Please be seated. Welcome back to the House. Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have assigned the following portfolio responsibilities until such time as this Legislative Assembly appoints a new Member to the Executive Council.

The Deputy Premier, the honourable Floyd Roland, will take responsibility for Health and Social Services and will be the Minister responsible for Seniors, the Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities and will assume lead responsibility for the homeless. I will assume responsibility for Environment and Natural Resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will table the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories' and Nunavut's 2006 summer issue of the magazine Reflections. This publication is intended to provide both employers and workers with an overview and deeper understanding of the various activities the WCB has undertaken in the last year.

The cover story of this magazine features the inspirational journey of Les Rohac, a man who came from Czechoslovakia to Canada seeking a better life, but who instead found himself faced with the challenge of overcoming a serious work-related back injury. His story chronicles the struggle to understand and overcome his injury and it reveals how sheer determination helped him return to work and fulfill his dream of making a better life for himself and his family in the North.

Mr. Speaker, this issue of Reflections also contains a number of articles outlining the upcoming Go Safe Program for northern businesses, how assessment rates are set, how employers can invest in safety instead of paying the price for accidents, the general process behind an injury claim, how social marketing is being used to heighten safety awareness in the North, and the importance of getting employees back to work.

This publication is more than a means of publicity, it's a safety tool. I believe that employers will find a number of useful ideas on how they can better incorporate safety into their day-to-day affairs. As part of the effort to focus on workplace safety, the WCB intends to release Reflections twice a year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement is on the high cost of living for seniors. Throughout the Northwest Territories, there are seniors on a fixed incomes living in their homes struggling to make ends meet. For those elders living in smaller communities who do not live in free social housing, their standards of living is decreasing with each passing day and year. Mr. Speaker, I know of elders in the Sahtu that are forced to save $250 from each of their pension cheques just so that they can afford the cost of heating fuel and electricity in the cold winter months. There is no money left, Mr. Speaker, for any comfort or to spend on their grandchildren. So much for freedom 55.

Many of the elders I am speaking of have served the people of the Northwest Territories as teachers, community health representatives, tradespersons or even just keeping the local schools clean and safe for the children. Now it's time for us to serve them.

Those government programs like seniors' home heating fuel subsidy and the repair programs offered by the Housing Corporation are sometimes tested and there are very little funds to serve them and are not always available to our elders. I would just like to ask the Members of this Assembly to consider the day when you are retired from public life in the wage economy and are forced to live off your savings and fixed pension. Do you want to be scrimping and saving throughout the years just so that you can make it through the next winter with a roof over your head and heat in your home? Probably not.

Mr. Speaker, this government has acknowledged the development of a Home Care Program, the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program and the Seniors' Housing Program, the value and the economy of helping seniors be independent and remain in their own home for as long as they are able to, as a matter of respect. Putting money into programs to support independent living for seniors is cheaper for the

government in the long run. We need to do more for the elders to live in their homes and be dignity free from the stress and worry about whether they can afford electricity and heat. I will have follow-up questions at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This morning I would like to speak about health care plans, Mr. Speaker. It's something that every employer, including this government, counts on very heavily to be a major benefit and a part of recruiting and keeping people and helping them through their lives.

Mr. Speaker, up until this summer, when employees of this government needed doctor-prescribed medical supplies, there are things like materials that help them manage diabetes or perhaps walkers or mobility assists or specialized dressings, they were able to get good service through our life insurance or our medical insurance provider and pharmacies. In other words, they paid 20 percent upfront and the rest of the bill was looked after through direct billing. However, a change in service this summer, Mr. Speaker, has caused considerable inconvenience for some employees and their families who need these medically prescribed supplies. It's a large inconvenience for some of them when the cost of these supplies runs into several hundred dollars a month. They have to front this cost and then apply to our Inuvik office for reimbursement. All of this takes time, Mr. Speaker, and adds a considerable new paper load on our own health care system.

So I wanted to bring this to the attention of the Assembly, Mr. Speaker, because our health care plans are something we value very highly and when we get this kind of interference or inconvenience, it's something we need to put our attention to because it does have such an impact on some families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last June I urged Justice Minister Bell to follow the lead of other Canadian jurisdictions and bring forward a Safe Communities and Neighbourhood Act for the NWT, along with effective enforcement tools.

