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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in keeping with today's theme, I, too, would like to offer my thoughts on the effect of the recent, short-sighted federal decision to cut literacy funding for a number of territorial literacy advocacy groups who also deliver literacy programming to NWT residents and the cuts to funding for a portion of the Literacy Program delivered through Aurora College.

All in all, Mr. Speaker, the NWT will see $600,000 in cuts, with the NWT Literacy Council losing roughly $350,000 and Aurora College losing $125,000, and other organizations like the Federation franco-tenoise will also see their funding reduced. These cuts are particularly hard on a jurisdiction like ours where we do not have the ability to fund programs from other revenue sources.

In short, Mr. Speaker, to replace the federal funding will mean that another program or service will have to be cut.

Mr. Speaker, these cuts will be especially hard on the NWT Literacy Council and will challenge their ability to stay in operation past March of 2007. Losing one-third of their budget will mean no funding for governance, no pay for the executive director, and the end of community-based literacy programs.

In a press release deploring the cuts, the executive director of the NWT Literacy Council posed a number of very relevant questions in response to the federal government's position that funding national literacy initiatives is an adequate alternative to funding community-based literacy programs; and I quote, "Who is going to organize a National Literacy Program that will meet the needs of the people of Aklavik? Who in Ottawa will travel to Fort McPherson to offer family literacy training? And which national organization will work to create literacy materials in the aboriginal languages in the NWT?" Mr. Speaker, I believe these questions highlight the need for and the relevance of the NWT Literacy Council in the day-to-day lives of the residents of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, Aurora College has also been severely impacted by the cuts. Funding for the student support centres at the Aurora College campuses is cut. So college students who need some extra help will be impacted. There will be two literacy outreach programs that will probably cease to operate.

Mr. Speaker, we are fortunate there are corporate citizens like BHP and Diavik that are working with and providing opportunities for their northern employees who want to improve their literacy and we thank them for this. However, Mr. Speaker, that responsibility lies primarily with all levels of government and it now appears that the federal government has abandoned those adults with literacy problems to us as a territorial government and NGOs.

In closing, I wanted to reiterate how disappointed I am with the actions of this federal government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I read a document published by the Department of ITI and ENR called "Energy for the Future," June 2006. Mr. Speaker, the Ministers have embarked on an energy crusade to develop a framework policy to ensure all NWT communities are treated equally in heating their homes or reducing huge leakage in the business sectors.

Mr. Speaker, the document states that the NWT consumes nearly 416 million litres of fuel, 55 percent of which is used for transportation. Fuel imported for space heating requires 91 million litres of diesel imported for electricity generators. The report also states that the development of highway infrastructure would have the greatest impact in terms of reducing energy costs and the costs of living in the NWT communities.

I'm a little worried, Mr. Speaker, because in the Sahtu we have no highways, our communities rely on diesel generators, and we only have seasonal roads. In 2004 in Deline, the average income per person is a little more than half of what the average person earns elsewhere in the Territories. Yet, Mr. Speaker, our cost of living is almost double that of Yellowknife. The Energy for the Future report is full of good ideas, such as the hydroelectric development strategy. The report says that hydroelectric power is renewable and insulated from international fuel price increases. The report also mentioned other potentials for cheaper energy sources. However, as long as these ideas sit in this report, the cost of living in the Sahtu remains terribly high. The government needs to get moving on implementing this strategy as soon as possible, so the people in the Sahtu can lead affordable lives.

Mr. Speaker, finally, I look forward towards a policy that supports all communities in the North with an equitable and sustaining energy model that will make our people proud and that we will be doing more to make it more liveable. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Mr. Speaker, I made a statement last week, but I would like to say this again. I'd like to make a statement on literacy. When we look into our region and within Canada, the government has made cutbacks to literacy programs. They have also taken money away from my region and when we consider all the mining industry in our land and the majority of people that are working there are southern people and this is a statement I would like to make. (Translation ends)

We have heard lots of facts and statistics about the importance of literacy in this House. I could stand here and reiterate these facts and tell you once again that, according to our survey, 42 percent of working-age adults in the Northwest Territories have literacy challenges, Mr. Speaker. But I'm not going to do that today, Mr. Speaker. Instead I'm going to tell you a story about my community and every other small aboriginal community in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories currently benefits from a booming economy in our backyard. We have three major diamond mines in this territory. We have oil and gas and all the secondary industries that these industries bring with them. Mr. Speaker, we have more jobs than many parts of Canada. All that looks good on paper, Mr. Speaker, but when I go back to my community I talk to many of my constituents who unfortunately fall within the 69 percent of working-age aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories who have literacy challenges and who, as a result, Mr. Speaker, are therefore impacted by other social issues such as equity, power, justice, and their children's learning, and more. Instead of living on the property line or filling manual labour positions, these are the people, Mr. Speaker, who could be and should be taking on these high profile management and highly

skilled trades positions made available by these industries. Instead, Mr. Speaker, we see southern people, as indicated in this House on several occasions, flying over our communities and taking away employment that should be rightfully ours.

Mr. Speaker, can this government justify telling 69 percent of its people that they are not important enough to be acknowledged? Mr. Speaker, I will have questions at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Lydia Bardak, a constituent of mine and one of our new city councillors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I see Mr. Dan Stockton, a constituent of mine and who also owns a business that deals with sleep apnea and respiratory therapy programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we've missed anybody in the gallery today, welcome to the House. I hope your enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to have an audience.

---Applause

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of ITI, when will his department start implementing some of the steps in the Energy for the Future document so that the Northwest Territories can see an equitable cost structure for energy provisions for all of the communities in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. It's a good question. We've had a number of vehicles and documents over the last number of years building towards an Energy Strategy. Members are aware and Mr. Yakeleya's just referenced the document, Energy for the Future, a discussion paper that was released this June. It was meant to stimulate some dialogue and debate on the issues. We embarked on a consultation, tried this summer and didn't get much uptake, so we've rescheduled for the fall here. Obviously people are very busy in the summer, but we have a number of consultations underway this fall. We've been in Simpson; we've been in Norman Wells. We're on schedule in many other communities. The intent is to come back to committee and be ready to roll out the plan in February. But we should be to committee I believe in January. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I read the document. It's a very important document. I sure hope we get a lot of people in there and involved in terms of getting some discussion here. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, the Energy for the Future report states that the development of the highway infrastructure would have the greatest impact in terms of reducing the energy costs and cost of living in many Northwest Territories communities. In the Sahtu we have no highways. Our communities rely on diesel generators and we only have seasonal roads. Mr. Speaker, I want to know what this government or this Minister is prepared to do for the Sahtu in order to make the cost of living more affordable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, there's no doubt that infrastructure is key. Many of our communities that rely on flown in goods obviously are at a cost disadvantage. We need to make investments in road infrastructure throughout the territory. You've heard this government and this Premier lobbying in Ottawa for roads in your neck of the woods. Mr. Speaker, I think that you know that we'll continue to do that. We think it's a priority. It's but one piece of our energy plan and Energy Strategy, but it is vital to do something and make an impact on the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister to define what "affordable" means as a target. For instance, does affordable mean that the government predicts the Sahtu can have a cost of living equal to Yellowknife or to Edmonton? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, obviously affordability is relative. We recognize there are going to be differences, disparities between communities in the North.

Some are remote. Some are closer. Yellowknife is going to have some cost advantages by virtue of the fact that it's on the road system. Mr. Speaker, we'll never be able to iron out all of those cost differentials to make everybody equal. I think what we're trying to strive for is equitability. We recognize that we've got to do what we can primarily in our smaller communities to bring down the cost of living. That's a priority for this government. Thank you.