Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the House. Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will be tabling the Northwest Territories energy plan.

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This plan provides a comprehensive roadmap to guide and supply GNWT decisions regarding the development, generation, and use of energy in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, we have a tremendous supply of energy resources in our territory, yet the cost of energy in our communities is very high and contributes significantly to our elevated cost of living.

Meanwhile, the environmental impacts of energy use, and in particular climate change, are already being evidenced across the North.

For this reason, and to emphasize the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change and establishing targets for greenhouse gas emissions, my colleague Minister McLeod will also be tabling today the revised NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy.

Mr. Speaker, our residents are demanding action in many areas, including: energy efficiency and conservation; the development of renewable energy; the application of emerging technologies; and, the reduction of energy use by the GNWT.

This plan focuses on actions and investments. It proposes both new initiatives and the enhancement of existing initiatives, representing a total investment of approximately $6 million. It includes a number of specific projects such as the Taltson hydroelectric expansion, the conversion of three public buildings in Fort Smith to interruptible hydroelectric power, the expansion of wind monitoring and a geothermal pilot project for Aurora College.

It also provides for a significant commitment of funds to advance and support the goals and targets that have been identified in the revised NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy.

Mr. Speaker, much of this investment will be leveraged with federal programs and funding. For example, the recently announced $5 million in federal funding from the EcoEnergy Trust initiative will be directed towards the priorities identified in this energy plan.

Together, we are working to ensure a lasting legacy of clean, affordable energy for future generations in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Bell. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, later today, I will be tabling the revised Northwest Territories Greenhouse Gas Strategy.

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In 2005, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources took a stakeholder review of the previous Greenhouse Gas Strategy released in 2001. This review revealed the existing strategy was on the right track and represented a good start towards managing greenhouse gas emissions. It also identified shortcomings, including a lack of emission reduction targets, the absence of an implementation plan, insufficient funding and a general lack of accountability for results.

The revised strategy remedies these shortcomings. Meeting climate change and greenhouse gas emissions head on requires action, and that action is captured in this revised strategy.

The strategy commits the Government of the Northwest Territories to lead through example by adopting a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 10 percent below 2001 levels by the year 2011 in our own operations.

This will be accomplished by actions such as testing and purchasing hybrid vehicles, increasing energy performance in government buildings and developing a new green procurement policy for the Government of the Northwest Territories.

There are also actions to reduce emissions in the community and residential sectors and in the commercial and industrial sector that have been incorporated into the revised strategy.

This revised strategy will also place a much greater emphasis on the need to respond to the impacts of climate change. Following implementation of the revised Greenhouse Gas Strategy, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will begin to develop a climate change impacts and adaptation plan.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the revised Greenhouse Gas Strategy commits the department to undertake a further review of the strategy in 2010 with the objective of establishing long-term targets beyond 2011.

Between the Greenhouse Gas Strategy and the energy plan, I am confident our government will strike the right balance between meeting the energy needs of our residents and industry and the need to protect the environment.

Mr. Speaker, I want to stress that the time for change is now. There is a saying that goes, "think globally, act locally," and I ask the people of the Northwest Territories to start acting locally by making at least one small change to reduce their own personal greenhouse gas emissions. It can be as simple as not idling our vehicles, or lowering our thermostat in our homes by one or two degrees. Big changes can begin with these small actions.

I invite Members of this Legislative Assembly and the public to join Minister Bell and myself in the Great Hall later this afternoon for a press conference following the tabling of the energy plan and the Greenhouse Gas Strategy. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Minister McLeod. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have chaired the most recent Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Partnership, CNFASDP, Ministers' meeting on March 10th. The NWT is the lead jurisdiction for the partnership, and Ministers from Nunavut, Yukon, British Columbia and Manitoba, along with representatives from Alberta and Saskatchewan, attended the meeting in Victoria, B.C.

The partnership recognizes the importance of addressing the issue of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, by sharing information and best practices in order to promote and develop prevention, intervention, care and support strategies for individuals affected by FASD.

Two years ago, the partnership established a research network to carry out and support research initiatives in western and northern Canada. At the meeting in Victoria, Ministers agreed to increase the funding of this research network to ensure projects underway can continue and to leverage alternative funding.

Ministers from the partnership were invited to attend the closing ceremonies of an international FASD conference held concurrently in Victoria. This conference was sponsored in part by the partnership. The closing ceremonies provided an opportunity for children and young adults with FASD to recognize the work and added value the partnership brings to the lives of children, families and communities affected by FASD.

During the past year, the partnership has achieved a number of other successes. For example:

• • network action teams with lead agencies in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia were established;
• • Saskatchewan hosted a biannual conference attended by 650 delegates from every province and territory, and the United States, and countries as far away as Africa;
• • the research network carried out consultations with First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities; and
• • a meeting was held in Yellowknife in September 2006, where Ministers discussed the research priorities of the network in future years.

