which exist there now. We have not had such a position for quite some time now. I don't know if I should assume that the Minister is saying there are RWED positions there and that Hay River should not be qualified for this additional funding, but I would ask the Minister if in the other larger

communities, such as Inuvik, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Norman Wells, are there not also economic development officers working for RWED in those communities but they also receive direct transfer for an EDO for their community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have all of that detailed information in front of me, but I wouldn't want the Member to take my response in a negative fashion. I think we've had this discussion with committee a number of times, but around the adequacy of our economic development funding in communities. There has been some suggestion that the amount of money that we provide for EDO services in communities doesn't go far enough toward hiring people with the necessary skills to fulfill this role. I think it's something we need to review. I'd like to do it on an NWT-wide basis and I'd like to do it with the communities. I know that Hay River is not the only community with these concerns.

As I've said before, to answer the question to Inuvik, to Yellowknife, to communities like Norman Wells, they handle it in different ways. I know Norman Wells just recently, off the top of my head, has chosen to have an RWED employee deliver the services as opposed to sign a further contribution arrangement. There are options. I think we need to sit down with committee and go through those options for all communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate that response from the Minister and I do appreciate the Minister's attendance in Hay River very recently to meet with the mayor and council on economic issues and various other sectors of economic activity in Hay River. However, Mr. Speaker, time is of the essence and although a review would be a good idea to examine how RWED provides this third-party funding for EDOs would be a great idea which I would support. Time is of the essence. Hay River needs an economic development officer soon and I would like to ask the Minister if he would entertain a proposal from the Town of Hay River for EDO funding to assist the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would agree that we are pressed for time. I know the concerns of the community. I want to ensure, as we talk about how to best resource that community and others, that an EDO position specifically focused would be the most valuable use of resources. We've had some discussion about potentially MACA's involvement with communities and some of the needs in both tax-based and non-tax-based. I think we need to move very quickly. I'm not talking about a long, drawn-out review. We need to look at our funding levels and the availability of that fund to all communities. I want to ensure, though, that we best target these dollars. If there's a better use for the funding in Hay River and it would be better put toward the community for them to use in other areas, I'd like to review those options. So certainly there is no closed door in this and we'd be willing to entertain any proposal. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is definitely a community empowerment aspect to this transfer of funding, which does grant the communities or the corporations some latitude of discretion in terms of prioritizing what their initiatives should be, and I respect that and I understand that. This is money that would flow to the municipal government of Hay River. They would then be in a position to expend their energies where they think it would be most beneficial to the economy of Hay River. So again, I would ask at this time would the Minister entertain a proposal from Hay River for such a position? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Thank you. I would agree, that's the model. This is about community empowerment. We make contributions to communities; they agree to provide these types of services. Different communities handle it in different ways; pay their economic development officers different amounts of money. It really is up to the community. We certainly would entertain a proposal. I would indicate that we don't have this money planned in the budget for the upcoming year, but we'd be more than willing to sit down and speak with the community about the best use of any future additional monies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my statement today I'd like to ask some questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services about his plans for various options in the city of Yellowknife to better cater to and address some of the concerns that have already been expressed: a shortage of nurses and doctors. I know he's implemented some nurse practitioners; but, talking to them, they feel that they are really filling in the roles of doctors that they are not really meant to do and they are getting behind schedule. People with children know how much medical attention they need on an urgent basis that may not be emergent in nature, especially with the popular calls to Telehealth, which I think is being received really well. But at the end of those phone calls, parents are usually asked to take their children to either the drugstore or to see a doctor, and our emergency unit is overloaded and understaffed. It is most often physically

