Mahsi. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Funding for non-government organizations is an issue constantly raised with me and my colleagues and our committees when we meet with organizations doing very valuable work in the voluntary sector.

Mr. Speaker, NGOs and their volunteer efforts cut across all areas of our daily lives here in the communities; cultural, economic, educational, environmental, sporting and, of course, social programs. Mr. Speaker, there is no question that without their contribution, life in the NWT would be much different.

An issue particularly is the acute need of those organizations such as the YWCA, the Tree of Peace, the Council for Persons with Disabilities, the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors, to be able to offer their staff competitive wage packages that will allow them to be able to stay in business.

Mr. Speaker, staffing for these organizations really is becoming a revolving door as they bring people into their payrolls, get them up trained and familiar with the circumstances in the North. They are very often the first people that the government and other agencies want to have and so they are easily lured away.

Mr. Speaker, the YACCS organization, this is the Concerned Citizens for Seniors here in Yellowknife, with a staff of 30 sees a salary variance of approximately 20 percent in comparison to government. A recent review by the YWCA, which has 150 staff delivering much needed social programs, found that its frontline workers receive $10,000 a year, or about $5 an hour less than similar public service positions. These differences do not, Mr. Speaker, reflect further variances that are caused by pensions that governments and larger operations are able to offer.

Mr. Speaker, it is urgent that we look at the need for NGOs if government is to continue to rely on the contributions these sectors make to our society. Mr. Speaker, it is time this government recognizes the true value of these organizations lead by volunteers to our society. It is time we add new cash to their resources, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak on the Novel housing concept. Mr. Speaker, for me the rules of engagement for this government in the ATCO Novel housing is pretty straightforward. It is very straightforward. We, the people of the NWT, are to get a real good deal by taking over the used workforce trailers from the pipeline company after it is finished with them. We are lobbying for ATCO to get this contract, in the hopes that we will end up with at least 830 used but converted mobile homes at the end of the day at a cost better than anything else comparable, certainly a lot cheaper than stick-built homes and presumably a lot better than unused, unconverted, brand new mobile homes in the market. Mr. Speaker, I have to ask, where is the evidence? The government has spent already hundreds of thousands of dollars on touring the facilities and staffing. Yesterday, in the House and in committee, the Minister tells us, in fact, it will cost us more to buy the used ATCO trailers and convert them to Novel housing than the conventional approach under its own affordable housing initiative. This is not taking into consideration all the liability this government is assuming on this project, Mr. Speaker, because the Minister said we would get 530 units spending $100 million and yet we will spend twice as much to get only 300 more.

Mr. Speaker, if this is such a great project, I would like to suggest a few things and one is that the government should stay out of this project. ATCO is a big company; they have all the resources; they can do their own lobbying. Let them bear all the liability, let them buy those trailers or keep those trailers because it is their trailers they're making, they're going to rent it to the pipeline companies. Let them convert them, let them transport them and then the government could be the biggest buyer for them. If the government insists on assuming this liability, I have to insist on better numbers, on a better deal and better due diligence. The only way for this government to be transparent and responsible on this project is to do a tender. The government must send out a tender and say, for $200 million, who can provide us...

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

Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to just finish my sentence? Thank you.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I challenge you and challenge this House; we have to at least ask the industry to see what they can do with $200 million in terms of providing housing. At the end of the day, ATCO could be the winner, but we would all be aboveboard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognitions of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member from Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have visitors. I am thankful that they are here. Noel Bishop, Jeffrey Mackenzie beside him, and George Weyallon. They are from Behchoko. I would like to thank them for visiting the House.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member from Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a former classmate of mine, Adelle Gaudet. Her name now may have changed, but it was Gaudet when we were in school together. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we've missed anybody in the gallery today, welcome to the gallery. It's always a pleasure to have an audience here. I hope you're enjoying your observance of the House. Oral questions. The honourable Member from Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this morning are for the Minister of Finance and perhaps FMBS, and this relates to the arrangements that our government has with many non-government organizations in the delivery of services for our government, Mr. Speaker. Very recently, the voluntary sector and our government put together a study on this area and the study poses a number of very useful questions. I think they'd do well to be heard in the Assembly this morning. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask, for instance, what policy or legislative change or program guidelines would enable more NWT departments to adopt multi-year funding arrangements for work done by voluntary groups, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for FMBS, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area of multi-year funding agreements with non-government organizations or NGOs, as we reference them, is something that we have looked at and we have worked with departments to try to identify areas of how we improve in this area. We do have an avenue where we can do that. Of course, every multi-year agreement is dependent on the Assembly's approval of the year's budget that comes up. We are also looking within our Financial Administration Act to review where we're preparing to come forward to this House with a rewrite of that act and looking at those areas to see where we can clarify, even, I guess, put a stronger position in that would address that area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, it's encouraging to know that under the FAA review that we're going to be looking further into it. I guess for now a number of organizations experience a lot of delays and uncertainty in their funding and their stability. Mr. Speaker, how can our funding mechanisms today be streamlined to improve access to funds and reduce administrative time and stress to these organizations and I would venture, Mr. Speaker, to our own civil service? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we proceed forward from a day-to-day basis as all the rules and policies are in place, those organizations requesting multi-year funding can go to the department they are receiving their funding from and on that basis that department would review that situation and proceed from there. If it requires any other decision items, that would come forward to FMB. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, it's about this time of year that the departments, all the departments begin assembling their business plans for the coming fiscal year. In this, especially in the social program envelope departments, Mr. Speaker, are the core or the service agreements with a number of these organizations. Mr. Speaker, is FMBS going to really seriously look at the variances that have been so well illustrated by a number of these organizations and the difficulties they are having

in our competitive job market? Are we going to address this for the coming fiscal year, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.