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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I would like to send belated birthday greetings to my brother James Pokiak. The older brother, I would say, who had his birthday on February 7, 2007.

Mr. Speaker, over the last couple of years, a number of elders from Nunakput have been hospitalized for medical reasons. At this time I would like to wish a speedy recovery to Mr. Andy Carpenter, the former mayor of Sachs Harbour, who is now retired and is presently recovering in the Inuvik Regional Hospital; also, to his wife, Wendy Carpenter, who is also with him in the hospital. Many of us here know that Mr. Carpenter has been a long-term serving mayor of Sachs Harbour and has been a very strong advocate of the RCMP presence in Sachs, so, hopefully, he will be around in July when it happens, I guess. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, another elder that is recovering and just returned back to Ulukhaktok is David Kuptana. I am glad that he is back in Ulukhaktok, because during the Caribou Summit there was information that he was medevaced to Edmonton, so I am glad to hear that he is back in Ulukhaktok.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and congratulate a few people here that have accomplished certification: Anita Pokiak of Tuktoyaktuk, who is the community health representative, has done her CPR training. I wish her well. She can now do some CPR training in Tuktoyaktuk. Shirley Elias, who we saw in the gallery the other day, the community health worker in Ulukhaktok, congratulations to her on her recent training. Also, Roland Kikoak of Tuktoyaktuk, who got his certification in the environment monitoring program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am going to talk about caribou. Firstly, I want to state for the record that I respect wholly the aboriginal harvest of this great resource and I would defend that as a fundamental right of our aboriginal people here in the Northwest Territories.

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Preservation of the herd is vital, Mr. Speaker, to everyone. So is the truth, Mr. Speaker. What I do take issue with is how, as an MLA, I have been treated by the Department of ENR and the poor communication that, in effect, has limited my ability to represent my constituents in my riding. I have two of the three major caribou outfitting businesses in my riding, True North Safaris and Adventure Northwest. On December 7th, the Governance and Economic Development committee sat down with the Minister and his staff to discuss caribou. Their presentation that day was void of any mention of drastic cuts to tag allocation contained in a proposal that was, in effect, in the process of being delivered to the Wekeezhii Renewable Resources Board.

As we all know, the outfitting industry is in a fight for its very existence today. The most interesting theme throughout this fight is the fact that ENR has not, to date, publicly explained nor defended their assertions that the numbers are dropping like they say they are. As a Member of this House and someone who represents aboriginal harvesters, outfitters, and non-aboriginal harvesters, to me getting the numbers straight is paramount to taking any action to remedy the situation.

The question is, why? Why can't ENR defend the numbers when we're talking about the importance of caribou on the livelihood of so many people in our territory? Why is it that, as an MLA, if I can't get answers, how is the public supposed to get their questions answered? Why has ENR dodged the basic question of how many caribou were here in the Northwest Territories in 1980 and how many are here today?

According to their own website, Mr. Speaker, and information on it, in 1980: 65,000 Bluenose, 140,000 Bathurst, 110,000 Beverly, 39,000 Qamanirjuaq, for a total of 354,000. In 2006, again using only GNWT numbers: 2000 Cape Bathurst, 20,000 Bluenose West, 66,000 Bluenose East, 128,000 Bathurst, 200,000 Ahiak, 296,000 Beverly, 496,000 Qamanirjuaq, for a total of 1.2 million caribou. The number of 1.2 million is a number derived by adding up the current government estimates...

Mr. Ramsay, your time for Member's statement has expired.

Thank you, 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. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The number of 1.2 million is a number derived from adding up the current government estimates of caribou herds in the NWT based on their own website. Mr. Speaker, if you add to that the number of 1.534 million, which is the number ENR gave to the federal government in 2005 for a surveyed base count on chronic wasting disease, Mr. Speaker, the numbers do not add up and ENR has not come to the table with explanations. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I'd like to draw attention to the fact that today is Red Friday, a day Canadians are asked to don red to show support for members of the Canadian Forces, and I happen to be wearing red, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is an all too common medical disorder caused by a blockage of the airway during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for minutes or longer. Left untreated, OSA can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, memory problems, weight gain, depression, lethargy, and headaches. Poor sleep quality as a result of OSA may be a factor of many workplace and traffic accidents.

