Please be seated. Good morning, colleagues. Welcome back to the House.

Colleagues, yesterday during oral questions, I disallowed a supplementary question on the grounds that it alluded to documents that were not before this House. In addition, the Chair was concerned about references to in-camera committee proceedings. While it was an oral question that ultimately led to my intervention, a number of similar references from both sides of the House preceded the oral question. I, therefore, wish to take this opportunity to remind all Members of my previous rulings on matters such as this.

On October 21, 2004, I delivered a ruling on a point of order that clarified what is and is not acceptable in terms of referring to discussions at standing committees. In this ruling, I stated that neither Ministers nor Regular Members are permitted to allude to proceedings in standing committees until the committee has addressed these proceedings in a report to the House. This does not mean that the government is precluded from disclosing information in the House that has not been made public, even if this information has been discussed with standing committee.

However, specific reference to the in-camera proceedings of standing committees by either committee members, ordinary Members who are not members of the committee, or Ministers, is strictly prohibited until the details of such proceedings have been reported to this House.

Of course, as Chair, I am not always aware of what has or has not been discussed in standing committee. As such, I am reluctant to intervene unless a perceived breach is brought to my attention by way of point of order. However, the debate in the House yesterday that led to my intervention dealt with the contents of a legislative proposal and the ensuing discussions that occurred between the sponsoring Minister and the responsible standing committee. Legislative proposals are, by definition, matters subject to committee confidentiality. Therefore, I am unable to think of any circumstance where either a Minister or a Regular Member should discuss the details of a legislative proposal in this House, or the specifics of any standing committee meeting dealing with a legislative proposal.

I remind and encourage all Members to refrain from divulging any part of the proceedings of an in-camera committee meeting until it has been addressed in a report to the House. Failure to do so may not only constitute a breach of order, it may also constitute a prima facie breach of privilege.

Thank you for your attention, Members. Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this week, NWT athletes will begin to travel to Whitehorse for the 2007 Canada Winter Games. These games are the first to be held in the territories and I want to congratulate the host society on their excellent work in planning for these games, which will provide a showcase of the North for the rest of Canada.

The Northwest Territories will be represented by more than 200 athletes at the games in a variety of sports and I want to wish them the very best. While the games provide an opportunity to promote athletic excellence, it also provides participants with a means of experiencing and celebrating the diversity of life in Canada and provides the host region with an opportunity to showcase itself to the rest of the country. I know our athletes will do us proud in the sporting events, but also as representatives of the Northwest Territories.

In addition to the regular games, athletes from the Northwest Territories will be participating in special Dene and Inuit games competition that will be featured as part of the national television and media coverage of the games. Thirty pan-north youth ambassadors will also represent the Northwest Territories at the games. These young people are from communities across the Northwest Territories and I am sure they will represent the Northwest Territories well through their volunteer roles at the games.

As noted, the Canada Winter Games provides an important opportunity for the North to promote itself to the rest of the country. The Canada Games Host Society and the governments of the Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories have partnered together to promote travel and investment in the North. This marketing campaign has already started to run and will carry on throughout the games and into the spring.

Territorial artisans and performing artists will also play important roles during the opening and closing ceremonies throughout the games. These activities will provide cultural industries and artisans from all three territories with the opportunity to promote cultural products and educate visitors on how the wilderness, history and culture of the North are reflected in art. The NWT artisan performers will also be participating at cultural festivals planned during the games and at a First Nations cultural retail venue. Also, two NWT artists were selected to be part of 10 artists from across Canada included in an arts exhibit sponsored by the Yukon Arts Centre that will coincide with the Canada Winter Games.

Finally, NWT House will be open for the duration of the games. This central meeting place located in downtown Whitehorse is designed to promote the Northwest Territories to visitors and to provide a place to meet, warm up, have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate for NWT athletes and their parents. NWT House will have a communications centre for e-mail contact with friends and family back home, will provide NWT results from the games and will feature workshops, presentations and performances by NWT artists and performers.

In closing, I am sure you all join me again in wishing the very best of luck to our athletes and in providing our best wishes to all NWT representatives at the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago my colleague from Kam Lake spoke on the need for a university in the Arctic and he made a compelling case for Yellowknife. I would like to go one step further, Mr. Speaker, and make a case as to why I believe the Arctic university should be in Inuvik.