I proposed this new initiative so we could bring community empowerment back to folks and take it away from those drug dealers and crack houses from trying to take over our communities. Mr. Speaker, I asked the Justice Minister to move quickly on this discussion paper and to bring a bill with the hope that new legislation could be implemented in this Assembly in a timely way. I, therefore, welcomed the Premier's announcement in the sessional statement given a few days ago that the GNWT will embark immediately on public consultations bringing forward this issue during this session. The legislation is needed because it gets drug dealers out of our community. It empowers the neighbourhood to say we belong here, get out of our community, quit trying to destroy our good, lawful livelihood, Mr. Speaker.

This is a new law, Mr. Speaker, that will improve our community's safety by targeting and, when necessary, shutting down residential and commercial buildings and lands that are habitually used for illegal drug activity as producing, selling or using illegal drugs, prostitution, solvents and other unlawful sales and consumption of alcohol, Mr. Speaker. This is a law that will do something.

I will continue my full support for the government on this initiative and I want to send a heartfelt congratulations to this government for recognizing the sense of urgency that citizens need action from this government. When Mr. Handley stood up on Tuesday and said this would be a lead initiative in this government, it was well received in my community by my constituents. They could see that this government is doing something innovative. So, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions later for the Minister of Justice and I appreciate this government's attitude to dealing with public safety first. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would just like to talk about the community co-management agreement that the government, Municipal and Community Affairs, signed with the Deninu Kue Community Council two years ago. Mr. Speaker, this agreement has definitely lead to better financial management and better financial stability of the municipality as a whole. I commend the government on that, which was the true intention of the agreement in the first place, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what has been overlooked, I feel, is the human resource aspect of this agreement. What I would like to see from this government is the responsibility which the government inherited by agreeing and signing this co-management initiative be followed up on. By this I mean, Mr. Speaker, that this government has responsibility to ensure that all aspects of municipal management are addressed on a regular basis, preferably on a monthly basis in conjunction with council meetings.

The government has the responsibility to hear what community members are concerned about and act accordingly. Areas of concern that are often overlooked are often those that are sensitive in nature, such as personnel, staffing and employment issues. I feel that the overall success of such co-management agreements are often overshadowed by the lack of attention to concerns related to staff or government officials. If this government investigates all inquiries into government actions or lack thereof towards some of the conditions of this agreement from an objective, mutual standpoint and take the appropriate measures to mitigate or resolve, residents would begin to trust the government- of-the-day and have more confidence in these agreements that ultimately are intended to build better working relationships between

municipal and territorial governments and build community capacity and also build a practice of fair community governance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided) Mr. Speaker, last week, the Government of the Northwest Territories gave out service awards in recognition of long-term employment. I correct myself; I believe that was a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Speaker. They gave out service awards in recognition of long-term employment with the various organizations and ministries. These contributions throughout the Territories from large and small communities enhance our communities to make them safer and healthier.

I am proud to have two 35-year long-term service employees from the Nahendeh; Ms. Diane Edwards and Mr. Alex Gargan.

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The experience, consistency and knowledge they contribute is truly remarkable. In addition, Mr. Speaker, I wish to take the time to acknowledge all of the workers in all of the communities all over the Northwest Territories in private industries, everyone who does anything for our communities and for the work they have done. As well, the awards that we give out are important because they build a culture of recognition which is critical to the capacity building of the communities and ensures progressive development in our territory. Once again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to convey to all of our workers that their contribution and hard work has not gone unnoticed. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided) Today I rise in the House to address the need for aboriginal bylaw or community officers in the community of Behchoko. Mr. Speaker, in 2004, the Department of Justice, in partnership with the federal government, had a two-year agreement in which 1.24 was given to the NWT as part of the Government of Canada/First Nation policing funding.

In Behchoko, we had two officers who were successful in training through this initiative in partnership with our government and the RCMP. These officers maintain a healthy relationship with our community members and reduce disturbance, which in turn created a better living environment for all the people of Behchoko. Since this funding was terminated, the officers have moved into other careers. Community members have expressed over and over that overriding crime rates, disturbances within the community and a lack of police to address these issues, Mr. Speaker.

The heavy RCMP workload is impacting on the service levels in our communities. Employing people from the community to enforce local laws will be ensuring a proactive role in community policing. An aboriginal community officer will change the way policing is thought of within the community of Behchoko. By increasing the number of aboriginal members and working with the RCMP, this will reflect and respond to the needs of our community.