Manitoba will be assuming the lead of the partnership at the end of this fiscal year as the jurisdictions rotate this position on a yearly basis. The NWT will continue to play an active role in the partnership. I look forward to our continued full participation.

FASD is a lifelong condition. Effective prevention efforts, early diagnosis, support environments and a range of special supports and services are necessary to assist individuals and their families in their journey towards self-reliance and well-being.

The GNWT is committed to preventing FASD in our territory. It is an important task and with alliances such as this partnership, we are working together to help residents make healthy decisions for themselves and their babies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Roland. Ministers' statements. Before I go on to the next order on the Order Paper, colleagues, I would like to bring you're your attention to the gallery to the presence of a former Member of this House and former Speaker, Mr. Sam Gargan.

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Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am going to use my Member's statement to talk about this government's policies on the rental arrears kind of spiralling out of control here for the past five to 10 years at the Housing Corporation. I do support all of the initiatives that do assist people to address their outstanding accounts with the Housing Corporation or the local housing organizations, but this government definitely has to make some fundamental changes to the rent scale policies and their eviction processes if they wish to recover any significant amount of the $8 million-plus that is owed to the LHOs and to the Housing Corporation, especially if these people that are living in public housing, if we want to stop them from continuing to slide deeper and deeper into debt, which seems to be the way we are going now.

The first thing that this government has to do is to develop a small communities rent scale policy that is not based on the market rent for Yellowknife and is not adjusted because of the vacancy rates in Yellowknife either, and clearly does not reflect the fair share of real earned income that people are willing to pay for some of the conditions that they have to live under like overcrowding and the large inventory of dilapidated housing that we have in our smaller communities.

Mr. Speaker, every client of the Housing Corporation with outstanding arrears has to be addressed on an individual basis and the methods of repayment customized to each individual circumstance. Mr. Speaker, the people who are stepping up to the plate to pay down their outstanding accounts have to be given the gratitude and consideration that they deserve for doing what they are doing, because it is often very difficult for these people to pay down such large debts, especially when they have large families to support and they are on small incomes or they might be on income support.

I have constituents who have made significant sacrifices to pay down their debt, Mr. Speaker. But then, again, they are not given due consideration for better housing or even housing programs because of their so-called bad credit that they had with the Housing Corporation or the LHO. But these are the people who should be accommodated and properly housed, because they have obviously shown us that they can assume the responsibility of keeping current with the rent and may be the better clients with the lesser risks to taking on homeownership, which, I believe, is what this government is working towards and we should continue to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Next Monday, the federal Minister of Finance for Canada, Mr. Flaherty, is going to be delivering his budget. There are a few things on that list that I want to take one more opportunity to make sure Mr. Flaherty knows, from the point of view of northerners, we would sure like to see in that budget.

Mr. Speaker, at the very top of the list, of course, goes the desire and the very deserving proposals that we have been looking for resource revenue sharing, Mr. Speaker, and devolution of the control of those resources to the Northwest Territories. Bring those resources and the wealth home, Mr. Speaker.

We have been asking for, after I think it is some 18 years now, a re-evaluation of the northern residents income tax deduction. The cost of living has increased 150 percent since then, Mr. Speaker. We have calculated that, here in the NWT, if you are making an annual wage of about $60,000, by increasing this long-overdue tax accommodation for the cost of living up here, you could have about $840 stay in your pocket if you made $60,000 a year. I think that is something very worthwhile.

Mr. Speaker, we want to see the cuts that the Conservative Party of Canada brought in last fall restored. I would put it at the very top of the restoring the cuts that were made to literacy, Mr. Speaker, and to the volunteers initiative.

One more item on my shopping list for the budget next Monday, Mr. Speaker, is that the Visitor Rebate Program be evaluated to make sure that a GST application, which has never been there before, is not put on the cost of visitors coming into Canada when the product was sold to them offshore, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Braden. Before I go to the next Member, I would like to draw colleagues' attention to the visitors gallery. There is a group of 16 new officers with Foreign Affairs and International Trades Canada visiting here in the Northwest Territories. Their visit to the Legislative Assembly here today is part of their training to become familiar with economic, political and social issues of Canada prior to their future postings overseas in Canadian embassies, high commissions and consulates. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to comment on the Yellowknife schools issue, this ongoing saga that has become a very large topic of discussion here in Yellowknife. I have listened to many parents who have phoned or e-mailed me with their concerns. Parents and students are being put in a very difficult position because their children are all part of a very serious discussion regarding space utilization in Yellowknife schools.

Mr. Speaker, some are quick to point the finger at our Education Minister for his known aversion to making decisions. However, the circumstances surrounding the crises that are out there today is not the sole responsibility of Minister Dent or the Department of ECE. To his credit, the Minister has worked with both boards and the Regular Members from Yellowknife on this issue for well over three years. He has tried his best to get both boards to set aside their differences and to do what is best for the children of our community.

