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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform this Assembly of the following change to portfolio assignments effective 5:00 p.m. today. I will assume responsibility for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

The Honourable Floyd Roland will retain responsibility for the Department of Health and Social Services.

The Honourable Charles Dent will become Minister of Human Resources and Minister responsible for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities.

The Honourable Brendan Bell will lead our efforts to deal with the issue of homelessness in the Northwest Territories.

The Honourable Michael McLeod will assume responsibility for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The Honourable David Krutko will become Minister of Public Works and Services and Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board.

The Honourable Kevin Menicoche will become the Minister of Transportation and the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board.

Mr. Speaker, all other assignments remain unchanged. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is now six months away from implementation for the New Deal for the Northwest Territories community

governments. A key priority including this government's strategic plan, this comprehensive initiative which builds on past efforts to empower communities will provide community governments with the authority and resources to plan, design and build community public infrastructure.

With ongoing input from community governments, the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories, Municipal and Community Affairs is working to prepare community governments for the additional responsibilities that are part of the New Deal. Building capacity in all areas of local government leadership and administration is an ongoing priority that will enable community governments to effectively take advantage of the New Deal.

At this time, the department is spearheading a number of initiatives that will support community governments.

The department has completed a baseline assessment of community public infrastructure to communities, so they know the current state of their infrastructure and they can develop a capital investment plan accordingly.

Pilot projects have been established to provide five interested community governments with funds to design, manage and construct community infrastructure. The department will partner with them to assist and document best practices. Already these pilot projects are demonstrating that community governments are able to take on these responsibilities and develop infrastructure that respects local priorities, territorial goals and national standards.

Municipal and Community Affairs will work to develop individual transition plans with every community that is taking on new authorities, including developing specific capital investment plans, so that they are ready to proceed in April 2007 with support from MACA as requested and needed.

The School of Community Government is developing new training modules for new community responsibilities including project management, capital planning and building operations. Finally, Municipal and Community Affairs staff are being oriented so that they are ready to assist and support community governments through this transition to new responsibilities.

I am pleased to inform Members that in late November, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the Arctic Energy Alliance will be hosting a sustainable planning conference which will focus on integrated community sustainable planning and energy strategies for all community governments for the Northwest Territories. Funding for this conference will be provided through the Gas Tax Funding Agreement with

the federal government, since developing capital plans and community energy plans is a requirement of this agreement. Subsequently, in April 2007, the department is planning a follow-up conference that will focus on the implementation of the New Deal, including workshops on tools, approaches and best practices that the community could utilize to realize their priorities, especially those related to community infrastructure. These two conferences provide a forum for community leaders and staff to strategize, plan and prepare for new opportunities.

Community governments are evolving and taking on a broader range of responsibilities. Community governments know that allocating their resources in accordance with sound vision and good planning will result in sustainable, capable communities that are able to meet the needs and aspirations of the residents. Through conferences, planning tools and capacity building, Municipal and Community Affairs is working to support them in doing so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

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Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to share news about the continued success of the training of community health representatives. Aurora College offers the Health Sciences Program which certifies new community health representatives and re-certifies existing community health representatives. The regional health and social services authorities provide financial support for this training.

During each training phase, the students interview retired community health representatives and capture the historical perspective of those who lead the way in health promotion. The students gain a great deal of knowledge through these interviews. Their insights are integrated into components of their training. This process adds to the knowledge and development of community health representatives.

Mr. Speaker, during the months ahead, 19 community health representatives will achieve basic First Aid and CPR certification.

Five community health representatives will achieve instructor level certification in First Aid and CPR. This training provides life-saving skills and develops awareness, prevents injuries and builds capacities in NWT communities.

Community health representatives are the health coaches in our communities. They support individual and community efforts to develop the best health status possible. They lead the way in teaching health protection and personal responsibility and are the builders of a healthier future for all.

I encourage all Members of the Assembly to support the contributions of community health representatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Roland. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to report to Members on the results of an extraordinary fundraising initiative that will make a significant difference to sport development in the Northwest Territories.

On September 9th of this year, the Sport North Federation and several key corporate sponsors including Medic North, the Royal Bank, Canadian North, Top of the World Travel, and Nunasi Corporation sponsored the Champions for Children fundraising dinner.

