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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week we attended the funeral of John Carroll in Hay River. Born in Newfoundland in 1925, John had a very interesting life. At age 16 he left Newfoundland, which was still a British colony at that time. He became a school teacher and a monk with the Irish-Christian Brotherhood in Harlem, New York; a very unique way of starting a teaching career.

After seven years, he took a break from teaching, moved to Montreal, becoming a Canadian citizen when Newfoundland became a part of Canada in 1949. In Montreal, John worked in the scientific research department of Canadair Bombardier helping to design and build airplanes.

In 1963 he thought is was time for a change and arrived in Fort Simpson to resume his teaching career. If Montreal to Fort Simpson wasn't drastic enough, in 1964 John taught for one year in Jean Marie River before returning to Fort Simpson in 1965. That's where he met and married his wife, Marilyn, and their first child, Sharla, was born.

John had broken his thumb as a child and some of his students in the Deh Cho didn't speak English. He taught math and so used his thumb and fingers to convey mathematical theory. His students called him Melachie, a South Slavey word for crooked thumb. A few weeks ago one of his students from 40 years ago walked into the Stanton Hospital. It was late at night and the lights were dim, but as they passed by they said, "Hey, Melachie." That lifted John's spirits and brought a smile to his face.

John was a guidance counsellor for many years at the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River. An inordinate number of students sought guidance counselling in his office. It was later found out that John allowed his students to smoke in his office.

John will be greatly missed by his wife, Marilyn, who was an educator in Hay River for many years as well; his daughter, Sharla, who many will know through her work in our government with Health and Social Services; his son, J.J., and J.J.'s wife, Maureen, and his grandson, Alex.

John Carroll was a man of extraordinary kindness, patience and courage. He faced numerous hardships with his health in recent years, but took each challenge with a cheerful heart. He didn't let his confinement to a wheelchair stop him, as he would be often seen going about his day in his motorized scooter. He was a cherished member of the ROT Society in Hay River -- the Retired Old Teachers Society -- a society that which non-members only wonder about, but seems to have a large following.

Today I want to recognize John Carroll's commitment to Hay River, to the North, and to the many students that he helped along the way. The North was blessed to know him. His family, friends and neighbours will greatly miss him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Parents and teachers play an important part in encouraging our children to attend and stay in school because we, as parents, know getting an education today will play an important part in today's society.

Mr. Speaker, recently, the Inuvik Regional Science Fair was held on February 25th in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. I would like to report that students from Mangilaluk School in Tuktoyaktuk did very well at the regional science fair. Of important note is the senior category, Ryland Anderson and Ryan Walker won first place in their project called "Meatless for a Month." Maybe this project had to do with the decline of the caribou herd in the Beaufort-Delta region. These two students became vegetarians for one

month, which is rare in our culture because we need the wild meat to survive in today's society. Mr. Walker and Mr. Anderson will be travelling to a regional competition in Truro, Nova Scotia, in May of this year.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, Bradley Felix and Morris Nogasak, Jr., won third place in the seniors category for their science project by inventing an ultra-simple hovercraft, which, I understand, was of interest to all students.

And finally, Allan Hillier and James Pokiak won first place in the juniors category for their project "Sticky Science."

Mr. Speaker, I might add that I'm an uncle to two of the students and it makes me proud to see these students excel and do well in school.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, teachers also play an important role in our education system. I am proud to say that Mary Kathleen Connelly, principal of Inualthuyak School in Sachs Harbour, has won the Outstanding Principal Award. This award recognizes the extraordinary contributions of principals who have made a measurable difference in the lives of their students. Mr. Speaker, during our pre-budget consultations in Sachs Harbour, I understand that Ms. Sandy Lee of Range Lake was a student of Ms. Mary Kathleen Connelly.

---Applause

Oh, how time flies.

In closing, once again I would like to congratulate all the students, their parents and teachers to keep up the good work. And to the students: Stay in school. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, lately I've been looking through the newspapers and I look at the job ads. There are some ads that I see in there, Mr. Speaker, that cause me a great deal of concern. I'm not looking for a job.

---Laughter

I'm trying to find jobs for you guys.

---Laughter

Some job ads in there, Mr. Speaker, cause me a great deal of concern. I was looking at one there where they were looking for apprentices in one of the communities. I am one of the biggest supporters of apprentices in the Northwest Territories and I do think we have probably one of the strongest apprenticeship programs in Canada. But there were a couple of things that made me look twice at it; it's the rate of pay that we pay these apprenticeships. I was looking at one where they get $16.67 an hour and one they get $17 an hour, and I know they are first year apprentices, but I can remember back in the early '80s being an apprentice and we were getting almost as much as they're getting now. We have to be able to compete with the private industry to recruit and retain good quality employees. I know the apprentices are working towards the end product, which is becoming a journeyman and, hopefully, getting a journeyman wage, but then I also saw another ad where a journeyman was getting $27 an hour, a journeyman electrician getting $27 an hour in the government system. Mr. Speaker, they go to private industry and they get a lot more than that. There are so many ads I see in there, Mr. Speaker.