not able to take all the people that are there and unless your cases are a complete emergency, you could be asked to wait for hours. So I was excited to hear the Minister saying yesterday that he's looking at alternatives. The only thing is, this is the first I've heard of that and I think there's room for consultation. I'd like to know what he plans to do and what his plans are for consultation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Minister of Health and Social Services, the Honourable Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these plans have at least been alluded to, if not directly referenced, in some of our discussions with the Member and with various meetings with the Social Programs committee. They indicated, as well, we're working on a major review of all the health care centres, a way of classifying them, benchmarking requirements to improve the system, the coordination of medical travel, the emergency ward issue, the clinic issue, the need to get the review done so that we can proceed with the master development planning for Stanton, as well as Hay River and Fort Smith. So we've been working now for some nine months on a lot of this work, and it's at the stage where we're just finalizing it to be taken to Cabinet for review and from there we will be coming to committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions to the Minister are not in any way related to my role as a member or chair of the Social Programs committee. I'm asking very specific questions about what the Minister has planned for the city of Yellowknife. We have heard of the master plan, for example, for Stanton, but the public has not been given any information on that. It's my understanding that it's still in the process of being put together. So could I just ask the Minister a simple question about exactly what he has planned for the city of Yellowknife and what the time frame of that might be? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have, as I indicated yesterday in the House, a number of things on the books for Yellowknife and I'll start with Stanton. There's about a $16 million mid-life renovation and upgrade to the facility that will help us deal with some of the emergency issues and some of the congestion and layout problems that are there, as well as look at the better use of some of the resources that are there with the surplus of acute care beds. I indicated yesterday, as well, that we are looking at the possibility of the integration of clinic services in the downtown core so that, in fact, we can be more coordinated, administratively effective and to give the clinic the capacity to do some basic things that they now can't do that have to be referred to Stanton; simple things like doing X-rays. We are planning on moving ahead with midwifery, we're planning on moving ahead with nurse practitioners. We've come up with, as I indicated earlier, some benchmarks for what's the appropriate mix of doctors and midwives, by population and community size. So we have a number of fairly significant initiatives underway. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's answers on all of the detailed information, but I'd like to just get more specific information from the Minister. Could I ask the Minister whether there is a plan within this upcoming fiscal cycle to open a drop-in health clinic in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing in this business plan but, as I indicated as well in some earlier comments to the Member and other members of committee, the federal money, which we anticipate putting to use in some of these areas or proposing that we put to use in some of these areas, has yet to be finalized. When we have that detail, we intend to take it once again to Cabinet and to committee, but the arrangements and negotiations with the federal government haven't been completed. It's anticipated they'll be completed in the next couple of months. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was so excited yesterday when I heard that the Minister had all these plans and I was hoping that I could confirm this, but it looks like this might be a little further away than I had been led to believe yesterday. Mr. Speaker, may I ask the Minister whether he could take it to his Cabinet colleagues to really look at setting up a drop-in clinic in Yellowknife? It has already been done by a local doctor and it has shown to be successful. I do believe it will save the government money. I don't think we need to wait for the federal government to do this. I think it's something that he can do and Yellowknife could be a good pilot point. Could I get the Minister to commit to look into getting it done within this fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad the Member was excited, however briefly, on the many positive initiatives we have underway and if she could sustain that excitement, then

we can work together to bring them to fruition in the not-too-distant future.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, we are moving to look at the improvement to the clinic services in Yellowknife and I've stated that now a number of times in this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the Kyoto Protocol coming into effect today, there has been a lot of discussion in the media about how Canada is going to meet its targets producing greenhouse gas emissions. Our people are noticing changes in the environment that have happened just in our lifetime, Mr. Speaker. The NWT contributes a very small share of Canada's greenhouse gases, but with the diamond mines and the pipeline, things will change. My question to the Minister of RWED is can the Minister tell me what the GNWT's responsibilities are in helping Canada meet its Kyoto targets? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, the Honourable Mr. Bell.

