Turn back to page 2-49, Human Resources, program summary, operations expenditure summary, $31.591 million.

Now can we turn to page 2-5, Executive, department summary, operations expenditure summary, $122.038 million.

Now turn to main estimates, volume II, page 2-7.

Human Resources, infrastructure, acquisition plan, employee relations, tangible capital assets, total tangible assets, $217,000. Members?

Total activity, $217,000.

Total department, $217,000.

Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Human Resources is concluded?

Thank you. At this time, I would like to thank the Minister and his witnesses. Can the Sergeant-at-Arms please escort the witnesses out? Thank you.

Members, can we take a five-minute break? Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

Okay, Members. I am going to call Committee of the Whole back to order. The next departmental budget before us is that of the Legislative assembly. At this time I would like to call on our Speaker, the Honourable Paul Delorey to make his opening comments.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the 2007-08 Main Estimates for the Legislative Assembly. The upcoming fiscal year is perhaps the most unique in the four-year cycle of the Legislative Assembly. It will be marked by the remaining five months of the 15th Legislative Assembly and the important first months of the 16th Assembly.

This year, the Assembly is requesting operational funding to the tune of $16.3 million. This constitutes an increase of just over 12 percent compared to last year's budget of $14.5 million. An annual increase of this magnitude is unusual for the Assembly which has made a point of leading by example in terms of fiscal restraint in the last four years.

This year's increases are the result of several important initiatives. The first and by far the most substantial reason for the increase is the requirement to hold a general election in the fall of this year.

An addition of $680,000 has been requested by the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct the 2007 General Election. I am pleased to advise Members that the position of both the Chief Electoral Officer and the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer has been filled by qualified northerners and that preparations for the vote are well underway. All we need now is the approval of the federal Cabinet to dissolve the 15th Legislative Assembly on August 31, 2007, to allow an October 1st election.

The second reason for this year's increase is tied to the report of the Independent Commission to Review Members' Compensation and Benefits, which was tabled in this House last year. As each of you are no doubt aware, this Assembly rejected a recommendation by the Commission to increase MLAs' salaries by 9 percent. Other recommendations included an expansion of the Page program and increased funding to allow Members who represent multi community constituencies to travel to each community at least five times each year and will have a financial impact of roughly $200,000. I think these are positive change and ones that Members of the 16th Assembly will surely appreciate.

Finally, Madam Chair, the 2007-08 Draft Main Estimates include an additional $40,000 for the pre-budget consultation recently initiated by standing committees, a one-time increase of $80,000 to the budget of the Cultural Enhancement Commission, and a $90,000 increase to the NWT Human Rights Commission to respond to a higher than expected caseload.

Madam Chair, I always want to take a few moments to discuss a few real success stories from last year that we hope to continue in the future. In June, I travelled to the community of Whati with Mr. Lafferty, Premier Handley and Commissioner Whitford...

---Applause

...for the first of what I hope to be many legislative Assembly outreach programs. The visit marked the first time that our Mace has been displaced outside of the capital since its creation. The delegation met with community leaders, staff and students from the Mezi Community School and handled some tough and interesting questions regarding the role of the Assembly and individual MLAs. Funding remains in this year's budget to conduct two additional community visits and Mace tours.

Madam Chair, in cooperation with the Speakers of Nunavut and Yukon, we are very close to implementing a broadcasting solution that will provide television access to the Assembly's proceedings in every community and in every official language of the NWT.

---Applause

It is our hope that this system will be tested during our August sitting and fully rolled out at the commencement of the 16th Legislative Assembly. In the meantime, I am pleased to hear positive feedback on our interim broadcasting solution, particularly the effectiveness of CKLB Radio broadcast. I have even heard that there is a competition underway for whoever can guess the total number of times Members have said "Mr. Speaker" during this session. I know that this is the first and only time I have said it so far this session.

---Laughter

Members will recall last year, the Legislative Assembly implemented a number of specific energy conservation measures in addition to the general conservation activities that have been underway for some time. These include turning off the exterior dome lights on the Assembly when the building is closed to visitors; limiting the annual Christmas lights display to six hours per day; initiating a new lighting system to better conserve energy. These initiatives, while modest, have resulted in savings both in terms of money and energy use. I am pleased to inform Members that next week, the Assembly will take delivery of a hybrid vehicle to replace one of its aging fleet of cars. This will be parked right next to the Premier's parking spot so we will know soon enough if it's smaller than his car.

Members have, in past years, expressed concern over services provided to visitors to our Assembly, particularly those whose first language is not English. Statistics for the current year indicate that the largest category of visitors to our Assembly is walk-in traffic, followed closely by Japanese tourists. Each of these categories far outnumber the scheduled and guided tours that are offered in English and French. As I have said in the past, the first priority of my office is to provide services to residents of the Northwest Territories in the official languages of the Northwest Territories. This being said, I am pleased to announce that this year the Assembly will proceed with the acquisition of technology that will allow visitors to participate in either guided or self-directed tours in any of the NWT's official languages and Japanese.

---Applause

This proposed solution will include a descriptive pamphlet and a self-guided tour using IPod technology in any number of languages. This is a first step towards providing an increased number of services in all of our official languages.

Finally, Madam Chair, I am proud to advise Members that we are making excellent progress in terms of recruiting and retaining a more representative workforce. This year, for the first time, over 50 percent of the Assembly's staff are affirmative action employees.

