Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of late, one of the debates around the House has been about the important value and the need for the Members to be able to speak without the fear of intimidation on behalf of the people we represent. We showed our resolve in that regard yesterday. But I have been thinking about what we have been doing to make such capacity available to people in our communities who are afraid to speak out against the government because of their fear about losing their jobs, their businesses or their contracts. As I stated two days ago in this House, Mr. Speaker, in a small jurisdiction like the NWT in terms of population, we are really connected by no more than two degrees of separation. We pride ourselves by our close community connection, but sometimes it works against the public transparency and accountability required to maintain a healthy democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I am constantly dealing with constituents and residents who are afraid about speaking out about inefficiency, incompetency and abuse even by the government. This is why I believe we need to have made-in-the-North whistle-blower legislation. Mr. Speaker, we need a legislative protection for those people which would make them feel safe to speak about the inefficiency or unethical behaviour at all levels of government, or perhaps even about the abuse of power by elected officials, or simply for the employees of the government to speak about the possibility of improving our program and service delivery without feeling like they will be penalized for speaking out.

Mr. Speaker, of course, such legislation would have to have a balance where an ombudsman-like figure or an office would investigate, and look objectively and in a neutral manner, at the merit and the details of each case and recommend an appropriate course of action.

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that I've raised this issue many times within my time here and I have seen no action so far from the government. But this week I heard the Premier confirming that this is, in fact, in the works, and I would urge the Premier to bring this forward ASAP so that we can make this into a reality within the life of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Ms. Lee. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Members, it gives me great pleasure to recognize a constituent from Hay River North. Mr. Wilbert Bouchard is visiting us today.

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Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again I would like to recognize a former Tulita resident, Mr. Paul Andrew, now residing in Yellowknife and working for CBC.

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Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

I'd like to recognize I believe it's Cathy Frankie in the audience, a mother of one of the Pages here. Welcome.

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Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we've missed anybody in the gallery today, welcome to the House. It's always a pleasure to have an audience. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today in my Member's statement I spoke about the hardships facing some of the elders living independently on fixed incomes. It is clear that our policies and programs require adjustments to ensure that elders can live out their lives independently and in the comfort of their own homes. My question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Can the Minister tell me, and the House, whether his department is considering adjusting the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program to ensure that it captures all the elders who need such a subsidy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point we're not planning any changes for this winter's season. There may be changes that would be proposed as part of the income security review.

Just to let Members know that although we had a budget figure of $525,000 in last year's budget, actually expenditures for the program were over $1.1 million. We deliver the program no matter what the budget is, to make sure that the seniors are getting the same amount of fuel each year, no matter what it costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. However, fall is setting in and winter is just around the corner, and I'm somewhat surprised and shocked that even though the program is being delivered that it has no changes yet for an increase in fuel for the small communities. Elders are getting their fuel I think by November until the end of April, so it's not enough for all the elders and the elders are struggling right now with the high cost of living in these small communities. Mr. Speaker, we do have a surplus. I wonder why the Minister's not going to the Finance Minister to knock on his door, like other Ministers are for their projects to go through. We should be taking care of our elders, and this is critical. So I will ask the Minister again if he would go back and ask and score one for the elders. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that we can point with pride to our seniors' programs here in the Northwest Territories. I think the programs that we offer seniors right now are if not the best in North America, they're at least the best in Canada. So we already have a very good program. I think it's important to remember that we call this program a subsidy. No matter what the cost of oil or propane or wood goes to, we provide the same amount to seniors each year. So we're prepared to help seniors, to assist them to stay in their own homes. We're hoping that the communities and families will be able to join with us to ensure that can happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do acknowledge the support that this government is giving to our seniors, but when I go back into the Sahtu communities and other communities, I hear the elders are not getting enough of a fuel subsidy. There is a discretion there. Some of the elders are getting it and some are not getting it. I'm asking to look at the recent increase of fuel in our communities and the increase in the cost of living. The fuel subsidies are still the same; there's no increase. So it's not going very far. We do have the program; let's give our elders a break this year and treat the elders the same. Give them the cost of fuel so that they stay nice and comfy and warm this winter season, instead of worrying.

You know, they are saving their money for it. So I'll ask the Minister again if he would consider looking at this cost of fuel in the communities for the elders. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm quite prepared to look at the subsidy program as part of the income security review. That won't mean that it will happen this year, but it could perhaps happen in future years if Members of this House agree that that's where we should put our money. We have to keep reminding ourselves, though, that this program is not suffering because the cost of oil is going up. I mean, the people are not suffering because the cost of oil is going up. The program still provides them with the same amount of fuel no matter what the oil cost is. We provide the same number of litres each year, no matter what the cost is, to seniors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.