Mr. Speaker, this is the International Polar Year and Canada is one of the countries that failed to establish university capacity in the Arctic compared to the commitments made by some of the other circumpolar countries. Inuvik, Mr. Speaker, the Beaufort-Delta, for that matter, has a rich diversity of everything. We have the tundra; we have the mountains; we have the river delta. We have oil exploration going on and gas exploration. So Inuvik, Mr. Speaker, the Beaufort-Delta, seems to be a logical choice.

The majority of the licences that are issued by the Arctic Research Institute are done and issued to studies in the Inuvik region. That's largely because of the diversity of the environment, culture and political development.

Mr. Speaker, there is a worldwide concern over climate change and the Arctic region will come under close scientific investigation because this is where a lot of the traumatic effects first appear: polar cap ice melting, permafrost deterioration, polar bear and caribou population decline. So, Mr. Speaker, I think this gives a good case for Inuvik. I think it's the belief of many Members on this side that university is needed in the Arctic between ourselves, Nunavut and the Yukon. We should come up with an agreement to pursue an Arctic university. I do want to make a good case for the Beaufort-Delta why it should be there. It's a proven fact, Mr. Speaker, that small towns can support a university. Wolfville, Nova Scotia, is a good example. It brings a lot of money into the local economy.

So I would encourage the Department of Education, Government of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon to pursue an Arctic university and to have it in the Beaufort-Delta. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as most of us know, the 2007 Canada Winter Games will take place in Whitehorse, Yukon, over the next few weeks and many of our constituents and even a few of the Members from this House will be making the trip to the Yukon to join in this sports and cultural extravaganza.

The original concept for the Canada Games first arose in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1924, and for more than 40 years it remained a frequent subject of discussion. Finally, in 1966, in Quebec City, the governments of Canada and Quebec gave their joint approval to hold the first of many Canada Games. The following year, 1967, was the birth of the games and this year, 2007, it will be the first ever Canada Games to be held north of 60.

The games motto is "Come Celebrate Winter" and what better place to do this than in northern Canada. I would like to take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, today to thank our government, the federal government and other NWT sponsors for their efforts and financial support making it possible for Team NWT to be part of this great event. An estimated 3,500 athletes, artists, coaches and officials will be participating in the games. Of the 237 NWT representatives taking part in this event, I would like to recognize the Hay River South participants and wish them good luck in their respective sport competitions and to those who will be exhibiting their talents and abilities as artists and coaches at these games.

From Hay River South, best wishes to: Coady Duncan for badminton; Brendan Green for cross-country skiing and biathlon; other biathlon participants: Amy MacDonald, Brian Swallow and Doug Swallow; for curling: Gary Hoffman; for women's hockey, Sabrina Broadhead, Carisa Broadhead, Michelle Daigneault and Cali Groenheyde.

In men's hockey: Kyle Biggar, Brett Stewart, Michael Taylor and Cole Miltenberger; in the national artist program: Christine Morgan; cultural program: Julia Pokiak-Trennert; a member of the mission staff: Quinn Groenheyde; and, finally, our distinguished youth ambassadors from Hay River: Riley Boden and Stephanie Kimble.

Congratulations to all of these people for being accepted to participate in the Canada Winter Games and best wishes for a successful and fun filled experience. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, I received an e-mail once again from my riding that someone has passed away in Fort Good Hope: Mr. Paul

Cotchilly. My prayers to Monique and to her family and to Paul's children and grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, the last couple of days I had the opportunity to sit with an elder. The elder was talking to me and giving me some insights into the recent loss of my mother and talking about the wisdom the elder has passed on from her parents in terms of helping us go through significant losses in people's lives. In the Northwest Territories, because we are a small population, these losses affect communities and even into the larger centres such as Yellowknife, Hay River or even Fort Smith. The importance of elders sitting with us and consoling us through stories and the meanings, and some the presence of them sitting with us to support us, because the Northwest Territories is small in population, but is huge in heart. When things happen to us in our communities, people really rally together and it really shows and brings out our humanity and helps us go through hard times, especially young children.

Mr. Speaker, recently I was also informed that Mr. Mike Kochon and Rita Kochon in Colville Lake lost a six-month-old baby in Colville Lake. Alfred Orlias and Cathy Kelly lost family in Fort Good Hope last weekend. My friend J.C. Catholique lost her daughter. So, Mr. Speaker, as leaders and politicians, we sometimes have these losses. It affects us greatly but we still do our work. I hope that the Department of Health and Social Services has some kind of programs for families that deal with loss and grief and issues for children and families, and put some programs there to help families go through some of their own losses in lives.