Over the last several years, the number of NWT residents requesting diagnosis and treatment for this service of sleep apnea has quadrupled, Mr. Speaker, from 40 in 2001 to 166 in 2005. Fortunately there are effective treatment options for OSA, but they come at a price. The CPAP and BiPAP machines commonly used to treat sleep apnea start at around $1,000. Patients also require assistance from home health care companies to set up the machine and provide training on use of the machine. While some employers and government health benefit packages do pick up the cost for this treatment, not everyone is covered by this program so we have many people who fall through the cracks.

Given the seriousness of this condition, Mr. Speaker, and the cost to both the patients and the health care system if it's left untreated, I believe it is critical that we need to ensure that everyone who needs sleep apnea treatment gets it. It's time that we start taking care of all of our citizens, Mr. Speaker. This is a serious condition that needs to be addressed.

Later today, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions, at the appropriate time, for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to inform the House of the passing away of a well-respected elder in the community of Aklavik, Mr. Danny A. Gordon. Danny A. was born to the late Alex and Hope Gordon on Barter Island in Alaska on July 16, 1935. He relocated to Aklavik in 1944 with his parents and his family.

Everyone who came in contact with Danny A. knew the knowledge that he had of the cultural traditional lifestyle of the Inuit and Inuvialuit people. More importantly, being raised on the land that he travelled over many years, he passed this knowledge on to many people in the community, especially the young people, his grandchildren, his nephews. Then the opportunity he had to share this knowledge with people who asked for information, he felt freely to give it.

I think, also, Danny's contribution to the community of Aklavik was well known in regards to his performance as one of the Aklavik drum dancers and singers. He performed for many dignitaries throughout Canada, across North America and also internationally. I think it's knowing that Danny left us a better place by performing and sharing this information with us.

But more importantly, Danny took the time to teach the younger people of the songs, the dances of the Inuvialuit people that were going to be preserved for future generations. He always had fun teaching the young people and he made learning also fun and also to allow everyone to take a chance to learn. He also had an opportunity to perform here in the House. He will be missed by all. He has affected the lives of many people that have met him, especially the young people, the community of Aklavik, and his passing will be greatly lost by the people in Aklavik.

The funeral will take place in Aklavik on Saturday, February 10th. Mr. Speaker, my condolences go out to his wife, Annie B., and the family, and also his family members in Alaska and his relatives throughout the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea. In closing, Mr. Speaker...

Mr. Krutko, your time for your Member's statement has expired.

Thank you, 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. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, in closing I'd just like to say thank you very much, qujannamiik, mahsi cho, for the family for sharing such a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and, more importantly, friend. He has greatly shared himself by way of performing, sharing information, but, more importantly, leaving us in a better place than when he came. With that, I'd like to again send my condolences out to the family and wish everybody a safe trip. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

It gives me great pleasure to recognize a constituent of mine in the gallery today, Dawna O'Brien is with us. Dawna's here to take part in the Status of Women's joint circle this weekend.

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Also with her -- I don't see her right now -- is Starla Hudson.

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Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize in the gallery today my daughters: Candace Dawn Lafferty Villeneuve and Diedra Mabel Lucille Villeneuve. Mahsi.

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Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize and welcome to the House Ms. Rosemary Speirs, who is a formal journalist, very well known and respected. She's also the recipient of the Governor General's Persons Case Award in 2005 and she's the past and founding chair of Equal Voice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Ms. Lee. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I also recognize Ms. Elaine Keenan-Bengts has joined us in the gallery today.

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Ms. Keenan-Bengts is the Protection of Privacy Commissioner.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.