Mr. Speaker, I find myself in a very difficult situation with both Ecole St. Joseph's School and N.J. McPherson in my riding. I have seen the space crunch at St. Joseph's first-hand. With the fire last summer and the renovations that are desperately required, their students need to be accommodated somewhere. If the number of empty seats in YK 1 schools is anywhere between 500 and 800 empty seats, then a solution should be workable between the two boards. No one wants to see funding cut or a school close. What parents I have spoken to want to see is a resolution. How can we expect to teach our children to share and to cooperate when both school boards seem so bent on not working together? I implore both boards to cogitate about what their differences are doing to the community, its parents and students. A solution is out there and must be found. I do hope that all relevant information is available to parents of both school districts. The Minister should also host public information sessions

for all parents and stakeholders of both districts to come and discuss the issues. In a time of crisis, this community has a history of being able to pull together. We owe it to our students and to our community to work out this situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to meet with the Territorial Farmers' Association in Hay River. Agriculture is a renewable resource activity that has great potential in the North. In fact, in times past, it has contributed significantly to the production of food in the Northwest Territories.

The TFA has undertaken several innovative and amazing initiatives recently. In September 2006, the TFA hosted a pan-North American circumpolar agriculture conference in Hay River. The theme of the conference was Changing Times in Northern Agriculture. The objective of the conference was to promote agriculture possibilities in northern regions and to generate North American interest in circumpolar agriculture.

I had the pleasure of representing Minister Bell at this conference and speaking at one of the noon luncheons. The TFA has also been involved in testing a product combining sawdust, straw and peat to compost chicken manure to be used to enrich the soil of northern farms. Another very interesting project was the harvesting of a seed collection that would see the future pipeline route re-vegetated with northern plant species after construction.

Mr. Speaker, a study by the Territorial Farmers' Association estimates that 25 percent of the produce shipped from the South could be grown in the North. This 25 percent could be worth as much as $13 million and could generate as many as 80 jobs. Soil surveys have proven that about 3.6 million hectares of land in the South Slave lowlands and the Upper Mackenzie, including the Hay River and Fort Liard regions, are potential arable lands.

Mr. Speaker, our government needs to support this forward thinking association. We have all heard the pleas of our people regarding the high cost of living, the high cost of food and the lack of availability of fresh foods in many of our communities.

In order to encourage agricultural activity during our pre-budget consultations last summer, we heard from the TFA of a way that our government could do their part to encourage agriculture through the re-examining of how agricultural land is assessed under the Property Assessment and Taxation Act. There is no unique distinction in the PATA for agriculture lands assessment. Agriculture is a low-impact activity and, unlike non-renewable resources, effort and money invested in agriculture isn't here today and gone tomorrow. I would like this government to demonstrate its commitment to continuing to work with the TFA and its members, by attending the 16th annual seminar in Hay River on March 24th.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, please.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This year's focus will be on gardening and greenhouses. Many interesting presenters are lined up, including a company that specializes in water treatment plants which could provide innovative ideas for small communities and businesses that would benefit from alternate water delivery systems. Mr. Speaker, we need to do what we can as a government to support organizations like the Territorial Farmers' Association who work very hard to generate interest and support producers in the area of agriculture. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have been in discussions and have been contacted by a constituent. This constituent is a president of one of the territorial sporting organizations that have soccer for the Northwest Territories. He has raised a number of significant concerns with me in regards to the funding and the new structure that is there. Basically, Mr. Speaker, he paints a picture of an inverted pyramid that comes down and is on the backs of a handful of very dedicated, taxed volunteers that he says are frustrated and burning out.

The president states that the organization and funding of sports and recreation is in a state of crisis in the Northwest Territories, and that the overall system is drastically under funded and the allocation of actual monies to the grassroots volunteers in the territorial sporting organizations results to less than $400,000 out of all the money that the government puts into sports. The president goes on to state that, this year, 22 out of 27 TSOs are penalized $20,000 in late fees and $89,000 in performance penalties for a total of $119,000 being removed from their collective base funding. Mr. Speaker, that comes to 50 percent of the funding for the Soccer Association. All appeals, he says, have been denied. The president goes on to state that it is a bureaucratic nightmare that is taxing volunteers to the maximum. The question is asked, what happens to the $119,000 that the TSOs are supposed to get if they don't get it? The net effect is that there will be a negative effect on the communities, that they will have difficulty in delivering programs in their communities. He doesn't anticipate there will be a problem in Yellowknife, but there will be in the communities. These problems have put a stranglehold on the system, he said, not allowing the system to grow or move forward.

