Good afternoon, colleagues. Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce today the launch of Housing Choices, the new program structure for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, Housing Choices is designed as a progressive and flexible program structure that will allow the corporation to be more responsive to the needs of our people and to contribute to this Assembly's goal of promoting self-reliance.

The consolidation of programs, from 14 to four, meets many of the priorities identified by stakeholders during the consultations undertaken on the Housing Corporation's mandate. It also reflects the input and suggestions we received from Members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs and individual Members of this Legislative Assembly. I would like to thank all Members for their valuable contribution and support to this effort.

Mr. Speaker, under the new program structure, more people will be able to access programs than previously possible and residents who have previously accessed programs but remain in need can more easily access additional assistance.

Housing Choices offers many benefits to those in need. These benefits include new education and counselling modules designed to promote and enhance responsibility and increase capacity for success. It is important to note the new programs provide a clear path for both prospective and existing homeowners to follow to seek assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to outline the four new programs:

• • The Solutions to Educate People Program, STEP, provides participants with education and counselling consisting of four courses to prepare them for the requirements of homeownership;
• • The Homeownership Entry Level Program, HELP, provides assistance to prospective first-time homebuyers by providing the opportunity to

experience homeownership commitments before purchasing a home;

• • The Contributing Assistance for Repairs and Enhancement Program, CARE, enables existing homeowners to make necessary repairs to their home to ensure a safe and healthy residence and to increase the useful economic life of their home; and
• • The Providing Assistance for Territorial Homeownership, PATH, allows clients the opportunity to become homebuyers by assisting with the construction or purchase of a modest home.

Mr. Speaker, while the number of programs offered by the Housing Corporation have been reduced, we have broadened access and expanded the eligibility criteria to increase the number of residents we can support. The delivery of these new programs also recognizes the needs of our seniors and persons with disabilities by having broadened access to programs that meet their needs.

Mr. Speaker, along with the affordable housing initiative, the launch of Housing Choices represents a renewed commitment by government to reduce core housing need and to ensure all residents of the Northwest Territories have access to adequate and affordable housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the excellent safety record that the employees of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation have achieved these past years. As of February 1, 2007, Power Corporation employees have worked over one million hours without a lost time accident.

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For those of us who may think in years as opposed to hours, this number represents over three years of work.

Mr. Speaker, this safety record would be exceptional in any company. However, when you consider the environment that the Power Corporation employees work in, it is even more noteworthy. The NWT Power Corporation is a fully integrated utility; that is they provide generation, transmission and distribution services to customers over our vast territory. Few utility companies these days still provide this broad scope of service, choosing instead to specialize in generation or

transmission or distribution and they operate in a much easier environment.

Access to the system also represents a safety challenge. Climbing electrical poles to work on connections or remove frost build-up is still very much part of the job of a Power Corporation lineperson. In comparison, many utilities across Canada service power poles and lines on their system with large bucket trucks that raise and lower the line personnel.

Mr. Speaker, this high standard of safe work practice has only been achieved by Power Corporation employees working together, making safety everyone's responsibility, and I am pleased to report that the safe work practices of Power Corporation employees has been recognized by their peers. The Canadian Electricity Association awarded NTPC a Bronze Medal President's Award of Excellence for employee safety to recognize that NTPC's lost time severity rate and all injury/illness frequency rate as being among the lowest of their reporting group.

I would like to personally congratulate the employees of the Power Corporation in achieving over one million hours without a lost time accident and I wish them continued success in the safe delivery of utility service to the residents and businesses in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Charles Dent will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada meeting in Toronto, Ontario.

As well, Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Floyd Roland will be absent from the House today to attend the memorial service for Mr. Vince Steen in Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week, my brothers, sisters and family members in the Sahtu and my family members in Tulita, especially for ourselves as a family, were devastated, Mr. Speaker. Our world was turned upside down. Mr. Speaker, from time to time, as Members of the Legislative Assembly, colleagues in this House here, we give statements. We say things about people in our region. We say good things about treatment of the youth, celebration of anniversaries; we say encouraging words to people who are in school. Those are delightful things that we have the opportunity to say on behalf of our people in our region.

Mr. Speaker, some of the hardest things we have to do as politicians, also, is to carry on with our workforce, carry on as our people have chosen us to do by electing us here at the House to represent our region.

