Good Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just one more time, will the Minister conduct an assessment? He said he would bring it to the attention of

his officials, but I was just looking to see that he will conduct an assessment soon. I am sure there are some leases coming up here shortly as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will have the Department of Public Works work with our infrastructure to have a look around and work with other departments to see what is out there and the facilities we lease and what requirement it might take to bring those up to code. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Written questions. Returns to written questions. Mr. Clerk.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Petitions. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Tabling of documents. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Framework for Action 2005-2008 Status Report to December 31, 2005. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Tabling of documents. Minister McLeod.

Mr. Minister, I wish to table the following documents entitled Corridors for Canada II: Building on our Success, and Connecting Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Notices of motion for first reading of bills. Motions. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)...Mr. Speaker, recognizing the value of elders' knowledge, I would like to talk on the motion.

WHEREAS elders have the highly valued and respected role of passing on the stories, traditions and knowledge of our culture to younger generations;

AND WHEREAS many elders are considered by their people to be experts in traditional knowledge to at least the same extent that individuals with PhD degrees are considered to be experts in their fields;

AND WHEREAS the GNWT and industry have recognized elders' traditional knowledge and expertise by calling on them for advice about the land and animals;

AND WHEREAS elders are frequently called upon by schools, learning centres and government-sponsored conferences and workshops to share their traditional knowledge and are often expected to do so without any payment or for a nominal fee;

AND WHEREAS the payments elders do receive, small as they are, are often clawed back from their pensions so that they effectively receive no compensation at all for their expertise and services;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that the government establish standards for paying elders for their traditional knowledge comparable to fees paid to other expert consultants;

AND FURTHER, that the government implement measures to ensure that payments to elders are not clawed back from their pensions. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. The motion is in order. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think this motion we are talking about has been long outstanding, especially in the small, isolated communities where we heavily depend on elders' knowledge and wisdom. We, as a territorial government, need to recognize that there are essential needs and services that are required to do the day-to-day activities in the communities. When we visited the communities throughout the pre-budget consultation process and also our Social Programs tour of the communities, we've heard over and over during our public consultation or on the side conversation where elders are sometimes paid $100 compared to a consultant fee that is upwards of $1,000. There is a huge difference there, Mr. Speaker. I think we need to comprise. We are not saying pay the elders $1,000 a day, but we are saying be equal to what the consultants are getting paid for their expertise. We recognize elders as a PhD when it comes to traditional knowledge and sharing their wisdom, their bush skills. That's what they recognize.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly hope that this government will take this into consideration as a motion that's been put forward. This will satisfy a lot of elders. A lot of elders are reaching 70, 80 or 90 years of age and we still utilize their service to the full extent in the communities. The government programs and services have fully utilized these services, as well. It's time that we recognize their services as experts in their field of expertise. This is why we are presenting this motion to this House, so it's recognized and we should be paying equal or similar to what the consultants are being paid, Mr. Speaker. This will truly serve the service that they provide to us. It will be a bit more available. We are going to have more elders getting more involved in sharing their wisdom and knowledge to proceed even further in the cultural programs, language enhancement programs. What we are doing now will be further enhanced. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. To the motion. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to thank the honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty, for putting this motion on the floor here. I wanted to support this motion. I am very glad to second it. This motion speaks to the very valued essence of our people and honouring our elders in this manner. It would be equivalent to a PhD professor or someone who has a master's degree in the western concept of education. The elders are the reason why we are here today, Mr. Speaker. It's the elders who guide us in our communities. They may not be in front of our political arenas and they may have been pushed aside over the period of time, but it's really them we receive guidance from.

When I ran as an MLA, it was the elders who guided me in this process. It was them who gave a lot of wisdom to me. Sometimes I take it and sometimes I don't take it. I know what happens when I don't take it. I fall and I hurt pretty badly. It's the elders who have kept me on this path and they will continue to do so and it's about time that we recognize them for the true capacity.

Elders will watch this House and they will watch what kind of support we are going to give them in terms of bringing them up to a status where we look at teachers or anybody who comes into our communities with PhDs and we say they have all the answers, but we don't really give that to our elders. We don't pay them and if we do, we claw them back. It's the system that hurts them. It's something that needs to be corrected.

I certainly hope that this government takes a serious look at how we can bring the elders up to a statue that we were once revving for. Mr. Speaker, I am going to support this motion whole heartedly knowing it's out there, and now it's up to the government to decide what they are going to do with it. It's our grandparents and parents who are the ones we are speaking about. They are the ones we need to consider. This motion is long overdue, as said in the past, and I feel very good about seconding this motion. Thank you.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the motion, I, too, see that as a gap. As a Member with many small communities and many elders in the communities, having their knowledge valued is something that is of great importance. As well, many of the elders I represent are not wealthy elders. They don't have huge RRSP stockpiles on which to draw upon. Often the only income they have is what they get from the federal government and what they get from the territorial government. Often they are used at meetings for consultation. We bring them to meetings. We pay them a limited amount of money, but that gets added to their income, so it affects their ability to draw on income support programs that we do have, like the fuel subsidy. It's all income tested.

Yet, we are paying how much to the elders and providing them income when we use their services, but the motion speaks about are we really giving them the value. Then you get some pimpled guy from the university and we are paying him $1,000 or $1,200 a day for his advice. It's just not right. The people from the land are experts. So we have to recognize them. Just speaking back to my first point, there must be a way to assist them from not getting clawed back. It's up to Members on this side to point out the gaps and inconsistencies, and it's governments' responsibilities to find or see if there is a way to assist them without getting clawed back or just not count it in their income when we want to assist them with some income support programs that we offer.

I will be voting in favour of this motion, Mr. Speaker. I support it wholeheartedly. It's a motion whose time has come. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to speak in support of this motion. I want people to know truly that, as the Member for Monfwi has said, this is about fair treatment. This is about respect for the elders. This is about showing that we care about their valued work and we do not believe this motion...This motion says we do not believe that their work should be undervalued. It should be appreciated for what they do. This will not break this government to take this into consideration and I certainly hope that this government is listening and I certainly hope the Premier will allow Members of Cabinet to have a free vote on this issue, so we can show that our elders are supported. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

---Applause

Motions. Mr. Menicoche. Motion 17, Performance Audit of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.