Ron McLean of Hockey Night in Canada fame and retired Chicago Blackhawks player Dennis Hull were two of the key speakers at the event. Many others assisted including Olympic and Paralympic medal winners Sara Renner and Donavan Tildsley and northern Olympians Sharon and Shirley Firth.

This one-day event raised an amazing $50,000.

---Applause

These funds will now be split between Sport North's Kidsport Program and the NWT High Performance Athlete Grant Program, which is a partnership between the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and Sport North.

The Kidsport Program plays a crucial part in the Northwest Territories sports program. It helps buy equipment, pay for user fees and assists with many other expenses for many children who would not get a chance to play if a program like this did not exist. In the lead up to the 2006 Arctic Winter Games, the Kidsport Program played a very important role in helping youth participate.

The NWT High Performance Athlete Grant Program supports today's sport champions as they pursue their dreams, including the Olympics. The athletes are not only champions but are also today's youth role models and tomorrow's sports leaders.

Earlier this year, I was pleased to announce that 10 NWT athletes received funding from the program in 2005-06. Later this fall, I will be announcing the 2006-07 recipients.

Both programs could not exist without the great support of the corporate sector and the volunteers who help out with events like the Champions for Children dinner. Mahsi.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I just want to talk about the consultation processes this government conducts with the regional governments,

our community governments and any individual residents in the NWT. Mr. Speaker, we have all heard of a lack of comprehensive consultations and the lackadaisical attitude of taking proper direction from community organizations and residents in outlying communities by our bureaucracy.

We often hear about the issues and concerns during these consultation meetings falling on deaf ears. We are not reaching the proper authorities; for example, the Ministers' offices on actions or initiatives to consider in order to resolve many concerns being brought forward. What people have learned, Mr. Speaker, is that many residents and community organizations are now demanding something in writing from any government official who travels to their community promising houses, resources or better programs to residents.

Mr. Speaker, this important lesson has been a result of many empty promises and also to ensure more accountability by our government and our bureaucracy to our northern residents. Now we have a situation in my constituency where a government official acted on an informal telephone conversation where an arrangement seems to make sense, but he also needed the proper authority in writing from a community council in order to be legitimately acknowledged and approved. This was never received, therefore not approved. The situation has now put more tension and strain between these community organizations and residents on the efforts to work together.

Mr. Speaker, this community has been hindered by many lines being drawn in the sand for many years, thus resulting in many development initiatives that may improve the lives of residents not receiving full community support, therefore never becoming a reality.

This action by government has drawn another line in the sand and I want our government to know that they cannot act in haste or without proper authority, especially when trying to resolve issues related to the distribution of government dollars to various community organizations that are often working in a very volatile and sensitive political environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I start, I would like to extend a birthday greeting to my daughter in Nanaimo, B.C. Thank you.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement today is about the need for gravel for maintenance of roads, driveways and pads for further development in Tuktoyaktuk. Mr. Speaker, access to gravel sources accessible are only during the winter months, mainly because of the distance and sensitivity of the terrain. We all know, Mr. Speaker, the weather has been extraordinarily warm, which means construction of ice roads to nearby communities will probably be in late December or January, or even later, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Tuktoyaktuk Community Planning Committee has identified the need and requirements of outside of the urban centres. The Cabinet and deputy ministers should consider the needs of the communities outside of the centres. The need for gravel for road, water, access services, road access for gravel pads is vital for the communities.

Earlier this week, the Minister of Housing indicated that over the next three years, there will be over 530 units to be constructed in the Northwest Territories and that the department is working with MACA to ensure that lot development will be available. Tuktoyaktuk has the lots available to address their needs right now, Mr. Speaker, but their concerns will not be addressed until they have access to gravel.

By building an access road to source 177, this will address their future development of infrastructure for Tuktoyaktuk. This government, Mr. Speaker, should work with ILA to gain access to gravel source 177, which is only 22 kilometres southeast of Tuktoyaktuk.

Opening up source 177 would address Tuktoyaktuk granular requirements for a number of years. Earlier this year, Mr. Speaker, I requested that the government commence dialogue with the ILA before the proposed construction of the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline. Has the Department of MACA and Transportation done this to date?