The president goes on to point out about a serious overlap of duties between MACA and Sports North, not to mention the feud that exists between them. He suggested the system needs some serious streamlining. The net result of all this, Mr. Speaker, is a burning out of volunteers at an alarming rate. The president goes on to recognize that Sport North has become a games delivery organization, which they do very well, but they are little use to TSOs, Mr. Speaker. May 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. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The president goes on to suggest that the TSOs should be dealing directly with government, as they do in other provinces. In regards to the funding and the lotteries, the president asserts that is a fallacy, almost unethical to believe, that lotteries can, or should, fund our system. They help, but the government needs to step up and commit real capital dollars to sport.

Mr. Speaker, this points to some serious questions in how do we work together in this new system to make sure we keep all the players in the tent. I will be asking the Minister questions later today in question period.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The sudden death of Mrs. Voudrach of Tuktoyaktuk shocked husband, Paul, his family and residents of Tuktoyaktuk. Mrs. Voudrach broke her wrist by slipping outside the Rosie Ovayuak Centre on February 2, 2007, in Tuktoyaktuk. After complications in her wrist, the local head nurse decided to send her out to the Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife on Monday, February 19, 2007, for a wrist operation. My understanding of the situation, she was to have the surgery the following day, on Tuesday, February 20, 2007. Mr. Speaker, for some reason, the surgery was performed on the same evening she arrived at the hospital. Is this a normal practice for people that require surgery on the same day? Complications arose during the operation and eventually Mrs. Voudrach became asphyxiated during the operation and suffered a cardiac arrest. The doctors and staff tried to revive Mrs. Voudrach, but she died on the operating table.

Mr. Speaker, many residents rely on doctors and nurses during minor and major operations. They are specialized in the profession they take and we respect that. However, the question that remains: Did the doctors and staff make the appropriate decision to operate on Mrs. Voudrach that evening? I understand an autopsy was conducted on Mrs. Voudrach and the report won't be available for eight to 10 weeks. Is this a normal time to release information on cause of death?

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Voudrach has publicly announced in the newspaper by asking questions why the operation was conducted on his wife, Norma Voudrach, that evening; why the report of the autopsy will take eight to 10 weeks to become public; and why the Department of Health and Social Services cannot provide him with information on the cause of death. I understand that Mr. Voudrach may be seeking a legal opinion on his wife, Norma Voudrach's death with the Department of Health and Social Services.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, these questions raised by Mr. Voudrach and his family need to be addressed by the Department of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, along with my colleague from Thebacha, I, too, would like to speak to the frustrations that are facing the territorial sport organizations in applying for funding. The Canada Winter Games were recently held in Whitehorse and many NWT athletes that were there held their own against the rest of the country. Many of the coaches and mission staff and those that are directly involved with the athletes are volunteers, Mr. Speaker. It's these volunteers that allow the athletes to compete. We ask the volunteers to coach and mould our athletes and yet we offer them very little support.

Volunteers have to fill out a lot of applications, Mr. Speaker, for funding. They don't get much help in filling out those applications, and then they have to account for everything afterwards and they don't get much help in doing that, either. We have over 27 different sport organizations, as my colleague pointed out, and each one of them face the same problem. I've seen the table of all the money that was owed by these territorial sport organizations and it amounted to a lot of money, Mr. Speaker.

We have too many boards within the sport organizations and, like so many things within the government, we tend to have too much admin at the top and that takes a lot of money away from those that directly use the program. It's a problem that's right across the board, Mr. Speaker. A new sport council was formed recently and came into effect and that didn't really have the blessing of a lot of the territorial sport organizations.

Mr. Speaker, we have to offer support to the volunteers with the amount of paperwork that we expect them to fill out. I do know volunteers that have been burned out because they're expected to do so many things and they'd rather just step back and not have to deal with the politics and the admin of sports. This takes away from those who these programs were really designed for, Mr. Speaker, and those are the athletes.

I met a guy one time who was a goaltending coach for one of the NHL teams and he said the North has some of the best natural athletes he's ever seen. We just have to make sure we nurture them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In February 2006, I made a statement on the need to perform regular performance or value for money audits on Crown corporations owned by the GNWT. At the time, the Finance Minister indicated he was open to examining the issue and possibly considering an expanded role for our very own Audit Bureau. Over a year has gone by and I have yet to hear anything from our fine Finance Minister on this issue and there have been no concrete steps on implementation of this idea.

We all know that Crown corporations are subject to annual financial audits by the Auditor General's office, who examines the books and ensures that financial reporting practices are in accordance with the recognized accounting principles. But I don't think we should stop there, Mr. Speaker. While this is a valuable exercise, it does not provide the directors of the Crown corporation or the stakeholders, the residents of the NWT as represented by this government, with any indication that all the resources are being managed efficiently, economically, or the operations are being carried out effectively and the assets are truly in safeguard. Federal legislation provides that indication, and as the Auditor General's office has pointed out to me in her letter, this is one of the major differences between the different level of governments; that special examination of Crown corporations.

