Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Member's statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I start my statement today, I'd like to make special mention of our women leaders and mentors in our public gallery today. I truly appreciate their work and their commitment. Like our Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod, has said about his wife, I, too, wouldn't be here without the support of my wife, as well.

Now, Mr. Speaker, with today being International Women's Day, I think then it's now fitting and appropriate to talk about what the Mackenzie gas project socio-economic agreement is doing for women. Women make up roughly a quarter of the positions in the oil and gas industry. Many of these women are clustered in support, sales and clerical positions, as opposed to technical and managerial positions. Women account for roughly 47 percent of Canada's total labour workforce and we need to ensure that they are given full opportunity to take part in this employment sector.

The Mackenzie gas project parties undertake in section 2.4.9 of the SEA to support and encouragement the participation of women on an equal basis with men in all aspects of training and employment. They propose to do this through mandatory gender training, workplace policies, security measures promoting women, job market understanding, and seeking skilled female role models.

These sound like good practices on the surface but, when carefully examined, they are not very proactive and specific. Support and encourage are not especially strong words. For the most part, these measures listed address the need for the workplace to be safe for women. Which is an unfortunate necessity, but certainly not adequate to increase participation in the workforce. They do not

convey the impression that the Mackenzie gas project parties are prepared to actively get out in the communities and recruit women and train them for the jobs.

In contrast, the Snap Lake socio-economic agreement includes specific commitments by De Beers to put in place scholarships and award programs, establish a female role model to visit schools, and develop and further offer trades programs for women in communities. These are proactive steps, Mr. Speaker, and I expect that they will make a real difference in getting the interest of women in these sectors.

In closing, we often state in this Assembly that northerners must be the primary beneficiaries of development with women making 49 percent of the North...

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

That's good. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Member's statements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, today women play a vital role in the communities and on a day-to-day basis. They are the backbone of our nation. Mr. Speaker, they are the main reason why we exist here today in this Assembly. They have taught us the true value of life, the value of growing up, the value of literacy, the value of respect, the value of sharing, and the value of simply being there when you needed them.

Mr. Speaker, the traditional garments that we wear here in the Assembly from time to time symbolizes the hard work of our ancestors, the grandmothers, mothers. Without them, this precious work, these beautiful traditional garments wouldn't exist here today.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, the teepee, the tent, means a safe, secure home. It represents a woman's womb. She comforts you, keeps you warm, protects you from danger outside. The lodge poles represent men. Look at how many it takes to support a woman in the right way. Those men come together at the high point and are joined to form an intricate circle, a circle that exists here today.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my mother, grandmothers, for raising me with their language and traditional values of Tlicho to become who I am today. I especially would like to thank my wife for simply being there and supporting me. Without her I would not be complete.

Mr. Speaker, I have four women in my life at home. I am proud to say I'm proud of them and grateful for today. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member's statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to acknowledge and commemorate International Women's Day, this year the 30th anniversary of this international movement. It's with great pride and affection that I will be able to look at my wife in just a few months' time, Mr. Chairman, and celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.

---Applause

I know I have a lot of ground to catch up on some of the Members around here...

---Laughter

...but I'm proud of every day of the relationship that I have with my wife.

Mr. Speaker, the role of government and Legislatures, of municipal councils and leaders everywhere, to step up to the plate and work with the women in our lives and in our communities is one that can never be satisfied. In this respect our territorial Legislative Assembly has a number of things to be justifiably proud of, especially in the area of social programs and justice that I think we have achieved and continue to put effort and resources into. But there are some areas, Mr. Chairman, where we still fall short.

I remember a debate in this House just a couple years ago when there was a big pot, a big pot of money, federal money, that was available for interveners to prepare their cases for their interest before the Mackenzie Valley pipeline process and how, led by the NWT Status of Women organization, they were denied sufficient funding. Our government did very little, if anything, to step up to the plate for them. We let them down. I think there are other aspects in agreements before us now that we are failing to address issues of, for instance, day care. The ability to prepare for and manage the social and family disruption that we know will come with major developments and to really, truly, set the affirmative actions that should be in place for women in our society to advance with the rest of the interests here in the North, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. The honourable Member responsible for the Public Utilities Board, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Villeneuve on February 16, 2007, regarding the NWT Power Corporation generate rate application.

