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.