There is a need to move ahead on this file, Mr. Speaker, and we have the opportunity before us through the upcoming review of our Financial Administration Act to accomplish this, to strengthen the NWT's legislation. The Auditor General's office has indicated that they would be willing to assist. Mr. Speaker, Canada's top auditor, Sheila Fraser, has made an offer that would be truly unreasonable for this Assembly to refuse. This is an olive branch of accountability, Mr. Speaker, that would provide and serve all northerners well. It would provide an independent point of view that our Crown corporations are giving us value for money.

All we need to do is the recognition by this government for the need to monitor operational practices of our Crown corporations on a regular basis. All we need to do, Mr. Speaker, again, is just ask. It won't cost us much and it will cost us everything if we do not consider this seriously.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions at the appropriate time for our Finance Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some concerns brought to me by my constituents. Almost all the research taking place in our region is coming from outside institutions in the Northwest Territories, specifically my region. Communities are not being brought into the research that involves them, that serves their own needs. It always serves the institution needs or the organization needs. Yet they receive numerous research proposals from institutions based on the outside, Mr. Speaker.

The reason that the community wants to be involved is that they can learn too, so they can strengthen their ability to participate in decision-making processes. This is a matter of life and death for my people, Mr. Speaker, who are now facing major social impacts of development in our region. Yet despite the major investments in research in the Northwest Territories in honour of our International Polar Year, virtually none of the research will directly involve the benefits of northern communities.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, in recognition of International Polar Year, the Northwest Territories has a golden opportunity to establish a research institution as a centre for excellence in community-based research, especially in social and cultural research. Mr. Speaker, in the early part of the decade, the Aurora Research Institute did have a full-time staff person responsible for promoting and supporting community-based research. Projects supported in the Sahtu region and elsewhere were very, very successful, but this position has not been fulfilled.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time regarding how can the community get involved in this type of research in terms of what can the government do to strengthen our research and our capabilities in terms of looking after the people first and the institutions second. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Census Canada released results from a 2006 survey yesterday which seems to more accurately reflect the demographics of the NWT population. I'd like to acknowledge the Stats NWT for doing the work they did in assisting Census Canada with the work. When we get our funding per capita, every head counts, obviously, Mr. Speaker, and this also just shows you why we need to do more things in the North, not in Ottawa, to get the things done right.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that emerged from the 2006 Census is that Canada now gets most of its population growth from immigration and will continue to do so in future. If this is the case, I don't believe our country as a whole is doing enough to prepare and plan for what this means to us in all aspects of our Canadian life. This is especially true for the NWT where we also experience a huge influx of immigrants from all over the world.

Last fall, the application to the federal government to get a small amount of funding for an immigration support centre in Yellowknife was denied. We don't even have enough staff at the immigration office to answer most basic questions about immigration or other related issues. Just

last month, I read an article from the Deh Cho Drum about someone in Fort Simpson who was asked to travel to Inuvik to be sworn in as a Canadian. Obviously, someone in Ottawa does not know how much it costs to go to Inuvik or how far it is from Simpson.

Mr. Speaker, even in Yellowknife, over 200 people had to wait over two years, after going through all the necessary procedures, just to be sworn in as Canadian citizens because we don't have enough Canadian citizenship judges in Canada. Mr. Speaker, this doesn't go anywhere near all the issues that we have raised about accreditation of foreign-trained professionals to be able to be employed in jobs that they're trained to do, skills that we could use in the North, that continue to be unfilled in some of these jobs.

Mr. Speaker, as is the case with every other thing we face in the North, Ottawa doesn't understand the extent of the needs of the northern immigration population from over 140 countries who live in Yellowknife and NWT. Mr. Speaker, as someone who was given everything she has from the singular privilege of being an immigrant to Canada, I worry about what our future holds for us. If we are going to maintain and grow our population by immigration, we need to implement a plan. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to maintain and grow our population by immigration, we need to employ a plan that would bring new and old people together and raise everyone to an equal playing field. Territorially and nationally I believe this is a sleeper issue that will challenge us a great deal as a nation unless we pay attention to this at the level it deserves. I'd like to urge this government and the federal government to address these issues, not just as an issue of number of votes, but an issue that is important to our economic and political future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Marino Casebeer, a constituent of mine. I believe he's just gotten a job recently with Arctic Energy Alliance, so I suspect he's here for the announcement later today. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, wanted to recognize Sam Gargan from my hometown of Fort Providence, former Speaker and MLA for Deh Cho. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize a friend I met the other day, a former Member of the House of Parliament, Mr. Andrew Chatwood. Also sitting with him, his daughter, Susan Chatwood.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. I hope you're enjoying our proceedings. It's always nice to have an audience in here.

