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. 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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment a question in terms of the socio-economic agreements. There's some very key chapters in there and there's very key initiatives that are going to happen. I want to ask the Minister a question in follow-up to Mr. Braden's Member's statement in terms of the implementation parts of this agreement. Is this chapter here on the implementation, are those too many chefs in the kitchen and not enough workers out there to know what's going on? How is that going to help the communities in terms of us explaining, have us understand how this agreement is going to work out in our communities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of things going on and the Member is correct; of course, we have access and benefits agreements that are being agreed on between the regions and Imperial. We have the $500 million fund that the federal government has pledged to mitigate socio-economic agreements. There are a number of things going on in addition to our socio-economic agreement negotiations and now the signing of the document. It's understandable that communities need to get a handle on how this will impact them, how they will take advantage of the businesses and opportunities. Obviously in terms of specific business opportunities in the socio-economic agreements, Imperial has made some pledges and some commitments. They are working in regions to develop lists of business and business capacity, so they know who they can use and who to use.

Mr. Speaker, we're more than prepared, as a government, to sit down with communities that are interested and further brief them and discuss with them all of the various negotiations and aspects of the various deals going on, Mr. Speaker, as well as the socio-economic agreement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister to go one step further by advising the smaller business organizations, the community members who maybe need to have this outlined in plain language in terms of some of the benefits of this agreement and some of the things that need to happen with community involvement and some time frame, date, in terms of this agreement being rolled out. The implementation of this agreement is key, so would the Minister look at some of these options I've laid out? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would agree that implementation of this agreement is key and, of course, that hinges on a positive construction decision being made. We are advancing through the regulatory process, JRP, NEB, but certainly, Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to sit down with communities and go through this. I can't say definitively when that construction decision will be made. We think end of '08, first gas by 2012, but I do know that work is underway. Imperial, on behalf of the producers, are meeting with the regions to talk about creating lists of businesses so that the business community can take full advantage. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would again urge the Minister if he would at least check with his staff to ensure that there are other regions out there that want to get a jumpstart on understanding this agreement and the amount of work that needs to be explained to our people in terms of what do we need to do to get ready for the first gas down the Mackenzie Valley here in terms of having this agreement come into effect in terms of the benefits that will show the Northwest Territories, otherwise this deal will go, you'll have sour gas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly will make the commitment that my department will work with the regions to talk about the business opportunities. I know that, as I've indicated, work is underway. We don't know exactly what's in the access and benefits agreements, but let me say that I have it on good authority that there's millions and millions and millions of dollars worth of set-aside work and contracts for the regions. That's why the lists are being created. That's why Imperial is leading this work. This socio-economic agreement commitment is in addition to that. We're prepared to sit down with the regions and talk about how that will impact them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Public Works and Services and they follow up on my Member's statement. I'd like to ask the Minister if he would consider, or whether the department has in fact done, any kind of review of the market disruption that has been claimed by many of the small community businesses of the setting up of the TSC? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the reason that this government went to a centralized system was to save costs and look at a more workable system that we're able to facilitate all the departments and also the regions in having a system that's more efficient, but also ensuring that we have security considerations taken care of, we have the technical support there when we need them, and also to ensure that we have a system that's basically workable in all areas, from health care, education, and the government programs and services. That decision was made by the previous government to ensure that we do centralize our system. Mr. Speaker, this is not unique just to governments. Industries across the country are doing a similar thing, having a centralized technical support system so that they can maintain their own service, but also, more importantly, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we have the security that is now required and also having the support mechanisms there to do it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While I appreciate the Minister's history of this whole process, the question is, has the department done any review of the market disruption and the concerns that have been raised now for years? I have a file that's fairly thick on this and I've gone to a number of Ministers to try to address this. We have enough time under out belt to try to go back and take a longitudinal look in the rear-view mirror to see. I'd like to ask the Minister, if they haven't, would he consider doing such a review so that we could have that discussion and put this matter to rest? