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

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a need for transportation services for elders and frontline workers throughout my constituency. During my campaign and subsequent visits to Paulatuk, Holman, Sachs Harbour and Tuktoyaktuk, many elders voiced their frustrations about the lack of transportation; for example, to help them to get to medical appointments and to attend local functions. Needing to get to the health centre, elders are often expected either to take a taxi or find other alternatives.

Mr. Speaker, the Hamlet of Holman does operate an elder handy-bus, but it is at this point where they are having trouble maintaining it well enough to keep it running. Paulatuk has identified a need for some sort of transportation for their elders so they are able to attend and participate in community events.

Not only elders are left behind to find their own rides, Mr. Speaker, but it is also the case for some of our frontline workers. Tuktoyaktuk does have a van that the nurses and community health workers use mainly for home visits to elderly people. In Sachs Harbour, the community health worker informed the Minister of Health and Social Services that she uses her own snowmobile and ATV four-wheeler to visit elders and patients. She also uses her own money to pay for the gas and repairs.

This government should be ashamed that it is not giving our frontline workers the basic tools to do their job and look after our people and expect them to do this out of their own pockets. Mr. Speaker, I am sure there are solutions out there that would not be very costly. For example, in a small community like Sachs Harbour or Paulatuk, one government vehicle may be able to serve more than one purpose. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would ask that Health and Social Services work with other government departments to come up with a way to provide appropriate vehicles and transportation to elders and frontline workers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am going to again talk about support for truancy in our schools. Yesterday I spoke about the lack of tools available to our schools in dealing with that truancy issue. Minister Dent then proceeded to list off all the various methods used by different schools and education authorities to deal with truancy.

What was made clear by his response is that there is no clear territorial legislative, regulatory or policy base in dealing with truancy other than the fine that we never use. Every educational jurisdiction is free to deal with this issue of truancy how they see fit. The Minister was quite emphatic that the fault for a lot of the skipping students lies with the parents. I truly can't dispute that some of the responsibility does lie there. But what I will dispute, Mr. Speaker, is that the lack of parental responsibility somehow absolves his department from having any issue in dealing with this at all. So, Mr. Speaker, I totally do not accept Minister Dent absolving himself of that responsibility.

I have spoken to educators who follow up on student absences. In some cases they tell me once the parents realize the schools are phoning, they just stop answering the phone. So, Mr. Speaker, educators also tell me that health and social service authorities refuse to get involved with truancy cases because they say or they believe that they are being downloaded that responsibility. They don't want it at all.

Mr. Speaker, if I may mention, CTV News did a report on truancy titled, "One in Four Canadian Students Misses Classes Regularly." During the report, Doug Willms, who wrote it, stated, and I quote, "I think truancy really represents a boredom factor, an apathy factor, and we really need to pay attention to that." He further goes on to say, "We ought to take these results very serious. They are associated with a number of social issues." The article goes on to talk about the rates in Canada where a

lot of students miss one in six days or more a year. It ranks the NWT second to Newfoundland at 59 percent of the worst rates in absentee.

Mr. Speaker, finally on this issue of the article by Mr. Willms, he also says, "Canada, on a global level, is tied with Iceland and recognizes one of the worst countries in the developing world for truancy." So, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services doesn't care. The tone of the response, as I understood the Minister to say yesterday, didn't sound like he cared either. Someone needs to care. Mr. Speaker, at this time, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's 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. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Especially, thank you, Mr. Dent.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I really want to see the department show initiative and take care and demonstrate that they care. We need to start thinking broadly, not blaming families on this issue for their kids not attending classes. We need to start thinking out of the box. Yes, parents do play a role in this issue, but the department needs to play a leading role in new initiatives to support our DEAs on this problem. Approaches we could consider are things like community liaison social workers in each district education authority. We could put one in every authority. In most cases, these truancies deal with social envelope obstacles which a social worker could help the schools.

So, Mr. Speaker, in closing, block funding is very prescriptive, and it doesn't allow a lot of movements for these school boards to deal with these issues of truancies, so we need intervention at the highest level, such as the ministry. As I said yesterday, and I am going to close with it again, truancy is a symptom, and it could be blamed on a thousand reasons. We need to owe it to ourselves and to these students to take an interest and to find out why they do not attend school. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago...oh, yes. I believe we still have some people in the gallery today. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a constituent, a tireless volunteer and a candidate for royalty in the upcoming Caribou Carnival, Ms. Mildred Wilke. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the pleasure to introduce the quest for the crown candidates on behalf of my colleagues. The candidates running for Caribou Carnival queen this year; that is, again, Ms. Mildred Wilke, Kelley Merilees-Keppel, Itoah Scott, Lila Fraser-Erasmus, Katie Bourgeois, Mary-Ellen McGonigle-Roberts. Now, for the princess list: Twyla Bruler-Vachon, Stacey Grandjambe and Jesslyn Strand. Just about as I sit down, Mr. Speaker, I will remind all people to buy their Caribou Carnival tickets to support these candidates. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a friend that I made over the last two days, a retired teacher who is visiting from Vancouver, British Columbia. She is here with family who is attending the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. Her name is Mrs. Bev Wong. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize a constituent, Carol Van Tighem, a tireless volunteer and the fire and vigour behind this year's Caribou Carnival. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anybody in the gallery, welcome to the Legislative Assembly. It is always nice to see visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last fall in the House, I made a statement about the contaminated soil mound in Tulita. I asked the Minister some questions. My question is to the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development in regard to his commitment to meet with the federal Minister of Natural Resources Canada about the federal government's unacceptable delay in the cleaning up of contaminated sites in the Northwest Territories. Will the Minister please advise this House as to the result of that meeting? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have had discussions over the past months with both Minister

Efford, the Natural Resources Canada Minister and Minister Dion, the Minister for the Environment, related to contaminated sites and their cleanup. Most recently, the Member is aware, I have reiterated these concerns in writing to Natural Resources Canada Minister Efford. He has agreed to start a process and ensure that the agency responsible for nuclear waste meets with the community of Tulita to begin a process and discuss options for the permanent removal of these contaminated soils from the community. So I look forward to that process. I think there are a number of options before us. It is important to work through some constructive process that the community is in support of. We will continue to push Natural Resources Canada and the nuclear agency to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister provide to the House here in terms of a strategy and a date when this agreement of seeing actual movements of these mounds of contaminated sites along the Mackenzie Valley will be moved out to some location outside of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't give you the exact process that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is proposing to use at this point. They have indicated to me that a precursor to the development of a long-term waste management strategy for the soils is to sit down and define the waste volumes and ownership and some other issues around the site. The Minister has assured me that it is his goal to clean that up and make sure that the low level radioactive contaminated sites are dealt with. I want to, again, assure Members and the public that the Natural Resources Canada Minister has indicated to us that the research tells us that the community is not in any danger from these sites, but still recognizes a long-term strategy was never put in place and that needs to take place. The soils need to be removed from the community. I will continue to ensure the Natural Resources Canada Minister recognizes that this is a priority for our territory. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the Minister may have a difficult time in terms of commitment on behalf of the federal government. I am looking forward to a commitment from the Minister in terms of meeting with the people in Tulita and Sahtu regarding these contaminated sites in that region and also right down to the border here in the Northwest Territories. In Ottawa, our federal government can say that these sites are not dangerous, but out of sight, out of mind. It makes it easier for them to say that. They have to live in the communities, so I would like to ask the Minister again, can he look at some commitments and dates in terms of meeting with the people who are affected by these contaminated sites? Thank you.