Mr. Speaker, last week, my mother, Laura Lennie, decided to leave us early. Death has no appointment, I was told. I had a hard time with many people in my community, myself and my brothers and sisters. When love is gone, it is replaced with grief. I had a lot of wonderful calls and support from my colleagues here. I thank them. People talked to me. My mother was a leader, a strong woman that raised nine of us. I had no electricity or running water. She fought hard for us. I want to say to the people in the Sahtu and people here, thank you very much for supporting us and our families and our support to Vince Steen. People in Fort Simpson lost some families and other family members who are going to go through this experience. Your prayers really do help, and your words...

Mr. Yakeleya, your time for Member's statement has expired. Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to talk about a very important transportation issue. That issue, Mr. Speaker, is Highway No. 4, also known as the Ingraham Trail. The Ingraham Trail is home to hundreds of year-round residents. It is the access to the community of Detah, summer cottages, lakes, recreational areas, trails, campgrounds and parks. It is also the first 67 kilometres on which, each year, thousands of loads of fuel and other supplies travel to get to the mines located in the North Slave region. As a government, we have spent approximately $25 million in the past 10 years in upgrades and rehabilitation to Highway No. 4. It is proposed that upwards of $21.5 million more will be spent in the next few years on improvements. We have also increased our operations and maintenance budget by $852,000 to address safety issues on our highways. It is interesting to note, Mr. Speaker, that, prior to January, there were three serious accidents on the Ingraham Trail.

Mr. Speaker, after the ice road opened, the amount of gravel was put down to the point where there was quite a noticeable difference between maintenance pre and post ice road season. As a government, I think we need to make sure that public safety is, and remains, a top priority on all of our highways all year long.

What I would like to see from this government is the pursuit, in partnership with aboriginal governments and industry, of the extension of Highway No. 4 north into the Slave Geological Province to open up access to our resources and eventually the Dogrib communities located to the west. This is the logical next step, seeing as we have almost 70 kilometres and millions of dollars invested in a road extending northeast from Yellowknife.

In his budget address the other day, the Finance Minister made mention of the fact that the federal government is responsible for new highway construction in our territory and that, since 1987, not a single kilometre of road construction has been completed in our territory. That is 20 years ago, Mr. Speaker. We need roads. We need

access to our communities and to our resources. We need to push for our transportation infrastructure. We need to get it on the agenda with the federal government. We cannot continue to flounder along as a territory with no lasting benefit from our resource riches. Roads should be a top priority in a lasting legacy as we develop these resources. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Transportation at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

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

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about what took place two days ago. Right now, the youth YK minor hockey and living in Yellowknife, we don't have one available in Rae. Since we don't have an arena, even though the kids want to play, we don't have that in Rae. They went to Yellowknife and I just want to thank them since they don't have one available for Behchoko. Maybe there might be one in the future, but I might ask the Minister regarding that question. (Translation ends)

Just this past weekend, I have witnessed a mini hockey tournament that occurred over the weekend. It is a minor hockey league, along with invited guests coming out from Behchoko. Behchoko team came out. They were a team selected from many members from Behchoko. At that time, they didn't have a goalie, so they had to borrow a goalie from one of the house leagues here. I must say, it takes courage to come out to play against the Yellowknife team. The Yellowknife team compared to the Behchoko team or other small communities, they are good compared to the isolated communities. I would like to say thank you to the members that came out. I would like to see more of that coming out to Yellowknife or Hay River or Inuvik. We don't have those facilities in our communities. Artificial ice arena, we have been after for a number of years, but eventually we will probably see that. We talk about the bridge across the Mackenzie River. It is too costly. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, bridging the gap between Yellowknife and Behchoko will cost next to nothing compared to the Mackenzie River bridge. What I mean by that is relationship building. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to conclude my statement by saying we, as a government sitting here, would like to see more of that, members coming out and playing against our house team here. At the same time, we, as a government, need to put the money where it is much needed, in the isolated communities with respect to artificial ice in the communities. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to just today mention a few people with respect to the passing of some loved and respected northerners. I empathize with Mr. Yakeleya today as he stands in this House to speak of the memory of his mother. It was 10 years ago this week that my Dad passed away while I was a sitting Member of this Legislature. I returned and stood in the House to speak to his memory. It is a difficult thing to do, but Laura Lennie, Norm's mother, was a definitely much beloved woman. I got to know her a little bit when I began to search for my grandmother's council, the matriarchs and the highly respected women in the various regions in the Northwest Territories. Her name was definitely at the top of the list. I got to know her a little more with her work that she did with the NWT seniors and helping seniors and encouraging them. She was a beautiful woman. She was a woman who had extraordinary talents when it came to making things and handicrafts and beadwork. As Norman said, she raised nine children. She, about herself, had a lovingness about her. You would not see her anywhere, at Wal-Mart, downtown, wherever you would run into her when she was in town, which was often because she was very politically involved in the North. I would always get a big hug and a kiss from her when I would see her. That lovingness that she showed is exemplified in her children as well. She did a wonderful job. Today, I just want to offer my condolences to our colleague here at the loss of his dear, dear mother at too early and too young of an age.

