Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I spoke about the region of the Sahtu and the communities, and I talked about the each of the communities. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk today about the importance of connecting the Sahtu region by road before connecting to the southern part of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, everyone is familiar with the Buy North slogan asking northerners to shop locally. Even the

federal government encourages communities to travel local before they vacation elsewhere. The dollars spent local, stay local. Well, this is what I want for my region, Mr. Speaker. I want us to "Shop Sahtu." As noted in the government publication Common Ground, small business is the cornerstone of economics. Small community-based businesses provide services and supplies to development and to community members. I want people in the Sahtu to be able to meet with each other, have face-to-face business meetings and discuss other important issues.

We need affordable access to each other to keep these lines of communication open and to plan for the Sahtu in the Sahtu.

The Department of Transportation's report Investing in Roads for People and the Economy recognizes this fact. Part of the action plan in this report was to investigate the possibility of starting construction on a small-scale community-based construction program. The department was thinking of providing small contributions to each local community and begin a number of small-scale construction projects. The community will get experience in heavy equipment operating and also some employment opportunities. The Mackenzie Valley road will be built by the people in the Northwest Territories in the communities.

The Sahtu needs to strengthen our regional economy and build at our own capacity. By all means, Mr. Speaker, this government should build that all-weather road to the South, but first they need help to build our communities in the Sahtu, support our local economies and do what's right for this government. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the truly great symbols of our Legislative Assembly is the mace. Its origins go back thousands of years when it was a weapon of choice by kings' bodyguards. Over time, the mace has gone from a weapon to symbolize the king's authority in the Legislature, to symbolizing the Legislature as a whole's authority. Up until the 20th Century, legislatures did not allow paper in their assemblies. Members were expected to be able to debate without using notes. Ministers were expected to know the workings of their departments without briefing books. Imagine that, Mr. Speaker.

As life and government get more complicated, restrictions on use of paper relaxed and now they are allowed in our legislatures. Mr. Speaker, the 21st Century life in government has gotten more complicated. The amount of information provided by governments, legislators, researchers and non-government organizations continues to be astronomical.

Technology exists; we should be using it. Through the use of laptops and other information management tools, we can effectively...

Mr. Hawkins, the Chair is going to...You are dealing with far more than one topic in your Member's statement. Members' statements are to deal with one topic only.

Mr. Speaker...

The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and thank the Minister of Health and Social Services for providing $50,000 towards the Canadian Seniors' Games next year, Mr. Speaker, which I believe will be held in PEI.

Mr. Speaker, for the last games, dozens of seniors from all over the NWT travelled to Whitehorse and participated in all kinds of sports, including golfing and bowling. The oldest athlete, Pakash, is in her eighties and I know I am sure she is now more motivated than ever to train for the next games.

Mr. Speaker, these games are really, really important for the physical, mental and social well-being of our seniors. I believe we are very lucky to have a very energetic, focussed and motivated force among our citizens in our communities. They are truly the backbone of Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, when they set their mind to something, they will get the job done, no matter what that might be, whether it be to build the seniors' dementia centre or to raise tens of thousands of dollars for Canada Games. Mr. Speaker, I, for one, am very glad that I may not have to spend every day this summer selling raffle tickets with the seniors to raise all the money to send them to PEI. I was taught to respect our elders and it was uncomfortable at times to see all of them out there every Saturday for the summer raising money.

I know that they will still be out there to sell raffle tickets to raise money because $50,000 is probably not everything that they need, but I know that having this contribution will give them a very important cushion to build on.

Mr. Speaker, the seniors' community, the people, services we provide, the facilities, all of them always need tender loving care and I know that we still have a lot more work to do, but this is a very good move on the part of the government. I congratulate them today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a constituent of mine, Ms. Glenna Hansen. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Again, I would like to welcome all of the visitors in the gallery today. Welcome to the House. It is always nice to have an audience. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. It has to do with the GNWT legislation for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief Act. Mr. Speaker, section 2(4) says, "The council of a municipal taxing authority shall not exempt from taxes the eligible property of a senior citizen or disabled person who is a part owner of the eligible property unless the other part owner or all other part owners are seniors citizens, disabled persons or dependents of the senior citizen or disabled person." End quote. Mr. Speaker, therefore, if a disabled person or a senior is living with a non-disabled or a non-senior or non-dependent, they would receive zero exemption on their property tax relief under this act. The part owner, as I said, would have to fall into one of those three categories. This government legislation does not allow for equal treatment of senior citizens and disabled persons in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, in previous questions, the Minister has responded that a review of this legislation would take place. What is the progress that has taken place on this legislation that would ensure and provide fair treatment to my constituents who are senior citizens and disabled persons seeking tax relief? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been raised by several Members of this House over the last while. It is an area that we are, at this point, reviewing. The Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief Act does specify that the relief would be provided only to the person whose name is registered as owner of the land or the property. We are still reviewing it. We have not come forward with any firm decision on this. We will still be looking at it over the next while. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is right, Mr. Speaker; this has been brought up. I have been bringing this up for 10 years now. We still can't get any resolution to this subject. Mr. Speaker, I hope people can understand that it is unfair to have a tax relief program that insists that both owners of the property would have to be disabled in order to qualify, or both would have to be senior citizens to qualify. It just isn't fair. I think the Minister understands how I feel about that. Is this act consistently applied in all tax-based municipalities at this time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is, of course, correct again. The act was passed in 1988 and it has only been recently, in my situation, where it was brought to my attention. I have discussed it with the officials in my department. We are working on looking at how we can make the changes if the changes are warranted, and we will continue to do so and come forward with a decision some time later this year. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope that decision will address the fact that it is going to be rather unlikely that all part owners to a property would necessarily have the same status in terms of being disabled or being a senior citizen. Right now, Mr. Speaker, we have people in Hay River that are removing one part owner, a spouse, from title so that they can be eligible. They are changing the ownership of the property which creates all kinds of other problems later on and costs to them down the road. So I hope that, Mr. Speaker, the Minister will find a fair way to approach this. I would like it done as expeditiously as possible. What does later on this year mean? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later on this year means some time later on after today.

---Laughter

I don't have a firm date, Mr. Speaker. We take the Member's concern. She has raised it to us, and a number of other Members have also raised it. We don't have a firm date as to when we are going to be able to resolve it. We are looking at the options of this. We have also discussed the opportunity that is already existing of members that are disabled that are not listed as part owners of a property to make the changes. However, we recognize that maybe there are other ways we can do this and make changes to our regulations or to the legislation itself. We will try to do that this year, Mr. Speaker, if that is what is warranted. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I talked about connecting the roads in the Sahtu prior to going to the southern part of the Northwest Territories. In the Department of Transportation, investing in the roads, the original plan was create the capacity in the communities by building roads out of the communities and connect them to the major highway system. Is the Minister still committed to this plan? Thank you.