Mr. Speaker, the people of the community of Behchoko want to work with the Department of Justice, Municipal and Community Affairs and the RCMP to start a community bylaw officer program that was established before.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, aboriginal community officers are much needed in the community of Behchoko. Together, with the support of the GNWT, in partnership with the RCMP, the Behchoko community government can work towards a safe and peaceful community. Mahsi.

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

...but, Mr. Speaker, let's just squash the bugs and go back to something that was working before. If you have something that works, stay with it and it benefits everybody. It benefits the tenants that have never run arrears in their life. They are going to do their payments and they are told you have credit, come back in a month. Mr. Speaker, we have a system that works and works fine and works for the people, then the government should stick with it instead of just transferring money back and forth. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to extend condolences to families who had people who passed away in my riding from late August to early September.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to send condolences to Clarence Mangelana's family, Bernadette Capotblanc, Robert Jacobson and Persis Gruben from Tuktoyaktuk.

Also to Keith Dodge and the Wolki family in Paulatuk and the late Sam Oliktoak from Ulukhaktok. On behalf of the people of Nunakput, I send my condolences.

On the brighter side, Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend a belated birthday greeting to Joseph David Pokiak who turned 87 on September 14th.

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And also to Persis Gruben of Tuktoyaktuk who turns 88 today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has set an arbitrary application deadline of about six weeks prior to the program that you would like to be sponsored for by student financial assistance. It is clear that the NWT Student Financial Assistance Program and the arbitrary application deadlines do not have the flexibility to meet the needs of our students. It is also clear to me, Mr. Speaker, that this system has had a negative effect on post-secondary education for several northern students.

Some students have had to take summer upgrading in order to meet the entrance requirements for post-secondary education. Some of these students missed the application deadline because they had not yet been accepted for their post-secondary schooling. Once notified that they were accepted to their course, it was too late to apply. In many cases, they are disqualified for a full semester for their student financial assistance simply because of the deadline date for the application. Some of these potential students then abandon their pursuit of their post-secondary education because of this delay.

I have a constituent who missed the application deadline by two weeks because of a family loss, and even on appeal the student was denied the financial assistance program for the first semester for her second year of post-secondary education.

Government programs like the Student Financial Assistance Program need to respond to the varied personal circumstances and situations of the applicant. Mr. Speaker, the overwhelming majority of Canadian jurisdictions have flexibility in their SFA application process to allow students the ability to access the program without an arbitrary deadline that limits their options. Mr. speaker, in British Columbia, they actually allow students to apply six weeks prior to the end of their program and still qualify for student financial assistance.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the application process for the Student Financial Assistance Program, it is necessary for the department to take a client-based approach that meets the needs of northerners and do away with the arbitrary deadline approach which only appears to meet the needs of the Department of ECE. I will have questions today for the Minister of Education on this matter.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to weigh in on the issue of the recent federal cuts and how they impact the residents here in the Northwest Territories.

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The federal government makes across-the-board cuts and it impacts various parts of the country in different ways, Mr. Speaker. Here in the Northwest Territories where we receive $800 million of our $1.1 billion directly from the federal government, these cuts hit us even harder because we have no ability to replace those funds with any type of own-source revenue. We are a territory, much like a person on a fixed income.

Provinces, Mr. Speaker, are a different story. Sure, the cuts will hurt them too, but they have revenue from other sources like resource revenue, sales taxes and other available tax avenues. We have a very limited means and, of course, we only have 42,000 people. Again, it amounts to us being on a fixed income with the inability to replace these dollars.

The impact of cuts on our territory is magnified because of our small population and again our inability as a government to replace these cuts. One-third of the total budget for the NWT Literacy Council, or approximately $300,000, will be lost. We have absolutely no wherewithal to replace that money. To me the recent cuts and the

impacts to literacy, volunteerism, tourism and other programs is just an example of the arrogant approach that Ottawa takes when dealing with its three northern territories and specific to my concern, the Northwest Territories.