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government continues to spend roughly about a million dollars a year just on IT support out there in the private sector with regard to calls that are put out to consider the material requests we need for new computers, new upgrades and whatnot. So we are working with the private sector. We're spending about a million dollars a year out there with regard to technical support which is put out through a tendering process. We are still working with them to ensure that we are benefiting the business community out there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this money, I would suggest, is probably spent mainly in Yellowknife. This is a small community/regional centre issue. I would like to ask the Minister again, would he commit to have his department take a look at the impact of what has happened with the setting up of the TSC and that impact on communities and businesses in the smaller centres that have been directly affected? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, there is a pretty vibrant business community out there. We have NorthwesTel that's involved in the Internet system; we have different aboriginal corporations now looking at it. I think the systems that we have in place, that we're not the only game in town. We have to realize that there are other industries out there that are also competing for the similar market. I think for ourselves to take the notion that we're the ones at fault here, I don't think it's justified but, again, Mr. Speaker, if the Member would like, I can give him a breakdown on those expenditures that are out there today. We cannot take the full responsibility of what's happening with regard to this business by way of the private sector. Again, it's a competitive business and we are providing a service for this government and on behalf of the people in the Northwest Territories to ensure that we are efficient in what we do but, more importantly, that we're responsible for the costs of doing this business. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I wanted to get back to my Member's statement and the issue is autism. As I mentioned, the diagnosis on an autistic child usually takes place around the age of two. Mr. Speaker, the change to a daily routine for an autistic child is something that just throws them for a loop, it causes them a great deal of trouble and they are completely out of their element when you add changes. So a weekly visit to a speech therapist in a taxi cab is quite a chaotic event for some parents who have to take their children there. I'm wondering if the Minister could let the House know today what services are currently available for parents with preschool autistic children between the age of two and four. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area that we have available to families in the Territories, I can't say specifically between the ages of two and four but for families who have children that suffer from autism, we do have a number of programs that are available for families. For their care, we work with the local health authorities, the regional health authorities, and try to come up with the appropriate level of care. Many times it would require families going into a certain location in the community, because that's the best way we can deliver that service to as many clients as possible throughout a day. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the difficulty that parents have getting an autistic child to speech therapy, wouldn't it make more sense that we look at home therapy and getting speech therapists to go to the home so that the child is not disturbed and they can go through their daily routine? Would that not make more sense, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are many things we do that would make more sense if we changed some of the programming. Is it something we can afford to do? Can we get enough people in place to provide an enhanced level of service? We've had a lot of difficulty between Education, Culture and Employment and ourselves at Health and Social Services to come up with a speech pathologist in communities, never mind even headquarters. So that becomes the difficulty, is how much service we can cover. If we could arrange a program, we try to do that on an individual basis if we can come up with the necessary level of service. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the doctors and the specialists out there that deal with autism would agree that the best thing for the child is to receive the therapy in the home so they're not disturbed from their daily routine. The other day I had an exchange, during Committee of the Whole, with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment with regard to the establishment of a day care facility, a specialized centre that would treat and provide the services necessary for autistic children. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if his department has ever given that any consideration? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not aware of any plans that have been put in place to build a facility that would deal with these areas. Just for the record, as well, as I say, there are a number of services provided to families that are in need of this assistance. In the most severe cases, it requires a southern referral. We also deal with, for example, occupational therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy, and if we can coordinate, again, with our services available in a community, we can set up a visitation that would cover a number of bases at one time. Again, it's not always the best issue when it comes to particular issues that we deal with clients. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many times in this House I have raised the issue of the fair and equitable distribution of GNWT resources in terms of jobs, programs, services and the ability of this government to make decisions, where possible, to decentralize services so that the economic benefits would flow to communities in the regions. Mr. Speaker, the highly publicized issue of the suitability of the headquarters for the Workers' Compensation Board here in Yellowknife was in the news over the last year and, to my knowledge, has not been resolved. In terms of the question of the Minister's authority, or the Minister's role, I'd like to ask the Minister for WCB what ability he would have to bring to bear a change and possibility the decentralization of some functions or all functions of the headquarters of the Workers' Compensation Board to a community outside of Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsibility for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we know, the Workers' Compensation Board is a joint board which represents Nunavut and ourselves but, again, the services that they do provide are basically centralized out of Yellowknife and Iqaluit. They also have regional offices, or staff, in Rankin Inlet and Inuvik. Again, the request to have more people in different communities, it's in response to either an increase in development, oil and gas in one particular region or mining in another. I think that we have to be cognizant that where we need resource people is connected to where those activities are happening. Again, I know the Member raised this question before and I did put it forward to the chairman of the board to take another look at it to see exactly how we can ensure that when we put people in different areas, that we have some formula or some mechanism to do that. I did put the request in and they are looking at it.