---Applause

Oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will follow the line my Member's statement drew out, so my questions will be directed to the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, in short, I want to make sure our Crown corporations are giving all the NWT citizens value for money. Mr. Speaker, my question, therefore, is, is there a value to the directors of the Crown corporations and the GNWT shareholders in conducting occasional performance audits on Crown corporations? Can the Minister indicate whether there has been any progress on this file since I raised the issue back in February 2006? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area of accountability is something we take seriously within this government. We have reviewed our administration act, the Financial Administration Act, as well as our Financial Administration Manual, and highlighted a number of areas where there's a fair bit of accountability that falls into place. Instead of going to each section, I can provide that information to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the offer from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, in the letter I

tabled last week -- and the Finance Minister does have a copy of this -- Sheila Fraser, our top Auditor General here, talks about the great things value for service that audits do. Would the Minister be willing to take a serious look at this letter and take the Auditor General's office of Canada up on the service they are willing to provide to ensure we have value for service in our Crown corporations?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, each corporation that we're involved with has an act that establishes and talks about accountability. As I stated, through our acts we have accountability as well. As well, the third-party accountability framework is another piece that we've recently added, as a government, when it comes to how corporations are involved and spend money in the Northwest Territories.

As well, through the Auditor General of Canada's office, when and has in the past, from time to time, been called to come and look at a number of issues within the Government of the Northwest Territories departments and corporations and, in fact, were recently involved in the Housing Corporation. We're waiting for that report. So they have been involved and we'll continue to work with them from time to time as called upon. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't deny that the Finance Minister was correct on that information. However, I'm talking about a proactive approach that actually gets ahead of the problem before it gets away from us. I'm talking about getting ahead of the problem so we don't have to work on trying to force and try to reach a compromise to have these big, deep, forensic-style audits. So, Mr. Speaker, the fact is the Auditor General will do this. All we have to do is put it in a line item now that we have the FAA open. Would the Minister reconsider that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, for the record, let's make it clear that there are no problems to date. Potential problems, I guess the Member is referring to. The Member is correct; we are going through work on the Financial Administration Act and that is an opportunity, as we sit down with Members, that we could look at including something of this nature. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I can take the Minister up on his small, but -- I heard it -- olive branch on that as something they can look at, what will we be looking at and how soon will we get some information back from the Minister on the direction that I've been trying to draw out? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work on the Financial Administration Act is a very large piece of work and I'm unable to give a timeline commitment on this particular piece. As we bring it forward to committee, members we'll have to incorporate this. I'm not looking at pulling a piece of this out and doing it that way. We're doing a full review of the Financial Administration Act, it has been ongoing for some time, and hopefully in the near future we'll be able to bring something forward to Members of this Assembly. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask questions today to the Minister of ECE. It gets back to the facilities usage here in Yellowknife and the school issue. I think some people may be thinking this is a relatively new issue. This isn't a new issue. It's been at the top of our agenda since at least three years ago when we were elected and recent events with the fire at Ecole St. Joseph last summer. It's surfaced again now because there is a desperate need to accommodate students from St. Joseph School. I'd like to ask the Minister of ECE what, maybe he can give us a little bit of a chronology of how and what he has done to address this issue over the past three years. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is aware, the issue about school space was first raised by school boards when we met with them right after the last election. So it has been something that all the Yellowknife Members have been involved in for almost four years now.

The issues of or the manner in which it's been handled was, first of all, after the first couple of meetings there didn't seem to be any easy way to move forward, so I put together a committee that involved all of the stakeholders in education in Yellowknife. That committee met and over the course of a number of months; delivered a final report about a year ago.

Subsequent to that, since it didn't come to some resolution on space for schools in Yellowknife, I brought in

a mediator and asked him to meet with the two boards. That didn't come to any fruitful resolution.