Resource revenue, devolution and formula financing are such key pieces to our future and integral to our future success as a territory, yet we have no movement in these areas. We can only have, and continue to have, hopes and dreams of them being concluded. We need some leadership, Mr. Speaker, and to step up our fight with Ottawa. We need a vision, we need to focus first and we need all of our people to come together and work together so that we can afford to look after our own programs without the fear of federal cuts. Mr. Speaker, the impact on our territory will be severe because of these cuts, and our residents deserve better and will obviously pay the price because of these cuts.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do more for our residents and we have to take up the fight with Ottawa. These cuts and their impact cannot continue to be allowed to happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to again ask the Minister, the Fuel Subsidy Program, it's not enough. I'm telling you right now I'm speaking on behalf of the elders who have spoken to me. The fuel there, the need, and we're not taking this as a real important issue to take care of elders. We're going against a lot of our values in terms of how we're to look after the elders. So, Mr. Speaker, to my question here. Can the Minister look at the program this year? Look at the program this year and treat the elders all the same in terms of the fuel subsidy and give them what they deserve in terms of taking care of our elders. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in a process of constantly reviewing our programs. I'm not confident that I'm going to be able to find any extra money to put into this program this year, given the fact that we only have a limited budget and we know that we're going to spend more than twice what's in the budget already. The strain is already pretty severe on the department to try and just cover the actual cost because of the fuel price increases. But I will certainly do as the Member directs and discuss whether or not there are any changes that we could make, and I'll be prepared to come and discuss this

with committee when we review the proposed changes for the Income Security Program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I spoke on the transfer of rental assessments and that from Housing to ECE. I'd like to ask the Minister of ECE, there's been a lot of concerns brought to my attention, and I'm sure other Members on this side of the House as he heard yesterday, so I'd like to ask the Minister, one of the reasons that they gave was they wanted one-stop shopping; you have to have the shops set up, the shopkeepers have to be trained properly, so I'd like to ask the Minister if they have a review of whether this program is working or not. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in the House yesterday, we have a very senior committee set up to take a look at this and it includes Mr. Polakoff who's the president of the Housing Corporation, and the deputy minister of ECE. They meet on a regular basis. We have brought together regional people from both the housing authorities, the Housing Corporation and ECE. When we find areas where there are problems, for instance on a recent tour through Mr. Pokiak's riding some problems came to light in Ulukhaktok. We sent a team in from both agencies to deal with the issues and try and resolve them. So, yes, we recognize that with any transition there's going to be some problems, and we are working to resolve those. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Transitions, there are problems, but sometimes the transitions weren't needed in the first place so we wouldn't be bringing up this concern. You have a committee working group of senior officials. We're talking tenants; what's good for the tenants, what's good for the local housing authorities, not getting their money on time. So I'd like to ask the Minister -- and I don't know if this is a question for the Minister of ECE -- if he's hearing back from all the LHOs and tenants to see if this program is working. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do work very closely with LHOs. ECE and the regional people with the LHOs are working closely together. We've agreed that we're going to set up focus groups, so it will involve tenants throughout the Northwest Territories, in order to make sure that we're hearing from tenants, what the problems are and how we can address them. So, yes, Mr. Speaker, we're doing that.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have our own focus groups and I call them constituents.

---Laughter

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They do call us and they do tell us that this program is absolutely not working. It's affecting the LHOs; it's affecting their flow of funding. Some of them may go into deficit because of this. So I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit his department into revisiting this whole transfer and if it's not working, let's go back to the way it was. It was working for the tenants. I don't know how well it was working for headquarters, but I do know it was working for the tenants and I've heard from tenants and they've said they do not like this program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I've said before, we're constantly prepared to review our programs. This was not put together because anybody said it wasn't working before. The reason for it was that this government has $125 million in direct subsidies to the residents of the Northwest Territories being delivered by a number of different departments. As part of the process to try and realign how our subsidy programs are offered to the public, we agreed, early on, that we would try and bring the programs together, and this is the first step and the first time that we've tried to do this. What we're trying to do is make sure that we have a comprehensive, cohesive approach to this, and that's why the income security review is underway. We're trying to make sure that each of the programs we have deliver the services to the public in a way that doesn't penalize them, but is designed to help people become more independent. We have programs now that don't work together; we're trying to make them work together. Yes, there may be some hiccups, but we're working to improve them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker...(English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, community bylaw officers have proven beneficial in the past in the community of Behchoko. These officers dealt with issues within our community, such as vandalism, littering and break and enters. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Justice tell me if there are