Thank you. We've felt for some time now, as I think all the rest of the provincial and territorial jurisdictions across the country, that Canada has to play a lead role in laying out and then articulating exactly how they plan to meet our Kyoto emission targets as a country. We haven't had recent specific discussions individually as jurisdictions in terms of bilateral with the federal government, but there is an expectation that the federal government will lay out a well thought out plan as to how we might meet those targets. I think it probably will mean working with Ministers of environment, Ministers of energy in tandem. In past, that vehicle of joint meetings was used to work some of this through. Those talks have broken off. Canada signed the accord at any rate, but the understanding was always that they would come back to us and we would sit down and talk about a plan for meeting those targets. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my earlier statement was the youth are going to be our leaders of tomorrow. With this important agreement that Canada has signed and our contribution to this agreement in greenhouse emissions, can the Minister tell me anything that's being done within the GNWT's infrastructure, including public housing, to reduce the greenhouse emissions over which the government has direct control? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member knows and certainly we've had this discussion with committee about some of the activities that the government has been involved in, principally through the Arctic Energy Alliance and many departments have been involved in helping to increase energy efficiency of public facilities through retrofits. We've also taken a lead role in promoting public awareness and understanding of some of these issues in trying to make sure that our own structure is up to the task and is energy efficient. I think we have more to do. This is something that we need to continue to focus and work on, especially given the high cost of electricity in many of our communities. It makes good sense for us to both focus on supply side issues -- hydro initiatives make a lot of sense -- but also demand side issues, and that's where we talk about the efficiency of our infrastructure. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Canada is the largest supplier of oil and gas, followed by Saudi Arabia. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me what the government is doing or will be doing to encourage industry and other government and private citizens to reduce the gas emissions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Really this is a global challenge and we believe that the Northwest Territories can be part of a continental energy solution for North America. The Mackenzie Valley gas project, the Mackenzie Valley pipeline use of natural gas as opposed to more carbon intense fuels I think is a step in the right direction. We need to supplant use in North America of oil and coal with natural gas wherever possible, with hydro. So if we can bring some natural gas on stream and bring that into the market in North America, we're certainly lowering, we believe, the emissions account, if you will, for North America. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the communities will be very interested especially where the route where the Mackenzie Valley would be looked at by the proponents of the pipeline. Can the Minister tell me whether any GNWT funding is available to community governments, businesses or private citizens who want to look at reducing the gas emissions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government has been involved, as I mentioned, through the Arctic Energy Alliance. We've been able to lever some federal money toward community energy plans. The one in Wha Ti comes to mind. I think there's a real potential for other communities in the valley on the pipeline route to take advantage of that location. I'm confident that we'll see through discussions that are being led now by the Power Corporation and their partnerships, some hydro initiatives come to fruition. I think that that will provide legacy infrastructure to those communities up and down the valley. We need to both from a pure economic perspective get communities off diesel, but also from an environmental perspective we can do a lot for our communities if we can give them long-lasting hydroelectric power. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring up the subject of the Audit Bureau once again. Last week I spoke about the lack of staffing, but today, in recognition of our audience in the gallery and the recent comments in the news yesterday by the Auditor General of Canada, I'd like to ask a question to the Minister responsible for the FMBS. Would the Minister explain the reporting model of our Audit Bureau in the GNWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that information at hand and I'm not very familiar with the actual reporting process. So you'll get me on this one and I'll take it as notice.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Minister has taken the question as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for the Premier and this is in his capacity as the Minister responsible for the hydro initiatives in the Northwest Territories. Of course, following on Canada's taking on of the Kyoto commitments, our capacity for hydro development becomes much, much more relevant and, Mr. Speaker, in the past three or four years now our government has invested heavily in communication plans and surveys to get people more familiar with hydro development in the NWT. The projects in the Taltson, in the Taltson River system in the south, and in the Bear River system of Great Bear Lake are high on our list. I wanted to ask the Premier this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, about the negotiations and the arrangements with the First Nations, with the aboriginal people of those regions, of the Taltson and the Bear regions, which are going to be key to implementing any kind of hydro development. What is the status of our negotiations with those partners? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Negotiations continue on both of the projects. Very briefly on the Bear hydro project, there have been recent meetings and a move to create the Sahdae Energy Corporation. There's also a meeting now to finalize an MOI, memorandum of intent, between the Tulita and Deline land corporations. The Tulita Land Corporation and the NWT Energy Corporation have recently held meetings, as well, with Imperial Oil to further the discussions there, and I think they've had two meetings since the beginning of this calendar year and plan to have another one soon. So that project is moving along well.

Mr. Speaker, I can also say that on the Bear River, the partners in the Bear project have also applied for and received intervener status and are working on that front, as well. Mr. Speaker, if you can bear with me because it is a fairly long answer, but on the Taltson River, that one has continued with some work, but it has slowed down, as I told Members last fall, because one of the partners whose traditional lands the transmission line would have to cross had a deal with Regional Power. The Lutselk'e Band recently had a meeting and decided that they would support the Taltson power project over the Regional Power one and I believe are in the process of severing their relationship with Regional, but I'm not party to all the details there.

Unfortunately, there's been a change in leadership in Lutselk'e and we are now waiting for the outcome of the new election, which I think is happening, in order to advance those discussions.

With the Taltson power, we are still looking at having power go to the diamond mines, but as days go on, that becomes less and less economical and could mean substantial backing from our government if it were to move ahead. So as an alternative we are looking at southern markets, which may be possible. We are also looking at other alternatives, including using more hydropower from the Taltson ourselves. For example, in Fort Smith we have a lot of government facilities. If we were to convert them over to electrical heat as compared to diesel fuel, it might be economical. Those are the kinds of issues we're looking at as alternatives on the Taltson project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier mentioned the most important other consideration in this

whole initiative; that is making sure that we have good and viable customers, the pipeline and the diamond mines being among them. On the pipeline, the principal problem we had was convincing those folks that taking on our hydro is going to be a lot more efficient than burning up their own product to move the gas to market. Just how are we doing on this one? If there is a time crunch ahead of us, Mr. Speaker, it is on getting a commitment to be a part of that part of the pipeline deal. Just how much time do we have left? What are the hurdles before we can sign a deal with the pipeline project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, we've had two meetings. The partners have had two meetings with Imperial Oil on this matter. Imperial acknowledges that the use of hydro for compression is technically feasible. They have questions about the economics of it. They did give the northern partners some information. In our view, there were some flaws in it. Our people in the NWT Energy Corporation and Sahdae Energy are looking at those responding and noting where the flaws are. As soon as they have completed that work, they will hold another meeting with Imperial.