Our prayers are with them and all the other families who lost loved ones in the last year. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is again going to focus on autism and how our government is failing parents who need help. I spoke yesterday that my constituent has a three-year-old boy who has autism. Mr. Speaker, autistic children do not cope well when faced with changes to their daily routine. My constituent has been trying to tell this to the Department of Health and Social Services, but to no avail. When it comes to speech therapy for an autistic child, why can't home therapy be an option? It is next to impossible for my constituent to get her son to go to the half-hour per week session with a speech therapist. He is out of his element and begins hitting whatever he can, banging his head off the taxi and screaming incessantly. These out-of-home visits to speech therapy cause my constituent and her family a tremendous amount of stress each and every week.

An autistic child is usually diagnosed around the ages of two. Between the age of two and four, a parent is virtually left to their own devices when it comes to the 24-hour care that is required to attend to the needs and safety of the child. The Department of Health and Social Services could offer a day aid to help, but the stipulation is that my constituent would have to leave the home with her two-year-old daughter for the day. This scenario might help if there were two parents, both of them working. However, for a single mother living in social housing it's not an option.

I also mentioned yesterday the steady increase in the rate of autism being seen in our children today, and I believe it is time that the government take a serious look at the establishment of a day care type facility for children with special needs. Today there is no facility or dedicated services for preschool autistic children. As a government, I believe we can, and should, be doing more to address this special need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Brendan Bell, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and Justice, his staff and I visited Tuktoyaktuk, Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok in July 2006. In Ulukhaktok we had an opportunity to meet with the hamlet council and members of the arts and crafts committee. We also had an opportunity to tour the Ulukhaktok Co-operative arts and crafts shop.

Mr. Speaker, the local artists in Ulukhaktok are well known for their sealskin sewing, but, more importantly, the artistic value in printmaking. The last number of years the local artists have stopped printmaking because of the condition of the building and the printmaking equipment. During the tour, it was visible the printmaking shop needs a lot of repair to make it viable for the artists to do what they love doing: printmaking, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, since the tour, I'm happy to report that there has been some repairs done to the building, more specifically related to the water and sewer tank repairs and heating system of the Ulukhaktok Co-operative arts and crafts shop. These repairs were paid for by BDIC. The community is very happy with these minor repairs to the centre to date. I thank the Minister and his staff, the department, for finding the funds to do these minor repairs.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Economic Development in Inuvik continues to work with the arts and crafts committee in Ulukhaktok to find funds to complete the repairs of the printmaking shop. Mr. Speaker, I am in support of the completion of this project and would encourage the Minister to find the appropriate funds to complete the renovations to the arts and crafts shop. By completing the repairs to the building and printmaking shop, it will bring employment for the people. Employment is scarce in the community; therefore, completing the printmaking shop will bring a much needed economic base for the people of Ulukhaktok. More importantly, it will once again recognize artists for what they can do to become world-renowned printmakers. In closing, I will have questions for the Minister of ITI at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to raise some concerns in this House about the Information Technology Services Centre and the impact that they've had in some communities.

Mr. Speaker, prior to the incorporation and development of this particular model of service delivery, departments provided their own service, they built up their own infrastructure, and in communities mainly outside of Yellowknife, support services in the private sector were built up to assist the government to do this.

The Information Technology Services Centre is a concept that was done to improve service to provide integration of service across government to provide consistency and compatibility of service delivery systems within government, all of which are good things. However, Mr. Speaker, there have been some unintended side effects, in my opinion, that have had a negative impact in communities like Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells and Inuvik. There is significant market disruption. The service providers in the private sector that used to be there, that developed as a result of the request of government to help them provide those services, have been marginalized. There has been, I think, significant centralization into Yellowknife and services provided to the regions out of Yellowknife. The intent of the service centre, in my recollection, was to be compatible and not to provide a negative impact on communities.

