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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to use my Member's statement today to wish all my Tu Nedhe constituents, my family, my colleagues, old and new here in the House, and the people of the Northwest Territories a safe, happy and prosperous new year.

It has been just over a year since I have been working for the residents of Tu Nedhe. I am confident in saying that the seeds of social and economic development initiatives within the Tu Nedhe constituency have been planted. I am looking forward to some of these initiatives growing and flourishing. I am confident that my constituents will realize marked improvements in their daily lives over the next three years.

That said, Mr. Speaker, there have been many events that have taken place in the world over the past year, be it territorial, national and international alike. All our lives have been touched by these life-altering events and developments, some good and some not so good, in some sort of shape and form.

One important event, Mr. Speaker, which has humbled us all was the tsunami disaster that took place a half-a-world away on December 26, 2004. This natural disaster took the lives of more than 160,000 people and directly impacted lives of millions more worldwide. This unfortunate occurrence made us more grateful for the things that we sometimes take for granted, and helps us see how lucky we are to live in this great, vast land called Canada and, more specifically, the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to use the remainder of my Member's statement to pay respect to everyone who lost family members, friends, relatives and acquaintances in this historical natural disaster, by requesting that we all stand in this House to share a moment of silence for all these victims and their families. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Member is requesting that all Members stand for a moment of silence.

---Moment of Silence

Thank you, colleagues. Please be seated. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement today will cover a number of congratulatory greetings and condolences. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome and congratulate Mr. Robert McLeod, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes, for his recent by-election victory held in Inuvik. I am confident that Mr. McLeod will represent his constituents well and I look forward to working with him during the 15th Legislative Assembly.

The Members may recall in the fall of 2004 there were four individuals considered lost during a hunting trip. An extensive search was conducted, but to no avail. The families recently held memorial services for their loved ones in November and January. I would like to express my appreciation to many companies, businesses and search and rescue teams in their efforts in locating these four individuals. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

Mr. Speaker, the residents of Tuktoyaktuk recently lost a well-respected elder, Mr. Noah Felix, who passed away peacefully in December. I was fortunate to visit with Mr. Felix at the Stanton Territorial Hospital before I returned to Tuktoyaktuk. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with Agnes Felix and family.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, on a brighter note, I would like to take this time to congratulate two individuals in my riding of Nunakput. First, I would like to congratulate Mr. Randy Omingmak of Holman who has completed his second year apprentice in housing maintenance and to Mr. Desmond Gruben who has completed his second and third year in housing maintenance and has received his journeyman housing certificate. I was fortunate to be in Tuktoyaktuk to present the certificate to Mr. Gruben. Mr. Gruben is presently working with the Tuktoyaktuk Housing Association. Mr. Speaker, I understand the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment will be recognizing these two individuals, as well as many other individuals in the Great Hall of the Legislature on Thursday, February 10, 2005. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I feel like I'm the rooster now.

---Laughter

We did have a call into the Minister of RWED and he, along with Joint Cabinet/AOC Planning Committee, came to the Sahtu. It was a wakeup call. Last week, Mr. Speaker, many people braved the minus 40 temperatures to come to a meeting of the Joint Cabinet/AOC Pipeline Committee meeting in Norman Wells. It was very appropriate that the committee met in the oil capital of the Northwest Territories, one of the communities that the pipeline will go right through their backyard. There were many good questions and discussions between the public and committee members that ran well past 9:00 p.m. In the afternoon, the committee also had a very productive meeting with town council to discuss the important pipeline planning issues.

Mr. Speaker, it is crucial for Ministers and also Regular MLAs to take time to meet face to face with community members in regions outside of Yellowknife. It provides a crucial opportunity for residents to get to meet Ministers and MLAs from other constituencies. It's also a good reality check for us to hear directly from the residents and to spend time in parts of the Territories we may not know very well, so that we can better appreciate the issues and make better decisions for the people of the Northwest Territories.

I would like to thank Minister Bell, the committee chair and also Minister Dent and Minister McLeod and MLAs Menicoche and Villeneuve for accepting the invitation to meet in the Sahtu. The Ministers did an excellent job in answering the questions from the public and committed to follow up on some of the matters. People did appreciate the chance to air their concerns directly to them. It was a pleasure to host the committee members in the Sahtu region. I look forward to traveling to other communities that will be directly impacted by the Mackenzie gas project. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Zoe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to welcome Mr. Robert McLeod to this side of the House. He's the newest Member here. Welcome, Mr. McLeod, and to my colleagues.

As you are aware, Mr. Speaker, there are a number of issues that have been raised in my constituency of North Slave, but the highest priority that they have on their agenda is our Tlicho legislation that is currently being discussed in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, a number of my constituents have been traveling to Ottawa to observe and monitor the progress of this legislation that's going through the Senate. Mr. Speaker, everybody is aware that the first priority of the Dogrib Nation is our land claims and self-government legislation. I just want to let my constituents know that the issues that are raised in my region are going to be discussed here in the House and there's a lot of good news and there are also a lot of concerns that are being raised. A number of Ministers are aware of those concerns and I will be raising them through my Member's statement and during question period. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very fortunate to have living in Yellowknife many members of my immediate family, my mother being one of them. My dearest, Esther Braden, welcome to the Assembly.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to extend a welcome to Chief Peter Liske who is with us today. As well, I've got constituent Garth Wallbridge and constituent Ms. Julie McNiece and it's always good, Mr. Speaker, to see Mr. Villeneuve's parents here again. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm also very pleased to recognize Chief Peter Liske, a constituent and chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to recognize two of my strongest supporters from Tu Nedhe, Mom and Dad, nice to see you here. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize a former colleague, the chief from Detah, Mr. Peter Liske, and also Garth Wallbridge. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. If anyone was missed in the gallery, welcome to the Legislative Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's good to be back here and I think we're experiencing a flying start as a pack of roosters on this side and I really, really look forward to crowing really loudly about the issues that are important to our constituents over the coming months.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice and it's with regard to parts of my Member's statement about what's been happening to our canine residents in the Territories. Mr. Speaker, I had the occasion to attend the Power-Up Young Women's Conference last Monday and I had the occasion to talk to lots of young people and they all could not understand what was being reported in the media at the time about this story, and that was that the RCMP chose not to investigate what was happening with these six dogs. Lots of people were surprised that we don't actually have very strong legislation that protects these animals in the way that they are treated. We understand that animals are an important part of our livelihood. We hunt, we support all that, but I don't think anybody supports cruelty and inhumane treatment of animals. So I'm glad to hear, Mr. Speaker, that the RCMP has restarted the investigation and I would like to know from the Minister of Justice what he can report to the House about what the RCMP has found so far. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.