Mr. Speaker, if this government does not address this problem immediately, access to source 177 will be identified by industry for their infrastructure requirements. Mr. Speaker, I urge this government to allocate funds for Tuktoyaktuk for access to granular source 177, so they can plan for today and future developments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to utilize my Member's statement today to speak about the Government of the Northwest Territories developing a macroeconomic policy framework for the NWT. The Minister of Finance stood up in the House the other day extolling the virtues of this type of policy shop located in the Department of Finance. Interestingly enough, Mr. Speaker, the Bureau of Statistics was relocated last year to the Department of Executive. I find it a shocking coincidence that the Department of Finance all of a sudden thought it was such a great idea to develop a macroeconomic policy division.

It really is amazing how we can develop a macroeconomic policy division and hire three more employees without knowing what exactly we are dealing with. Mr. Speaker, I would like to know why we are pursuing this initiative now.

I would like to point out some facts for the Minister and for the government. The last time I checked, we didn't have a resource revenue deal or devolution deal with Ottawa. We receive $850 million directly or indirectly from the federal government out of our $1.1 billion budget. We have a very limited control, next to no control, over resource development. We are limited in the areas of taxation, in spending, debt and investment. Mr. Speaker, we are on a fixed income here. These are the facts. Just last week, I questioned the government on the issue of the $200 million leaving our territorial economy every year because of over 2,000 migrant workers we have here in the NWT. You add to this all of the cash that leaves the North for contract work performed on behalf of joint ventures. Mr. Speaker, it's just very, very disturbing.

Our economy is plain and simply just not real. Like I mentioned earlier, all the control is in Ottawa and we heard the Premier yesterday state that resource revenue and devolution is the government's top priority and so it should be. We have higher priorities. The development of this macroeconomic policy division should be halted immediately. How can you develop a policy framework and allow employees to begin working on what will amount to be hypothetical scenarios? Put the focus on getting a deal done with Ottawa. When we do get control then and only then should we entertain a macroeconomic policy shop. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I'd like to talk about the effects of the recent cuts by the federal government and what those effects will have on volunteer NWT as well as the rest of the volunteer sector, Mr. Speaker. This Assembly has recognized the contributions of volunteers and how it plays a significant role in improving our social, economic, cultural, and environmental conditions throughout our North. We are aware of how much they enhance our quality of life in the NWT and they contribute to our economy approximately $50 million, Mr. Speaker.

In March 2005 the Premier signed the GNWT Declaration on Volunteering with his Cabinet approval. On behalf of the government, the Premier committed to honour and support the NWT volunteers and the volunteering organizations, support the implementation of the voluntary sector initiative, and establish linkages with other levels of governments and business sectors, Mr. Speaker. This government must live up to their commitments it made to the NWT volunteers and the other organizations when they embarked on this initiative and to this declaration that they made in 2005.

Mr. Speaker, one of the goals of this GNWT action plan was to seek financial stability within voluntary organizations and to link GNWT and federal government voluntary support initiatives. The federal government must hear what these cuts mean to us as a territory, as an Assembly and as a people. The government needs to display its ability to handle the situation and to ensure that those commitments made last year to those volunteers are truly met.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I look to Cabinet for leadership on this issue, commitment to be followed through, and support demonstrated clearly to the volunteer sector. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk briefly about the capital planning process and what I think are deficiencies that I think are costing us probably an extra 30 percent of our capital budget and the steps that we could take, I think, to remedy that and put much needed dollars back into the process.

The question is very simple: Why is it that a homeowner that's going to build a house will manage to have the supplies on the ground in late winter, just before spring, so that when the ground thaws they are doing footings and the outside construction? Why is it that Diavik Diamond Mines, for example, a huge capital project out on the barren lands, could get their supplies in over tremendous distance and difficulty on the ground and get their mine built on schedule and on budget? How is it that Diavik Mines can come into Yellowknife -- one of our best corporate citizens, I might add -- can come into Yellowknife and pick up two big projects and bring them in on time and under budget? When, as a government, we routinely take extraordinary amounts of time to plan, design, and then finally build, and when the homeowner and major construction projects are going inside in the winter to do the inside work we are breaking ground to pour concrete?