Mr. Speaker, we don't have a deal yet, but we are certainly negotiating toward that. Depending on how the federal government lays out its plan in response to Kyoto targets, this could change considerably and make this a very feasible project, both economically, technically and in terms of our emissions in the Northwest Territories and probably benefit the company. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Third supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I think, with the diamond mines, one of the things that many people in the NWT regret is that we did not make it a condition of the mines being able to get started in the NWT. We did not make it a condition that, at some point, they would take hydro energy from us. We may have missed that opportunity. Would the Premier consider, Mr. Speaker, making this a condition of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, that it will take our power? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, we have not, at this point, made it a condition. We are in the process of negotiating the socioeconomic agreements. We are talking with Imperial. We are not asking them to somehow subsidize our power development, but we do expect them to work with us as good business partners. We would like to deal with some of the issues first on the economics of it and the technical side and certainly encourage them at this point to look at this seriously, which they are. Up to now, I think it is a little bit early to be able to come to a final deal with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 11 years since the last hydro development was started in the NWT. Energy markets and costs and the Kyoto deal itself really compel us to accelerate our work on this. Mr. Speaker, when does the Premier expect we will see the next hydro project started here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of a new project as compared to better use of the projects that we have right now, I would anticipate that it will be at least two years before we would see the construction of a new hydro project such as the one proposed on the Bear River. That would be the earliest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, I have been speaking a lot about the quality of education. Recently, the Minister was on tour with me to Fort Liard. We spoke with the community members there. They brought up a lot of issues regarding the quality of education and getting the children to school. They spoke about graduation rates. Our government probably says that we have close to the national average of 44 percent. But, if you take Yellowknife out of the equation, Mr. Speaker, we are looking at communities with very low graduation rates, up to about 20 percent. That will be a stretch, I would imagine, because, in Fort Liard alone, we had one graduate last year. That is for a community of around 600 people. I just wanted to know what plans the department has to address this concern in the smaller communities. Is the department looking at options for addressing these needs in the smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department does have a small schools project underway to examine, in concert with the boards across the Territories, how we can improve schooling in the smallest communities. One thing I would like to point out is that the graduation rate over the past couple of years has, in fact, increased most in the small communities and regional

centres. It has dropped in Yellowknife. So the small communities and regional centres are showing the best improvement at the moment, but we are examining how we can continue that improvement, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister mentions a small school project initiative. It is the first I have heard about it. Perhaps, if I can ask the Minister to expand a bit on that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been a little while now since we recognized that there were challenges in the smaller schools that are more difficult to address than in larger schools. Because of that, the department has started a project to work with boards to identify how we can better support boards to deal with the problems that they face in the smaller schools and see if we can find ways to help improve the quality of education that is offered in those schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is very interesting because, about a month ago, I went to the Minister with an idea. I found a nice unique program down south that works in the smaller reserves. It is called the Sunchild E-Learning Community. I proposed to the Minister that I would like to bring up this group to explain to the communities what they are doing, because one of the things that really interested me in what they were doing, Mr. Speaker, is that they had course completion rates up to 80 percent. They have graduation rates of 80 percent. These are in very small reserves. That is something that I would like to bring up here and have our people look at it. The Minister was resistant to it; now he tells me that we have a small school project. If anything is going to fit the small school project, this is the exact type of program. I would like the Minister to have a look at this program, bring these people up, and at least have an overview of their programming and bring it up to the North, Mr. Speaker. I would like the Minister's commitment for that.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The project that I am speaking about included working with the boards, because what has to happen is that the boards have to be involved. The Department of Education doesn't keep a pot of money in the centre to fund new initiatives like the one the Member is speaking about. We would have to find a willing partner among the boards to fund that sort of process. That is what I have suggested to the Member; that he see if his region may be interested in this. Having said that, we are examining the request that the Member has forwarded to me. It is certainly something that I can bring forward to discussions with the chairs of the boards with whom I will be meeting in April. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.