any plans to re-establish the aboriginal community bylaw officers program in the communities? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not familiar with the specific program that the Member is referring to, but I will say that obviously we have an RCMP detachment in Behchoko. We are working very closely with the community to improve community policing in the entire region. I also am aware and know that MACA provides core operational funding to communities. Some of them have chosen to establish bylaw officer positions. I believe there are about 19 across the territory. So some communities are using funding from MACA in that regard, and I'm not sure if that avenue is open to Behchoko but that would likely be a question better put to the MACA Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community of Behchoko in the past has trained a couple members from the community of Behchoko. I do believe it was under the Special Constable Program through MACA, Municipal and Community Affairs, but it was in partnership with the RCMP, as well, under the RCMP guidance. It was a very successful program, but, unfortunately, the funding was cut. So I guess my question to either Justice or MACA, would the Minister direct the RCMP and the Tlicho leadership in Behchoko to create a partnership that will sustain or reinstate the Aboriginal Policing Program that was very successful in the community? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of things going on. We do have an Aboriginal Community Constable Program in the RCMP and there are four positions across the territory that have been earmarked, and that essentially is additional funding provided for positions where can have aboriginal officers trained and then take positions in communities. I believe there is one such position in Behchoko. The former Special Constable Program that the RCMP had, the Member's right, has expired. We have had a number of meetings and lobbied the RCMP to restart a program of this nature. The federal government is talking about setting up something called a Community Safety Officer Program. We're in consultation with them now. We've had some preliminary discussions. We're very supportive of this, except that, as I mentioned to the Member for Sahtu, we want to ensure that this program is relevant for our smallest communities, and so we're working to make sure that it will be. But I do expect a new program coming forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to hear that there's a program that's forthcoming. At the same time, I'd like to ask the Minister if he's willing to work with his counterpart, the MACA Minister, Mr. McLeod, on specifically dealing with this particular issue, re-establishing the program. I realize there's program dollars that may be forthcoming from the federal counterparts that was highlighted earlier. But there again, can the Minister work with his colleague, Minister McLeod, on re-establishing the program to the community? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, thank you, and I thank the Member for the question. I do know that this is a priority for the community of Behchoko. I think the Member remembers about six months back we met with his community, the RCMP and with the leadership, Chief Lafferty, to discuss policing issues generally. At that point there were some questions about bylaw. I will certainly sit down again with the MACA Minister. We'd be prepared to talk again with the community leadership and the Member to discuss how we can best provide policing and bylaw services in that community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to hear from the Minister that he's willing to work with his colleague. I guess my next question would be how soon can we expect the Ministers to come out to the community? Mr. Speaker, the sooner the better. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the urgency. I know it's a priority for the community, and as soon as our schedules can be coordinated, we will look to do that. So I'll have my office speak with the community. Some help from the Member will be wonderful and we'll make sure the two of us can do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to first start off by saying I am so excited to hear that the government is responding to demands from MLAs in fighting the crime, Mr. Speaker. So on the heels of my Member's statement today, I'm quite taken aback because sometimes Members bring forward discussion ideas and proposals and I was so pleased that the Premier brought forward the safe communities initiative in his opening statement. So my question, then, to the Minister of

Justice would be, Mr. Speaker, what are some of the details and timelines of a proposed new bill on Safe Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me thank the Member for his questions here today and his questions in the House in the past. This is something we're very interested in pursuing and I appreciate the impetus from Members on the other side of the House. I think it is a fine example of how consensus government can work effectively, Mr. Speaker. We are developing a consultation program. We will go out to communities to explain what safer communities legislation is all about. It really is about moving unwanted activity from our communities and shutting down operations; illegal gaming, prostitution, drug activity. Sometimes the RCMP now are able to lay charges and stop one individual, but it requires compiling a lot of evidence. If we have continued complaints from a community, we would be able to do something with safer communities legislation to shut down these illegal operations. So it's certainly something we're excited about. We're talking with other jurisdictions. We'll be out to consult with communities and be back to the Social Programs committee with a legislative proposal I believe, I think we can do it probably in November. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really appreciate that answer from the Justice Minister. Mr. Speaker, the Minister did talk about bringing forward a proposal to the Social Programs committee. My next question would be, although he sort of answered it just for clarity of course, can the good Minister foresee that new legislation or a new act would be brought forward in the life of this Assembly to deal with this crime problem? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