The issue to me, Mr. Speaker, is very simple. It's bedevilled us now for decades. I've worked for 20 years with the government and I put in 11 years in this Legislature and we constantly struggle with what do we do with our capital planning process to make it more efficient. Yet we have never, in my opinion, taken the time to look at the process from this particular forum right up to delivery on the ground with the project. It is my contention, Mr. Speaker, that we could save probably up to 30 percent of our capital budget if in fact we could readjust how we do our planning right from this Legislature to the ground. We should be able to duplicate what the business community can do with major projects, what the homeowner can do. I would suggest that as we look forward here that we should take the time, in fact, to look at that process. I will say once again that I believe we can save up to 30 percent of what we now spend on our capital budget and I would further suggest that we might want to take the opportunity, if necessary, to ask Diavik or one of those very successful companies to take a look at how we do business, to help us out. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a TV program that's called Extreme Makeover that's about fixing homes requiring major renovations for families in need. The show sends the members of the household on a vacation while their homes are being fixed. Well, Mr. Speaker, I think this House can use a northern version of Extreme Makeover, Mr. Speaker. The makeover crew will be the Regular MLAs. We'll find the money and we'll send Cabinet on a little vacation, maybe to Disneyland or to Bern Brown's Fishing Lodge in Colville Lake, just like they do to the residents of the house on the Extreme Makeover show, Mr. Speaker. We'll start with one room of this House. Let me think. Hmmm. We'll start with the Sahtu room.

---Laughter

Then we'll keep working on all the regional rooms until we're done. However, time will just allow the Sahtu region, for this episode anyway, Mr. Speaker.

We could get into the attitude of getting the job done right. We can, we would consult with the people, get their ideas of what needs to get done, we would shop efficiently on a united budget organizing with the airlines and other transportation carriers to get the best price for our dollars. We will set out solid design plans and consider the client's needs first, Mr. Speaker. We will rearrange the authorities and decision-making powers to bring them within arm's reach of the residents. They will become useful to the homeowners because they are not so far away.

Mr. Speaker, we will also throw those noisy diesel-powered generators out and install heat-efficient wood stoves or even wood pellet stoves. These would be more affordable for our homeowners to operator, Mr. Speaker. We will consult with the experts, like the local heavy equipment companies and the land owners, for the best approach to secure land and save millions of dollars to get the gravel for housing pads and not have to barge gravel from one community to the next.

Mr. Speaker, the Sahtu room of this house would make a lot of room for nurses and doctors so they could stay with comfort in our communities. Mr. Speaker, we'll use the room to help rebuild the Sahtu or listen to the input and learn the given trade. Mr. Speaker, as part of this makeover, a room would be used for day care centres that is easier for young mothers and fathers to make a contribution to the household, knowing their children will be playing happy and have a safe home.

Mr. Speaker, finally with the renovations complete we'll bring Cabinet Ministers back to port from their retreat, show them what we have done. Hopefully the Sahtu renovation will inspire other makeovers...

Mr. Yakeleya, your time for your Member's statement has expired. Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I apprenticed with DPW quite a few years ago and one of the things I noticed when I was apprenticing there was the amount of employees we had there from the South that would just come up, work, and then leave. It was easy for them because there was so much incentive for them to come north and work here. As more and more northerners became trained and the incentives became less and less, because working and living at home should have been your incentive, a lot of them left.

A good case, Mr. Speaker, would be we're going through the same thing right now, but it's with our nurses. We have nurses that are working side by side with nurses that come up from the South and they're getting paid less money. The ones that come from the South, and we thank them for coming north and working up here but, at the same time, we have to look after the girls, the nurses from the North that are trained and plan to live here, make the North their home.

Last year, Mr. Speaker, there were 26 graduates and I believe this year we may have 11 more. By doing this we're sending them the wrong message. Are we telling them that they would be better off financially living down south but coming up north to work for two weeks, side by side, get more money, get a housing allowance, get their way paid up, and then they can go down, spend their money south where the cost of living is a lot cheaper than it is up here. We're sending these graduates the wrong message and I think it's time that we started taking care of the nurses that plan to make the Northwest Territories their home; the ones that were born and raised here, they want to work here.

The amount of money that they get paid, they work 12-hour shifts and they get paid at a level that's lower than a lot of people and, Mr. Speaker, I don't think that's very fair. They provide a service that's essential to the North and is this how we tell them how much we value they work that they do, by making them work long, hard hours for less money? I think it's time this government, Mr. Speaker, stepped up to the plate and showed these nurses how much we value their commitment to the North and the work that they put into the North. Thank you.

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