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister didn't exactly answer my question as to what influence he could bring to bear on where some or all of the functions of the Workers' Compensation headquarters could be located. The Minister indicated that the principle behind that would have to be related to activity in that region. How about decentralization because it's just a fair and good thing to do? Mr. Speaker the Workers' Compensation Board headquarters here in Yellowknife now employs about 100 people and it costs the operations of the WCB about a million dollars a year just in administration costs related to their location. I would like to ask the Minister if that overhead in administration is picked up by the stakeholders, the employers and the premiums and the rates that they are assessed. Are they the folks who have to pay for that $1 million per year to be located here in Yellowknife? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that cost is borne by the workers and the employers who put into this fund. Again, the office is basically a statute of legislation which recognizes that the headquarters of the Workers' Compensation Board will be in Yellowknife. In order to change that, we will have to change the legislation in conjunction with Nunavut and ourselves. They are established through legislation at the present time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Oh, wow! That's really good news. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, because I think there's going to be a review of the Workers' Compensation Board legislation here in the works. I think that there could be an opportunity to perhaps lobby the Government of Nunavut, particularly the folks who end up having to pay the administration and overhead costs of the Workers' Compensation Board, the employers and employees, to look at options for operating at a much lower rate. I would like to ask the Minister if he would be amenable to considering that in his role responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we will be coming forward with the legislation that the Member mentioned, but we also are going to be having a briefing with the standing committee on, I believe it's the 5th of March. At that time, maybe this question could be put forward to the representatives of the Workers' Compensation Board and see exactly how we can deal with it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was going to have a question for the Minister of ITI but I'd like to ask the Premier, I guess. This morning on CBC Radio I heard that he would be travelling to Whitehorse for the Canada Winter Games, but, more importantly, Mr. Speaker, he'll be meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I'd like to ask the Premier, with this discussion with the Prime Minister, that he would make it very clear that the Tuk-Inuvik highway is very important to the people of the Beaufort-Delta and that he will continue to lobby on our behalf and get the funds necessary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will be travelling to Whitehorse tonight and I will be meeting with the Prime Minister tomorrow. I think I mentioned it yesterday in the House that I would be. There is a limited amount of time. The two main issues I want to deal with him are on resource revenues and devolution, and also on climate change. However, if there is time for other issues, then certainly I would bring other matters up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn't hear the Tuk-Inuvik or Connecting Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast and also...(inaudible)...too, so will the Premier at least put that as part of his discussions with the Prime Minister? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, if there is time, then, yes, I will talk about infrastructure including the Tuk to Inuvik road, but I can't guarantee this time. There are three Premiers who all want the Prime Minister's ear, I'm sure, and we have a limited amount of time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I know time with the Prime Minister is important but also time is important with even the Premier, so I just hope that the Premier can at least throw in there really quickly the Tuk-Inuvik highway. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. I don't know if I heard a question there or not, but I'll allow the Premier to respond. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to me the most important thing for us in the Northwest Territories is to have a fair share of those resource revenues come here. Then we will deal with our own highways and our own bridges and our own issues. So I intend to continue to push him on resource revenue sharing. If there is opportunity, then certainly I will talk about infrastructure and specifically the Tuk to Inuvik highway, but, at this point, I can't guarantee that we will be able to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on the Member's statement I made about the whistle-blower protection legislation and I'd like to direct my questions to the current Minister of Human Resources. I would like to ask him if he could give us an update as to where the government is on coming up with a public discussion paper on whistle-blower legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member responsible for Human Resources, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, I expect to be able to have a paper for consideration, or a draft of what we're proposing to use for a discussion paper, before the standing committee before the end of this session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, in the last answer to my question in October, I think the time period was about a month. I'm being told it will be the end of this session, which is the end of March. Now that I have it on record, I would encourage the government to really push it along and hopefully we could see it and work on it together. I'll put the government on notice that I'm not going to take another deadline after that.

---Laughter

Thank you.