Following that, I met myself with the two boards to try and move the process along. So there's been ongoing consultation to try and bring this to some resolution over the past three years. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was wondering if the Minister can give the government's assessment of what might be able to happen to try to get both school boards together to come up with a workable solution to the situation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, I have, by way of letter to YK 1, indicated what I think should happen in this circumstance. As discussed between Ms. Lee and myself yesterday, perhaps the next step, if we're unable to reach resolution there, would be to ensure that there is a better understanding among the public of what the recommendations are and what they mean. So we may have to look at some mechanism for a public meeting to allow stakeholders in Yellowknife to get all of the information.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that the more information that gets out there into the public domain would be a step in the right direction for the Minister and the department to undertake that work, and I'd say move forward on that. I'd like to ask the Minister what would plan B be if the two school boards absolutely cannot work together and cannot find a solution amongst themselves? What is plan B, or is there is a plan B to this situation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd say right now that plan B is to make sure the parents have all of the information and then I'm hoping that they would be prepared to put some pressure on the boards to ensure that they are acting in the most appropriate way. That, to me, is plan B. For us to go beyond dealing with the boards and actually deal with the public is a step beyond what would be in the normal course of business. So at this point, that's plan B, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Communities and it's a follow-up to the statement I made in the House about some of the concerns that have been raised to me and to my colleague from Inuvik. As opposed to talking about the specifics of the concerns, the question is more in terms of process to the Minister. There's been a new structure put in place and there has been a lot of work done, but clearly there seems to be some issues out there that need to be resolved. I'd just like to ask the Minister how he would anticipate being able to get the players together to keep working through these issues so that we don't lose any volunteers that are in such short supply already in the communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the whole concept of amalgamation and putting all the sports organizations under one roof, one umbrella structure, has been something that's been proven to be working quite well. We're quite satisfied that we're making some really good progress with the lotteries; we're making good progress in terms of amalgamating a lot of the administration; we've also made some great headway in terms of housing all the organizations in their own building under one roof. There have been a few concerns that have come forward, especially in light of some of the territorial sports organizations that have been penalized. That is an issue that we are talking to the Sport North organization about, how they can deal with these things. There have been appeals but, Mr. Speaker, for the most part, we're quite satisfied that things are going ahead pretty good and we hope that they will continue to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree, as well, that there's been a lot of positive changes, but clearly we're hearing from some of the TSOs that the structures that are there -- and we focus a lot on the structure -- still comes down to the volunteers in the communities delivering the programs. The question to the Minister is what specific steps will be done to try to address or bring the TSOs to have a discussion with the rest of the organization to try to sort out some of these differences before we have an exodus of critical volunteers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Member is referring to a concern that was brought forward this year as the result of Sport North levying some penalties. I guess it should be clear that Sport North is an independent body; they are registered a society; they have their own administration; these are their own rules; these are the members of their partnerships. There are two types of penalties that are being levied here. There are penalties for late filing of their accounting and their forms and the general accounting practices, and there's also some penalties that are being levied as a result of performance. So there are two types of penalties that are being implemented here and, Mr. Speaker, these are the rules that the TSOs have agreed to have placed upon themselves; they agreed that they would work within the confines. There is a concern that some of the filing is starting to be a challenge for these volunteers. We're working with that whole concept to try and improve it, and through our Pan Territorial Sport Strategy we'd like to see if we can place some resources within the ranks of the TSOs. So far we've had one position dedicated to hockey; we have another half-time position dedicated to skiing. We'd like to improve that. We'd like to up that to maybe five this year. Pending the positive response from the federal government, we'd like to update that to five so that three more TSOs can be brought on stream with staff that can help them out; or maybe even more than five, I'm not sure, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are in this Legislature as elected politicians and when constituents come to us outside of the processes that are there -- in this case, dealing with sports and recreation -- it's indicative, clearly, that there some heartburn, some angst, some unhappiness and frustration. I'd like to ask the Minister, we want to keep everybody in the tent; we want to keep this new system evolving and improving. Could the Minister commit to encouraging Sport North and all the TSO folks to gather around the table? Clearly, they may have made some decisions that now, through application, have proved wanting; that obviously require a second look. Could the Minister commit to trying to make sure that these folks gather around the table to see if they can work this out, so that we're not tying up their time and the time of this House if it can be sorted out? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe there have been filings of appeal from six of the organizations. I'm not sure if that has taken place. My information was that there would a gathering of the territorial sports organizations in April. We are having our discussions with Sport North to see if there's a better system, a more user-friendly system in terms of reporting. We'd like that to happen and we will continue those discussions. However, we recognize that it's a real challenge for some of the organizations out there to meet the accounting requirements. We have to have good accounting requirements, and that may mean that we'll have to provide some form of support, and that may mean some staff positions within the ranks of the TSOs or other organizations. We'll have those discussions with Sport North and some of the other organizations that are experiencing some growing pains or some pains in terms of providing programs. I think the Aboriginal Sports Circle has had some challenges that we're working with them, also, to meet. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement about the Territorial Farmers' Association, I will direct my question to the Minister for Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, in 2005, I asked the Minister of MACA about reviewing the Property Assessment and Taxation Act and including the assessment of agricultural land in that review. The Minister replied that MACA received several requests from communities to do a comprehensive review of the data. MACA was going to look at the issue of exemption to land where land is granted through a land use permit and also look at some technical amendments., but MACA had been unable to commit to when they would do a comprehensive evaluation or review on the whole act itself. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, two years later, for an update on changes to the PATA as they relate to the agricultural industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seem to recall that the Member raised it in 2004, 2005 and 2006. It seems that this issue, I agree, has been on the table...The Member has been very vocal about having the PATA reviewed. There have been other organizations and other Members of this House, including community governments, that have asked that we review the act. We have not been able to do so; we haven't been able to dedicate the resources. So we don't believe we'll be able to review the act within the life of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this point I'd be happy if it was in my lifetime, but anyway, Mr. Speaker, does the Minister have any other vehicle available to him by way of ministerial directive or any other interim measure that he could have the authority to an act that

