Good morning, colleagues. Welcome to the House on this fine Valentine's Day. With your indulgence, I would like to, on your behalf, send out greetings to all our loved ones at home and all the people in the Northwest Territories on this Valentine's Day.

---Applause

I would especially like to send greetings out to my wife, Davida, who is hard at work in Hay River today.

Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, while answering my questions about Novel housing, the Minister of Finance said the following, on unedited Hansard, page 2,153, and I quote, "It seems that there is an inherent dislike to the fact of trying to use this concept as one that could help families in the Northwest Territories, especially those in the smaller communities."

Mr. Speaker, this is an absolutely appalling and unacceptable statement from a Cabinet Minister to very legitimate questions about a concept that will define and determine the work of the NWT Housing Corporation and this government for at least the next decade.

Mr. Speaker, I must say I have an inherent dislike for the way the Minister is constantly defining the important questions we must debate in this House into a small town versus big town issues. It is their favourite way to distract, discredit and divert the attention away from the real issues like their lack of ability to come up with good answers, Mr. Speaker.

Here are some more dislikes, Mr. Speaker. I have an inherent dislike for the distinct possibility that, if this Cabinet continues to fail to do its due diligence, this concept is going to create more big, fat bank accounts for multi-national corporations than the homes to our families in the North. I have an inherent dislike for the complete lack of respect this government has shown for the northern manufacturing industries. From the beginning, it has never hidden the fact that it had no faith in any of our own home builders.

Mr. Speaker, I'm just a big girl from the big town in Yellowknife, but I have to tell you, I have an inherent dislike for the government using its annual budget to promote an idea by one business and really putting its credibility on the line. How is this different than the government asking the diamond mines to buy nothing but coffee from Tim Horton's? Just think of that, Mr. Speaker.

Finally, I have an inherent dislike for the fact that this government fails to see this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where northern businesses can build them, northern labour force can work in them, as well as our small town families living in them. Instead, the government is blind to do one idea without due diligence, and puts it into a budget, and lobbies the federal government for an idea that it has already stated is not up to...

Ms. Lee, your time for Member's statement has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Valentine's Day today, I would like to tell a story of a Hay River athlete whose heart was broken by the process by which participants qualify to attend the upcoming Arctic Winter Games. Little Johnny comes home all excited about going to the Arctic Winter Games. He is an excellent athlete in his sport and his family is supportive. His parents complete the Arctic Winter Games application form and remit the registration fee for trials. He also begins the process of applying for the required passport. He applied early as he has been clearly notified that passport documents had to be received by January 6th in order to participate in the Arctic Winter Games.

Johnny participates in the regionals and he does well. He continues to attend practices and becomes even more excited. Then Johnny finds out that the issuance of his birth certificate from vital statistics is being delayed which, in turn, delays his passport from being received by the deadline that Sport North has announced to all athletes. At this point, he knows he cannot go to the games, so his parents decide it would not be sensible to pay the $100 fee to play in the territorials when it was predetermined that he could not go to the Arctic Winter Games without a passport. This is where his dream ended, but his story is not over because then little Johnny now reads in the newspaper that passports are not required to travel to Alaska for the Arctic Winter Games.

Mr. Speaker, this is not fair. How do we explain to a young person who has prepared for his or her sport for several months and sometimes waited years to participate in a competition like the Arctic Winter Games that, although you applied in plenty of time, your paperwork wasn't going to be completed in time and you can pay $100 to play in the territorials but you can't attend the Arctic Winter Games even if you win? Then, less than a few weeks later, when it is too late to qualify in the territorials, too late to be accepted to attend the Arctic Winter Games, now we are told that none of these documents are mandatory.

Mr. Speaker, what is the message to the young athletes who have been so disappointed? Who is going to apologize to them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to talk about education. Tlicho residents are special and we are proud of them. Today, these children that went to school, they are adults. Some of these adults are going back to high school. We look at these graduates. We are depending on them. They are good role models for other communities. That is what we call role models. We take a look at the Edzo Bruno School, there are many photos on the wall. It is all the graduates of Grade 12. They are all brothers, sisters, and aunties. They all go to school together. It is good to take a look at that. I am proud to say that they are role models for our communities. Although they graduate from Grade 12, some of them go further to post-secondary studies. Some of these have taken some community addiction counsellor training in their region. These graduates speak in their language. They have a very strong traditional background. With this knowledge that they have, they are helping their community. This is how they are helping their communities. I am very happy to see that.

Mr. Speaker, in the past, the government has been very supportive of adult students that go back to school. We are thankful for that. This investment has been worthwhile for the Tlicho region. This is what you call investment in our community. It is a worthwhile cause that we support these students. I would like to see the government to continue this support for the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government makes many investments in infrastructure and personnel throughout the NWT. They like to speak of the long-term benefits of these investments. Today, Mr. Speaker, I ask this government to make an investment that is sure to bring the return. That investment, Mr. Speaker, is in our young children.

The Children's First Society in Inuvik is a non-profit group that was formed with the hope of having their needs incorporated into the new school being built in Inuvik. This group consists of the Aboriginal Head Start Program, the day care society, and the Inuvik preschool. By having these groups as part of the school, we increase their chances of finishing school. Studies have proven this statement, Mr. Speaker.

Between these three groups, they have 15 employees and will be able to amalgamate -- and that is a word that the government likes to use -- their staff and resources. We spend millions of dollars on jails, courthouses, subsidies and much more. Let's now make an investment in the resource that will be able to bring a good return. Let's invest in our children. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Last summer, during the May session, I raised concerns regarding the drastic funding cuts to the Youth Employment Program initiative, the acronym YEPI, as we know it in Nahendeh. However, in Nahendeh, we are not saying YEPI anymore. This continued reduction in assistance to youth workers is, and was, visibly noticeable. A ghost town is how many people could describe Nahendeh communities if something is not done about this soon.