The answer is yes, Mr. Speaker, we're going to do everything we can to make sure we can pass this legislation in the life of this government. Obviously we're interested to hear what the Regular Members think about this. I'm sure they'll want to talk to their constituents. I think it's going to be a very positive and well received piece of legislation, which should enjoy the support of the House. So we think we can do it in this government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, this is an initiative that's welcomed by my constituents. When the Premier had mentioned it the other day, I actually got a couple phone calls yesterday. The concern is that we've got these cockroach drug dealers in our communities and we have to get that infestation out, and by putting the light on it, they scurry away. So we're dealing with them, Mr. Speaker. To me, it's finally putting the light on crime and we're cracking down. So my last question, I think, to the Minister of Justice, is what type of consultation in the sense of partnership is he building, or has he built yet, that he can talk about? Has he had a chance to work with the RCMP on this? Will this dovetail with some of the programs they're dealing with in dealing with crime? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. We first went to a couple of other jurisdictions that have similar legislation to understand how it works and talk about whether or not it could be adapted for our smaller northern communities. They believe it can. We've talked a number of times now with the RCMP. As the Member, I think, and Members would understand, we need the RCMP to endorse and support this kind of legislation. There has to be a cooperation agreement. I was very pleased to hear from them that they were excited about this, as well, and very supportive. So we'll work very closely with the RCMP. They are our first and best partners in fighting crime, obviously, and we'll continue to work with them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my Member's statement today, I spoke of the hardships that are being faced by students that are unable, for various valid reasons, to meet arbitrary application deadlines imposed under the Student Financial Assistance Program. I also spoke of the fact that the vast majority of Canadian SFA programs either have no deadline or allow students to apply for SFA after they have already started their semester. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister today, could he outline, for this Assembly, the reasons why the department has the policy of setting this arbitrary application deadline? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that previous Ministers were bombarded by

Members when their constituents didn't get their SFA on time for the start of school, and so the deadline was imposed in order to make sure that SFA could be delivered before school started if people applied before that. But I'm not sure; this was something that was imposed some time ago and I can't speak for why the rule might have come into play. But I can advise the Member that I have given direction that the regulations for the deadline be changed.

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

Well, that sort of takes the wind out of my sails now for the rest of my questioning here, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

Okay, I have a good question. How long will it take the new regulation to be put in place? First of all, I want to thank the Minister for this. We need to do everything we can to encourage our students to seek post-secondary education and avail themselves of every opportunity to enhance their life.

So hats off to the Minister for changing the regulations, but when will the regulations be changed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would agree with the Member that we need to do all that we can to encourage our students to pursue post-secondary. I was having trouble understanding why we had the arbitrary time limit in there when I first had it brought to my attention by Members and constituents in this House. So in August I asked the department to contact Justice about getting the regulation changed. As I understand it, it is in the process right now of being translated in Justice, so it's very close to finally being changed; probably within the next week or two.

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

This is just so much good news. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fact is that there are a number of students who are already enrolled in their classes for this semester, as we speak now, who did miss the previously imposed deadline. They have gone to school; they're there. I want to know about retroactivity. Once the regulation goes in place, will the Minister consider those who had missed the deadline, had to enrol anyway, and are facing financial hardship? Can we have a retroactivity, a period of grace, for those who are enrolled at this time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're aware that there were 23 this year who applied after the deadline and the current regulation doesn't allow any consideration past that deadline, but the new regulation will allow it and as long as the regulation gets changed before the end of this semester, a person will be able to apply for consideration.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So just to clarify then, the 23 students who filed their applications late who are enrolled in post-secondary education right now, with the time frame and the anticipation the Minister has of getting the regulation in place, they need to know that there may be an opportunity for them to apply for financial assistance for this semester they are currently enrolled in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've just been assured by the Minister of Justice that he will ensure that we have the regulation in time for students to get consideration this semester.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today my question is with respect...will be directed to the honourable Premier. Yesterday I spoke about housing issues in the Nahendeh riding, particularly Fort Liard where this particular fall season, when the teachers came they actually had nowhere to go. It just speaks to some of the things that we did hear, too, Mr. Speaker, in our pre-budget consultations; particularly not so much housing for staff, but staff housing. How do we address that? Is the government looking at it and what kind of program would they have for that, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.