would look at pulling agricultural land out for a separate assessment process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we can certainly take a look to see if there's any other method of doing what the Member's asking. We have not received, I don't believe we received, a request. We had made the offer to the Territorial Farmers' Association to do a presentation on the situation with lands. We must realize that this area -- this is being referenced by the Territorial Farmer's Association -- is also further complicated because there are two outstanding land claims in that area. The Dehcho First Nations have a land claim in that area, and the NWT Metis Nation has also indicated that they are interested in that area. We have offered to the Farmers' Association to go in and do a presentation on land how the land is allocated and the process. We have not received a request from them to do so and we'll follow it up to see if there's any desire to do that at this annual meeting. I certainly will commit to talking to our staff to see if there's another process that we can use to deal with the farmers and their ask, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was going to be my next question. That was one of the things I had asked about previously, that a commitment had been made to putting out a consultation paper and perhaps holding a workshop in Hay River for the Territorial Farmers' Association. I don't think that's been done and I didn't realize that MACA was waiting for us to do something to initiate that, but I will certainly communicate that back to the Territorial Farmers' Association and we would look forward to such an opportunity. Absolutely, we respect and understand the land use processes that are underway and I would like to ask the Minister if there's...I'm sorry I've lost my train of thought here. I want to ask the Minister if it would be a convenient time. The Farmers' Association is having a major gathering in Hay River on March 16th and if that would be too short a notice for his department to respond? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will commit to the Member that we will have somebody attend and we will make the offer again right away to do the presentation. We were ready some time ago and we'll go out and contact the Farmers' Association and offer to do a presentation and have a discussion on some of the issues that they have concerns about. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was also a specific recommendation with regard to the assistance for the agricultural sector by identifying arable land to ensure that it's not used for other activities and establish an agricultural land reserve designation. I know that recently MACA has hired new land officers and I'd like to ask the Minister if there's been any follow-up of this nature as per the TFA's recommendation to have someone actually assist them in identifying arable lands in their region? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't confirm whether we've done that yet. We'll need to talk a little more with ITI, who has had some contact with the Farmers' Association. However, I certainly will commit to getting back to the Member on this issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 26, 2007, the Public Utilities Board approved the Northwest Territories Power Corporation interim refundable rate rider effective February 1, 2007. I want to ask the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, what is the interim refundable rate rider and how is it going to affect people that are on hydro as opposed to people on diesel? Can he explain that just for the public's interest? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The interim rate rider that was approved to the NWT Power Corp is typically asked in a rate application until a final decision is made. With the recent NWTPC general rate application, that is going to take, we figure, up to a year to get to final approval. In the interim there has been a case made that due to the increased cost of fuel and operating costs, that they do need an increase for their operating expense. We do say that it is refundable in the case that the final approval is less than what has been asked for in the general rate application, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

On January 10, 2007, before this interim refundable rate rider was effective, the Power Corporation's fuel rider and the rider T was approved by the Public Utilities Board. So we have the fuel rider and the rider T approved by the Public Utilities Board. Now we have an interim refundable rate rider. I don't understand what the differences are and what effects it will have for people on hydro on diesel. Could the Minister explain that to me? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That's a level of detail that I don't have right now. There were not two riders in that application that was brought before the Public Utilities Board. It must have been a separate application for the T rider. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The information I have, okay, we have the approval of the fuel rider and the rider T for the consumers that are on hydro, and now we have an approval of this interim refundable rate rider. Is the Public Utilities Board, or is the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, going to be putting out any kind of a public notice that will explain to myself, my constituents and the people of the NWT, what the effects are of this fuel rider? The rider T is pretty cut and dried, but explain what is this interim refundable rate rider going to be and what the changes are going to be to people's power bills. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. There are a couple of zones that we do speak of when there's a general rate application; one's hydro communities and one's the diesel communities. The general rate application process is usually explained by the proponent which is, in this case, the NWT Power Corporation. I can commit to getting more information on this matter to explain to the Member and the public consultation process, and I'll get that back to the Member, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Final supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for making that commitment, I guess, just for the public interest. I would maybe want to ask the Minister for a commitment that either the Public Utilities Board or the NWT Power Corp or his department, whoever, because we're already into one month here that this has been approved; it's been approved effective February 1, 2007, and I don't think people even really know what it is that has been approved. Just for the public's interest and how it's going to affect their power bills, I would like to see something maybe in Monday's paper, perhaps, you know, a full-pager on how, explaining what these rate riders are, what this interim refundable rate rider is and how it's going to affect everybody's power rates. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I don't think we can be publishing a full-page ad, but I can, once again, commit to getting more information out to the public if it's with the Public Utilities board; or else I can contact the NWT Power Corporation, the Minister responsible, and see if we need more consultation or more advertising of this process for the rates, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.