I've been on this issue with Ministers now for a couple of years, but it's reached the point where I think it's time for us, as the government and as the Legislature, to take a look at the issue of what happened in terms of market disruption, this unintended side effect, and are there many possibilities of remedy that can be worked out with the communities and with the private sector. The intent never was to put people out of business. I'm going to be asking, later today, the Minister to look at what steps could be taken, and a review could be done, to talk to these service providers in the communities to see what steps could be done to remedy the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on many occasions in this House I have spoken about the need for made-in-the-North whistle-blower protection legislation. The general idea is that such legislation would allow the employees or contractors, or even the general public of the NWT, legislative protection from adverse consequences to their employment and economic security or other repercussions for speaking out about government's action or inaction. As I have noted on many occasions, in a small jurisdiction like this where virtually everyone knows everyone else, or is somehow connected by everyone who they play sports with or work and do business with, this is especially an important and necessary protection to have. I believe it's in the interest of good government and a society that values accountability and transparency like ours, that this government takes a leadership role in this area.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, I was very encouraged to hear from the Premier and the Minister on the other side last fall that the government had begun working on this initiative. On October 20th, the Honourable Floyd Roland, then Minister of Human Resources at the time, said the following: "As the Premier stated and comments raised in this House by Members, the whistle-blower legislation portion has been discussed a number of times. The Member for Range Lake has made this an issue on a number of occasions and we have taken that and begun to work on it. I am, very shortly, going to be presenting my Cabinet colleagues with the beginnings of a discussion paper and then, if I get approval at that stage, I will be coming to the Members with that discussion paper and see from there if we go out for public discussion on that basis, and then from there begin preparation on legislation."

Mr. Speaker, four months later and with the time of this Assembly running out, I haven't yet seen any indication that this initiative is moving along. I would also, therefore, Mr. Speaker, like to take this opportunity to remind the government that they live up to their commitment and release a discussion paper for public debate as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Success rates in our school are something that needs to be addressed. All of our children need to see the importance of completing their education so that they can be productive members of society for the benefits of the future of the Northwest Territories. A 50 percent territorial graduation rate should not be considered a success. It should truly be a call to arms of this Assembly as a high priority.

School attendance needs to be an area of attention, not just to the high school levels but throughout our education system. A strategy to improve attendance should be aimed towards keeping students interested in learning. However, if a carrot approach doesn't work, other methods need to be found.

The Province of Ontario recently established a new law that would strip drivers' licences from young people under the age of 18 who do not finish their secondary education. This law also moves the mandatory age to remain in school from 16 to 18. Additionally, in its efforts to slash dropout rates in half, the Government of Ontario is using the new law to fine employers who hire or schedule students during school hours. Granted, many students may not excel in some curriculum courses, but as a government we need to develop options, remain flexible, and hold the interest of our students. If we want to produce productive members of society, we must have a hand in creating them, not limiting their skill sets available in our schools.

We all know people's interest lay in many different categories outside core curriculum. Providing students with options that they have active interest in, take pride in, and want to do, will produce people who excel and want to do good in school and finish. I would like to see a partnership between the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the Department of Transportation to join forces in a project like the one in Ontario that is trying, to reduce dropout rates in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, this might not be the right path, but certainly a discussion needs to take place. I wouldn't necessarily advocate taking someone's driver's licence away because they didn't finish school, but, Mr. Speaker, again it needs to be the highest priority to ensure our kids graduate from high school. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mackenzie Gas Project Socio-Economic Agreement outlines a number of areas of vital concern to the people of the Northwest Territories, our communities, our businesses. An aspect that is addressed in the agreement is the creation of the NWT oil and gas socio-economic advisory board. Mr. Speaker, this is a new level of, I'm assuming here, some accountability along with an advisory capacity that is being set up by the proponents and by the government, and it will include a number of members from aboriginal authorities.

Mr. Speaker, this is, as every project that we've seen, every major development project that we've seen has had advisory boards or monitoring boards bolted onto them and this is all very progressive, but we also need to look at these, Mr. Chairman, in terms of the value that they give to the overall process and just whether or not they actually improve the levels of accountability and transparency, and input, and influence that the Northwest Territories, either through government or communities, have.

I must express some concern, Mr. Chairman, at the terms of reference, which I won't go into. They are contained in the agreement, which is public and has been tabled. Because they do go into areas where this board, this society, is mandated to provide advice and analysis of various aspects of the conditions of the socio-economic agreement and a principle concern, as we've seen with so many other levels of governance, is just who is responsible, who is in control, and who has the ear of the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize with us today Dr. David Leadbeater, an associate professor from the Department of Economics at the Laurentian University in Sudbury up here to do a presentation tonight on what happens when the mine closes; basically a discussion on resource-based towns and what happens to their economy, to their communities when they close. He's here with us in the gallery today.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.