Also today, in a few minutes, they will be starting the memorial service for our friend Vince Steen up in Tuktoyaktuk. I had the honour and privilege of serving in this Legislature with Vince Steen. He was a character. He was his own man. He was unusual and he was unique. He was not all that easy to get to know, but I remember after knowing Vince for quite some time, I noticed that he didn't easily share his personal feelings and emotions that well. I found out, after a long time, that Vince had gone off to residential school when he was five years old and did not return until he was 12 years old. Seven years away from his family. That told a big story to me about Vince, but he was a man of great integrity. I always said if I was going to be lost out on the land someplace, I would want Vince there because he knew the land and he knew the ways of it so well. So we offer our condolences to his family and think of them today in Tuktoyaktuk as they remember his life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to use my Member's statement to raise a very important issue that was brought forward at the

Caribou Summit that was held in Inuvik last month. One of these main issues raised at this historical gathering was the reliability of the data on caribou numbers along with the confidence and the methods used to determine herd numbers by our government officials and biologists. Mr. Speaker, I understand that we have a very difficult task ahead to get more definitive numbers on caribou and the numbers of caribou out there and that the resources required to undertake such an initiative are quite large given the limited budget in wildlife management programs in our government. But I feel that, given the importance of this renewable resource to all of the northerners and all levels of our northern society, we have to put more resources and money into this research initiative in the short term to get more reliable data. This has to be done before any restrictions are placed on northern businesses or residents alike. By not doing this, Mr. Speaker, the northern economy has a lot more to lose in the long term by infringing quotas on businesses and residents without the full confidence on how the numbers were derived at and the methods used to gather these numbers. So I would like this government to reassess its priority and also provide more than the $1 million towards this initiative, which I feel is just simply appalling in comparison to what the caribou have done for northerners and the value of caribou to our northern identity and livelihood. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to talk about caribou and, at the end of January, I undertook, as the MLA representing the Yellowknife constituency of Great Slave, to travel to Inuvik and to learn more about this incredibly valuable resource. The success of this was unprecedented, Mr. Speaker. I know that the event attracted about 150 leaders and stakeholders and experts; far more than was originally envisioned. Mr. Speaker, in the two and a half days of this event, which was very capably and warmly hosted by the people of Inuvik, I got a sense of resolve and a sense of urgency, a sense of commitment collectively to act and a sense of collective responsibility, Mr. Speaker, for the requirement on us to join together. It was said many times in that venue, Mr. Speaker, that we don't have a caribou management problem. We have a people management problem. Therefore, the decisions that we make and the actions we take as individual harvesters and here at this level as a decision and a policy-making body are going to be very significant.

Mr. Speaker, the responsibility of our government to, indeed, act responsibly and effectively on behalf of all stakeholders is very much part of the expectation that came out of this event.

Mr. Speaker, as the significance of this came to me in the media in December and in subsequent weeks, I have made some comments on it. At one point, Mr. Speaker, I said that I thought that our numbers were flimsy and that our information was flimsy and could not be relied on.

Mr. Speaker, in the course of our business here, we learn and I learn that my assessment of flimsy numbers was wrong. I want to apologize to the scientists, experts, and the staff and the people who are engaged in examining our caribou. However, Mr. Speaker, there is something about how we apply this information that is missing. I want to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Where our information has integrity and is on the leading edge of science on a best technique, we can rely on it, but, Mr. Speaker, our complete understanding of the environment and the actions of the species of caribou is not complete. Where we have some thorough knowledge in some areas, Mr. Speaker, we do not have collective, thorough and well-connected knowledge. But yet we have to make decisions and it is how we apply this knowledge to our decision-making process is where, Mr. Speaker, we are going to be judged and where we are being judged and, in fact, where some stakeholders are not being well treated and well respected by this government in the consequences that it has caused. I will be asking the Minister responsible, at the appropriate time, more questions about this, Mr. Speaker.

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