No question there. Thank you, Ms. Lee. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke to the need of an Arctic university in my Member's statement. I'd like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if the Minister and his department have discussed the possibility of establishing an Arctic university in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in response to questions from Mr. Ramsay in Committee of the Whole, I don't see us establishing a stand-alone university in the Northwest Territories. The smallest university in Canada right now has an operating budget of around $70 million a year. We know that it would be much higher than that to operate in the Northwest Territories. What we have started to do is look at whether or not there might be options to create a virtual university using the campuses of the colleges that we have between the three territories. There's been some discussion about that. There is some interest from my colleagues in the other two territories. I would hope that over the next few months we'll be able to advance that discussion somewhat. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that this is International Polar Year and an established university in the Arctic might add some weight to our Arctic sovereignty, and the GNWT, federal, regional, aboriginal, international governments, they already invest some money into Arctic research without the benefit of an established university. The only one I know of maybe close is Edmonton and that's not the Arctic. I'd like to ask the Minister, and he mentioned speaking to his counterparts, I'd like to ask the Minister, have they met to discuss the benefits of pooling their resources and have a stand-alone Arctic university? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have not met on a face-to-face basis with the other two Ministers at the same time. I have spoken to the Ministers in each jurisdiction by phone to discuss the issue and found that they were interested. We had agreed that we were going to get together to discuss it face to face. Unfortunately, at our last meeting of Education Ministers, which is when we had planned to do it, only two of us were able to attend. So we are still looking for an opportunity to advance the discussion. I will endeavour to do that, as I say, over the next few months. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned a virtual classroom and I don't think a virtual classroom would work for university students. It doesn't work for high school students. So I'd like to ask the Minister what is the next step. What would we have to do to begin the process of trying to get a stand-alone university? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Member is talking about bricks and mortar, we have a long way to go. The proposal I made to the other two Ministers was that using the facilities that we have with our campuses, the existing campuses, by expanding what we're doing into more of a research oriented area of interest, that we could probably attract money that is now going to other universities.

The Member mentioned the University of Alberta. They get millions and millions and millions of dollars from the Government of Canada to fund research chairs, and it was my thought that if we were able to work together with the other two jurisdictions to have a pan-territorial university, that we might be able to attract those dollars as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, the proposed creation of the NWT oil and gas socio-economic advisory board as part of the Mackenzie Valley SEA is worthy of questions and I will direct them to Mr. Bell, the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Investment. Mr. Speaker, the board is set up to provide advice, to receive and analyze reports, and to undertake other studies related to the SEA. There are five objectives outlined in some length in the agreement. But what I was curious about here, Mr. Speaker, was the duty to really give value to this whole process, to this whole project, and to the ability of the people of the NWT to know what's going on and get effective monitoring on the SEA. So, Mr. Speaker, the question that I'd like to ask is just where is the significance of this board, how is it being resourced, what are the expectations in terms of our ability to use it as an effective part of this project management? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Two or three questions there; I'll allow the Minister to answer one or all three of them. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an important aspect of this socio-economic agreement. Socio-economic monitoring is critical, it's vital. We do know that we will be challenged with a two-year, maybe three-year, construction period to have the board meet a few times a year, compile reports, receive information from our government, from Imperial, as to how successful they are being in meeting the objectives of the SEA. But the plan is to have them do just that. Come back to us with recommendations about adaptation, about changes, about things that we need to do. But, very much, their job is quite intense initially. After two years of construction, it's about monitoring the operations as it relates to socio-economics and it significantly ramps down, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, we know from the 20 or so pages that define this advisory board, that it is made up, at least initially, of one person from the Government of the Northwest Territories, three from the original proponents, four aboriginal organizations, and then potentially in the future any other downstream operators and any other aboriginal organizations that may come forward. Mr. Speaker, my concern is that the GNWT, which also has a $200,000 a year commitment to fund this organization, has one vote out of many. How is the effectiveness of our voice going to be heard on this advisory board when we are potentially going to be overwhelmed by the other operators and aboriginal organizations on this board, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, I don't think we should take the view that we're going to be overwhelmed by aboriginal organizations. I don't think we're adversaries; I think we're working collectively. I see it as the representation of the public interest, and we are doing that together; both our government, the aboriginal authorities whose people, this land, is clearly going to be potentially impacted. Their standard of living, the socio-economic impacts, are going to affect our communities. They have a vested interest in how this unfolds. So we don't see it as an us and them. We do think, though, that we have to hold industry to account. We are proposing that it is the aboriginal organizations and our government which will collectively and cooperatively do that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm all in favour of a collective and cooperative approach and I do hope that's what this society will do for us. However, Mr. Speaker, I do want to indicate that the Minister is being somewhat selective in saying that we don't want to be overwhelmed by aboriginal organizations. That is not, Mr. Speaker, absolutely not the intent of my question. But what we should do is look very carefully at the three seats already occupied by the original proponents and potentially any other operators. This board could be overwhelmed just by operators, just by industry, Mr. Speaker. The question that I'd like to ask the Minister is, this is a public government that works on behalf of all residents of the Northwest Territories, and that is why I want to again return to this point of where is the effectiveness and the equity of the whole of the Northwest Territories in a board that, so far, has the GNWT's single voice among at least seven other members, Mr. Speaker?