---Applause

Of the 15 statutory appointments that the Board of Management is responsible for recommending to the Legislative Assembly, 12 of the current incumbents are now women, as are more than half our supervisory staff here at the Assembly.

---Applause

We still have work to do particularly in terms of recruiting persons with disabilities, but we are making progress and I am proud to say this Assembly is leading by example in this important area.

I want to take advantage of the fact that today is International Women's Day, to announce that the theme for this year's Youth Parliament will be increasing the role of women in positions of leadership. I have also directed that a minimum of 50 percent of the selected delegates for this year's Youth Parliament be young women.

---Applause

We may not be there on the floor of this House yet, but the youth are the future and we need to start with them.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide opening comments, Madam Chair. I welcome any questions Members may have.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. At this time, I will ask Speaker Delorey if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber for the consideration of his budget.

Yes, I would.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Does committee agree?

Agreed. I will ask the Sergeant-at-Arms, please, to escort the witnesses to the witness table.

Mr. Delorey, for the record, could you please tell us who your witnesses are.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my left I have Cheryl Menard, manager of finance; and to my right is Tim Mercer, Clerk of the Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. If I could then turn to the Members and ask if there are any general comments. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a few general comments. I want to congratulate the Legislative Assembly and Board of Management for some of the initiatives undertaken as stated in this statement. The increase of women and other affirmative action groups in the staffing and in contract positions, as well as just the general tone of the Assembly trying to lead by example, not only in hiring but in energy use and such. People did notice how the beautiful Chamber, as it is, when it's not in session it used to light up the whole bush all around us. People used to wonder why that was. I think that's a good step to make to reduce energy and to lead by example.

Another thing I want to congratulate the Assembly and the Board of Management on is the use of technology to make official languages of the NWT available to tourists. This is a place for the people and I think with the advent of all the technology that is available, I think it will set a great example and make people welcome to come here and be able to use a device where they can walk around in their own time. In most museums around the world, you can walk in and get some sort of device where you can put an earplug into...I don't know if that's what the plan is because the detail is not indicated here, but whatever device it may be, it will allow you to move at your own pace and hear in your own language what is being presented. I do also appreciate the extra step taken to allow Japanese language to be available. I think we understand that that is not our official language and, in fact, Japanese people are not the biggest resident population in the city, but I think it's a great way to show our appreciation to the Japanese visitors who spend their time and money and they do not get many days of holidays. They don't get anywhere near the amount of holidays that most Canadians are used to. In the short four, five, six or seven days a year that they have and they choose to come here and visit here, when they do come, they always make the point of visiting this Assembly. I think it's a nice gesture to make them feel welcome.

Just one last thing I want to speak about is something I have spoken about elsewhere, and that is my big dream and desire to see some sort of communication network TV channel or something like that for the Legislature that could broadcast the proceedings in this Legislature, and the possibility of partnering with Yukon, Nunavut or any other jurisdictions that would be interested in doing that. We are here and when we are making statements, asking questions and making decisions on behalf of the people, it is really important for the people to see that. Not only that, I am constantly amazed at how much power the media has in connecting the people to this place. I am constantly amazed when I go to communities. I think Members mention often about the fact that Yellowknife has a community channel where this is broadcast all day long, but I think I would venture to say that a lot of people who watch the programming here are people who are working for the government, but in communities they are in many ways closer and they are more connected to what's going on here.

My dream is not only can we broadcast the proceedings of the House, but if we were able to set up a broadcasting system where we could use it as a community channel for all of the Territories. One of the privileges of being an MLA is to be able to partake in lots of community festivals whether it be the Beluga Jamboree in Tuk or many, many festivals that happen everywhere. There is a very rich culture of music, a special way northerners play their fiddles, jigging, all of the summer assemblies that take place. We, as Members, are privileged to be able to go to these gatherings as part of our work to meet the leaders, hear what they have to say. Community leaders and elders and regular citizens have a very unique way of presenting their stories. The aboriginal tradition is so rich in oral communication skills. I am constantly amazed at how anybody can just grab a microphone and speak for hours and tell all these really interesting stories.

I am really sorry that the people in Yellowknife who don't have that kind of opportunity through work don't get to listen to that.

Also, so much music, art and culture. The power of TV is so strong. There are areas on why TV personalities and movie personalities have so much impact on lives of people, especially the young people. Wouldn't it be great if the young people could look at themselves on TV, whether they are playing in NWT Games or Arctic Winter Games or community sports events? I would like to see the Legislature take a leadership role in trying to accommodate a broadcasting network that would start with the venue that would allow the proceedings of this

House to broadcast, but that would allow the accommodation of other programming to take place.

Our young people need to see themselves reflected on TV. I know APTN is a very popular channel in the communities, but that channel serves all of the country, not just the Northwest Territories. I don't think we can minimize the power and the positive impact that sort of medium and that available mode of communication could have on our youth, our culture and our ability within the Territories as communities to be able to learn about each other and to become more familiar with the most unique cultures that are present in different parts of the territory. The NWT is not a homogenous place. It's made up of all sorts of different people. I would love to see something like an NWT Broadcasting Corporation. I guess that would be called NBC or something.

I am just going to leave it at that and that's something I am going to continue to speak about and talk about in the hopes that one day that dream will come true. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.