There is a change when I see no groups of youth painting, cutting grass, et cetera in our communities. The village of Fort Simpson, like all communities in the territory, offered a wide variety of services throughout the summer which are critical to the tourism, recreational and youth activities through a partnership with the GNWT.

Throughout the last three years, the village has received enough partnership funding for nine to 11 positions, ranging from staffing assistance with the community pool, tourism information centres, and many summer youth activities.

Last year, the village, due to this drastic cut from the ECE funding, resulted in a reduction of numerous summer programs. The programming gave our youth experience, skills, responsibilities and the ability to earn and save money. The confidence youth receive from these employment programs is invaluable to the development within the communities. The most unfortunate aspect in all of this is the ministry has not considered the reinstatement of this funding as a priority. Many constituent parents have expressed their concerns, once again this year, whether there will be enough employment opportunities for our children again this summer.

The actions of this government seem to continuously contradict the policies and objectives of this government with a growing concern for youth, healthy living, and substance abuse such as crystal meth. Why would this government cut so many badly needed youth employment opportunities? Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to speak today about the Government of the Northwest Territories' support, or lack thereof, for the secondary diamond industry. I have asked numerous questions in the past regarding the investment and the support that the GNWT is providing to this industry.

I would like to know if the Minister plans on releasing to the public the cost benefit analysis of government support to the value-added industry. The secondary diamond industry has been a very large contributor to the Northwest Territories economy. It is estimated that between 1999 and 2014, a period of 15 years, this industry will pump a total of $207 million in direct, indirect and induced wages, or an average of $13 million per year, Mr. Speaker.

My concern is that the department has folded up the diamond division, thus sending a poor message and signal to the companies in the value-added industry.

Where is the support going to come from under this new reorganization? What about the protection of the GNWT's heavily invested position in this industry, estimated to be in the neighbourhood of $20 million? We must protect our investment in this industry. The value-added diamond industry here in Yellowknife employs over 160 people. They pay taxes. They rent. They buy homes. They are very positive contributors to our local economy, as I mentioned earlier; somewhere in the magnitude of $13 million a year.

When a factory is telling Members of this House that they can go to Antwerp and buy diamonds from BHP for less than they can here in Canada, I have a problem with that, Mr. Speaker. I understand the Minister is saying that he will look into these concerns, and so he should.

Our factories just want to be treated fairly. Is that too much to ask? Is it our government's intention to slowly kill off the local cut and polish industry? The government has to listen and take immediate action to remedy this situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to raise a concern I received from the hamlet council of Tuktoyaktuk in regard to income support.

Mr. Speaker, on December 15, 2005, a Tuk development corporation, a business arm of the Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation, issued a dividend to all beneficiaries 18 and over to their membership of Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, this payment was made available by the surrender of the Esso concession, as negotiated by Inuvialuit Regional Corporation on behalf of the Tuk Community Corporation. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that some income support clients were refused assistance for the month of January 2006, because of dividend payments. Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the Income Support Program having worked with the department in the 1980s.

Mr. Speaker, given the fact that this payment was issued from the surrender of the Esso concession, is it fair for this government to include this as earned income? Many single parents and families rely on assistance from time to time under the Income Support Program because of lack of work.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask this government, what constitutes earned and unearned income? The dividend issued to Tuk beneficiaries in December 2005, should not have been considered as income because of the Inuvialuit land claim agreement. At the appropriate time, I will ask the Minister appropriate for questions in this regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a recent report given by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, it said that 48 percent of NWT respondents cited WCB premiums as a harmful tax to small business. This is something that we need to pay close attention to, Mr. Speaker, because small business is the backbone of our community and it is a bellwether of our good, solid economy in the Territories.

When I look at the situation, I can understand why franchise operators say that the WCB premiums are such a concern. Their rates are $2.93 per $100, Mr. Speaker, which is nearly twice as much paid by their counterparts in the Yukon. That is well above the rest of Canadian provinces. They have seen increases over the past several years of 25 percent or more each year. Mr. Speaker, in all fairness to WCB, that is because they have been taking out the subsidy but that still does not allude to the fact, or take away the facts, that the premiums are still very high.

The ultimate goal, Mr. Speaker, should be that the WCB is about preventing accidents and injuries. It seems obvious to me that we should be rewarding good safety practices and we should be punishing poor practices. Franchises follow national mandatory safety programs and standards, Mr. Speaker, or else they get their franchise operation licence pulled. WCB has to place them in a class that represents really what they do and recognize the efforts that they take to safety procedures. As a result, we should be recognizing, again, safe practices and finding ways to eliminate bad practices.

Mr. Speaker, we need to start rewarding good ones. I am going to give you some suggestions. First, we need to start by looking at franchises and moving them to a class that truly represents the efforts that they make towards safety. Mr. Speaker, second, the WCB needs to start cracking down on businesses that do not have adequate safety procedures in place and have poor records. Finally, when businesses violate these safety items, just like the Liquor Act, the Public Health Act, or whatever, they should be cracking down with real penalties and possibly even enforcing closures if they are not operating a safe business.

Mr. Speaker, in some places out there, this is a first job for many young people. We want to make sure that they are working and learning skills in a safe environment. I will have questions for the Minister later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I would like to welcome everyone in the gallery today. Welcome to the House. It is always nice to have an audience. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I just said in my Member's statement, I believe that the Minister should be taking immediate steps to improve the situation of the WCB rates. What is the Minister doing to ensure that bad companies or businesses out there are not putting the burden of WCB premiums on good businesses that have good, solid safety practices and records? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.