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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement today will be on the vehicle gravel materials to maintain the roads, driveways and build the necessary building pads for the further development in the community of Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, because the closest gravel source is not accessible by an all-weather road, the hamlet and community contractors have to wait until the winter months to build up their stockpiles for the upcoming years. With so many unknowns on the pace of development, the Tuktoyaktuk planning committee has identified and need for ready access to a gravel source.

Mr. Speaker, I have to wonder about our government where the Department of Justice can just get about $3 million in the 2006-07 Main Estimates to begin work on the courthouse in Yellowknife, but, yet, Municipal and Community Affairs has only identified a meagre $250,000 to address gravel materials for all of the communities in the Northwest Territories; peanuts for infrastructure in communities and millions for Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, Cabinet and the deputy minister in the capital planning should give serious considerations to the infrastructure needs of the communities. A need for gravel materials for roads, water access service and landfills are crucial to the safety of all residents and communities. This government should work with the Inuvialuit Land Administration to gain year-round access to gravel source 177 which is only 22 kilometres from the community of Tuktoyaktuk. Opening up gravel source 177 will address Tuktoyaktuk's gravel needs for a number of years. I am concerned that, with the coming of the pipeline, the needs of the industry will take the priority over the infrastructure needs of the communities.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to encourage this government to enter into a dialogue with Inuvialuit Land Administration and the hamlet to secure the gravel source for the future of Tuktoyaktuk. Funding will also be required for the community of Tuktoyaktuk to secure the rights to this gravel source. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the news I read that the North of 60, there was a territorial challenge by the Nunavut government called, Drop the Pop campaign that will begin on March 27th to March 31st. It is challenging the Yukon government, the territorial government here in the Northwest Territories and also the Nunavut government. It is based on a creative concept in Nunavut. It is about having the communities and the schools avoid drinking pop for one full week. Again, this challenge went out to the two other territories. It is to create awareness for the schools in the communities about the dangers of drinking pop in the people's lives. It is to promote a healthy lifestyle for the young people and also for the community.

Also, Mr. Speaker, there is funding available, I understand, to provide for communities and schools in terms of types of incentive that could have as children drop the pop for a whole week. Also, there is funding for participation in this challenge here. I look forward to the Minister laying out some type of strategy or some type of announcement for these school kids or communities to take part in this challenge as the Northwest Territories, like any other territory, certainly loves a good challenge, especially with our family territories across the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is a worthwhile challenge. There are many other friendly issues that we could challenge each other on different areas of issues that we have faced with the North. I look forward to the Minister in terms of releasing an announcement on the type of support and incentive that we could come up to the challenge and look at the results when this challenge is finished.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward again to the Minister's strategy in terms of having a challenge for the Yukon and Nunavut governments. Thank you.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a constituent of mine, Barb Wyness with the UNW, in the gallery.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I would also like to say hello to Ms. Gayla Wick from the UNW, as well. Welcome, ladies, to the proceedings.

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Thank you, Members. Oral questions. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for Mr. Miltenberger, the Minister of Health and Social Services, and it refers to the issue of making sure that the non-government organizations that we partner with receive a realistic pay and benefit package for their staff, something which we have lost a lot of ground on. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, the Minister said that he didn't recall when there was a time when automatic increases were given, and yet I have correspondence from the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Board dating back a couple years now, Mr. Speaker, to July of 2001, in which salary increments were put forward to the YWCA through the Department of Health and Social Services' assistance. This was done, and I quote from the letter, "to provide some financial recognition for the important work your staff carries out in communities." Mr. Speaker, how can the Minister account for this written acknowledgement of the significance of the work that NGOs do and his own recollection of just a few days ago when automatic increases were not given? Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue is one where there has not been consistency in the past. My account for not being aware of this information is due to, in all probability, my memory and not being aware of that particular detail. I do know that there is no annual increase to NGOs that are built in as forced growth. I know that the concern from women's shelters, from every other organization that I have talked to, has been that often their budgets have been pegged at a certain level as they haven't seen any increases for salaries, cost of doing business or anything. In this case, the YWCA was fortunate; but the reality is that we don't have an ongoing method to build it into our budgets at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we do have a way of building something like this into our ongoing budget. It is called forced growth. We do it all the time. We are going to be dealing with it later on today, I believe, when we consider the supplementary appropriation bill. This is something that I would be very much in support of considering if the Minister's department or, in fact, others that deal with NGOs, feel that it could be warranted, to offer our partner NGOs an increment for salary and wages. Would the Minister consider using forced growth as a way of providing these NGOs with some wage and benefit parody, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have indicated previously in this session and in this House, the government has developed a third-party accountability framework that is giving us a way to put a frame around this particular issue, recognizing the important work that the NGOs are doing and classifying them in different categories. The key number one category being that if the NGO does not provide the service, would the government have to provide it on their own with their own resources? As I indicated previously in this House, we are working on lists collectively that we can bring forward that would classify the NGOs that currently do business for us, in this case, Health and Social Services, to make the case that they be given that consideration on an ongoing basis within that third-party accountability framework. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, does the third-party accountability framework specifically, absolutely include NGOs like the YWCA? Does it capture those organizations within the intent and the purpose of the policy? Or does it only apply to those agencies such as Health and Social Services authorities, local housing authorities, district education boards, those ones that are directly mandated? I am trying to find out, Mr. Speaker, does our policy take that extra step to include NGOs that are not statutory creations of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The third-party accountability framework is designed to be able to recognize the work of NGOs. The health authorities, the DEAs are considered employees. They have collective agreements. They are part of our budgeting process. NGOs currently, in terms of when it comes to forced growth and other issues, are not. This third-party accountability was designed specifically due to the recognition of the fact by the government that this is an area that we would have to be able to better define so that we can address appropriately. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for ECE, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has no program for providing capital for buses to DECs. We provide money for transportation as part of the grant that we provide to DECs and agencies like the Tlicho Community Services Agency. It is up to those agencies to determine how transportation is provided. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister indicated, funding does consist of bussing if need be in the communities. Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to stress that, with the current funding to Tlicho Community Services Agency, it is stretched as it is with no flexibility to contract out or purchase a school bus, Mr. Speaker. There is absolutely no room, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister commit in this House to invest in school transportation as part of the additional funding so there is no impact on the current funding that is geared towards providing core subjects, cultural and language programs and inclusive schooling? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.