The Public Utilities Board does not refuse to review a general rate application. The PUB reviews the general rate application, which is a multi-phased process, and

makes decisions throughout the process that guide the eventual rate determination.

Before changing its rates, the NWTPC must make an application to the Public Utilities Board seeking approval to do so and providing evidence on why the rates should be changed. This is known as a general rate application. Information on assets, operations and financial affairs is provided in order to explain change to rates.

The GRA is usually handled in two phases. The first phase, known as the "revenue requirement," examines the utility company's revenues and expenses. The purpose of phase one of a GRA is to determine the amount of revenue that the NWTPC needs to earn in a year to cover its costs in providing service to its customers and to earn a fair return on its investment.

Once a decision on the phase I revenue requirement is made, a phase II application is filed. The main purpose of a phase II filing is to determine the specific rates that each type of customer will be charged and to demonstrate that these rates will enable the utility company to collect its annual revenue requirement. Hearings are held to discuss contentious issues and obtain the views of the utility's customers.

On November 24, 2006, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation filed its phase I of the general rate application to determine the revenue requirements for the fiscal years April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007, and April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.

The application requested:

1. approval of interim rate increases in the amounts of 3.52 cents per kilowatt hour in the thermal communities and 2.16 cents per kilowatt hour in the hydro communities pending completion of the GRA process, effective January 1, 2007.
2. approval of an increase in the fuel rider applicable to the diesel fuel communities of 4.02 cents per kilowatt hour effective January 1, 2007, to offset increased diesel fuel costs.
3. Approval of an increase in the Taltson system fuel Rider T of .21 cents per kilowatt hour to offset increased fuel costs used for back-up generation, for the communities of Fort Smith and Fort Resolution.

On January 10, 2007, the Public Utilities Board:

1. approved the Northwest Territories Power Corporation's fuel rider and Rider T, effective January 1, 2007;
2. did not approve the NWTPC interim rate application, as the proposal would not result in interim rates being as close as possible to the probable final rates at the community level.

On January 26, 2007, the Public Utilities Board approved the Northwest Territories Power Corporation's interim refundable rate rider effective February 1, 2007. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member responsible for the Status of Women, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are joined in the gallery today by a number of women who are very active in the field of women's equality in the Northwest Territories. From the Status of Women's Council of the Northwest Territories: the president, Lynn Brooks; board member, Dolly Simon; and executive director, Sharon Thomas. From the NWT Native Women's Association: the executive director, Denyse Nadon-Holder and two members of the staff, Cindy Villeneuve and Faith Woodruff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize my sister Cindy Villeneuve, too, the finance officer for the Native Women's Association; and a constituent, Ms. Dolly Lafferty-Simon, also with the Native Women's Association.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize the president of the Council for the Status of Women, who happens to be a constituent of mine, Ms. Lynn Brooks, and welcome all the other women with us this afternoon. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize a constituent of mine, a very hard-working woman, Deb Mageean from Hay River South.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I, as well, would like to recognize Deb Mageean in the gallery today. She's also my constituency assistant in Hay River.

---Applause

If we've missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. It's always nice to have an audience. I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House I had questions for the Premier on resource revenue sharing and devolution and

it was replayed on CBC Radio this morning, the entire exchange. So for the record, I think if you listen to most of what I say in this House, I do support resource development, but I think it is just an outpouring of the level of frustration that we feel because we need the money in order to ensure the best health care, the best education, the best infrastructure; what we want to achieve for our constituents, a social safety net. So I guess sometimes we just get very, very frustrated. In response to that exchange, I received a suggestion from a constituent this morning from Hay River who suggested that the Premier should draft a letter to the federal government -- because constituents want to become involved in this -- post it on his website, let residents of the Northwest Territories download it, send it to our MP and send it to the Prime Minister. Could I have the Premier's reaction to such a suggestion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I would do that. In fact, it may be worthwhile to post some of the letters that I've already written to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Indian Affairs on the same topic. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that this suggestion speaks to, again, the level of frustration that is being felt by residents of the Northwest Territories on this subject, and sometimes it's just difficult for them to articulate that and sit down and compose a letter. If they had something that they could download, complete with the addresses to where they should mail the information, it is just another venue of getting our message to Ottawa. It was a good suggestion. When could the Premier compose such a letter so that we can begin that campaign? Thank you.