Another one that always caused me a great deal of concern was the money that we paid for our nurses. I see one for $34.52 for an acute care nurse and I see other ads where they're paying a lot more money than that. Mr. Speaker, I'm not disputing and I've never disputed the importance of the work that people do, but we ask a lot of people to go out, get the training, especially with the nurses where they work long hours, we ask them to go and get the education and then we don't pay them accordingly and then we sit here and we wonder why they're all moving South and coming back as agency nurses or finding better paying jobs. Mr. Speaker, I think it's time we have to have a close look at this and start paying people what we think they're worth. Thank you very much.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories recognizes several people a year, sometimes throughout the month. We recognize people for their accomplishments and last night I was privy to an award given to a number of my constituents, the Status of Women of Council, Native Women's Council, of an award, a wise woman from my community, from the Sahtu region, as other Members from their constituencies also had this honour to recognize their wise women in the North here.

The Arctic Energy Alliance also recognized contributions that had been made in the North in terms of the awareness and their contributions to eliminate the high cost of fuel consumption being used and the methods they use...

---Applause

...and also some Members spoke in terms of what they're doing personally. So this North is full of action and people who are doing creative things. I want to say that we're not shy of what we can do to do our part in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, also I received a newsletter from ITI listing a young man of 81 in my region who has been awarded for his way of life, which is trapping. It's Mr. David Yallee, who's 81 years old. He's still traps today, as many people do in our small communities. They still go out and do it;

they just do what they have to do. It also talks about a young man here in Colville Lake who was awarded for his high sales in trapping.

So, Mr. Speaker, the future is in our hands so all these types of things that we do, we do it for our own good. I want to suggest a challenge to our Premier here that maybe we should drop another award here, an award for handling competition. Maybe we should have the Premier and his staff and Members here, maybe Members...(inaudible)...a hand game competition with the federal government and really, really have a good day to say the future is really in our hands in terms of what we want to do. Let's have a hand game with the federal government and I think then we can truly say the future is in our hands, and we will win.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you are very well aware, we had quite an extensive debate in this House on Wednesday this week on the WCB's response, or inadequate response, to the AOC report and motions directing WCB to take some actions on very specific issues for the injured workers. This was an unusual appearance of WCB witnesses here made necessary in order for the Legislature to express, once again, to WCB that they have much room to improve and that they must do it now and if they don't, we will legislate the necessary improvements ourselves with the upcoming bill.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in my inbox I received an e-mail from one of the staff who was witness, asking me to give names of the individuals involved at WCB I was talking about, and by extension, the workers, so that he could investigate and take necessary disciplinary actions. Ironically, in my same inbox I received an e-mail from an injured worker asking me why WCB is saying he's only entitled to 50 percent when if he's entitled to benefits he should get 100 percent of what he's entitled to.

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that if our past experience was different from what it has been, I may be willing to give this e-mail the benefit of doubt that WCB have a goodwill and workers' interests at heart, but I regret to say I cannot; not when I have seen myself e-mails where workers were punished for speaking to MLAs and seeking assistance; not when we have to call on the office of the Auditor General of Canada to force the WCB to understand something very basic, that they are a legislated public institution accountable to the public, the workers and the ratepayers in the larger communities. Mr. Speaker, not when they literally write to us that in order for them to lessen the fortress-like build-up and mentality they need a new physical door. I'm serious, Mr. Speaker. ...(inaudible)...they told us it is hard to have an open-door policy when you have no door, unquote. Mr. Speaker, and apparently they need an entire new building in order to have a door so that they can...

Ms. Lee, your time for Member's statement has expired.

Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to finish 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.

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you this is beyond contempt. Mr. Speaker, further, not when they tell us that they don't see any need to work on the timeline for reviews and appeals, and not when they were asked through a motion in this House that they direct the worker's advisor to draw up a proposal to provide assistance to workers who need expert medical and/or legal advice, they tell us that they choose not to do it because they tell us it's not necessary. Well, Mr. Speaker, I say this is absolutely necessary and the duly elected Members of this House will legislate to make it happen if needed. So I would like to give last advice to the WCB: We continue to seek your cooperation and profound understanding that you are a public institution working for all of the people. Understand that or you will be legislated to this understanding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Much of the situation we are facing in Yellowknife with the two school boards can be attributed, to some extent, to the way in which we fund the boards. The more students the board has enrolled, the more funding the board will receive to deliver programs. ECE continues to think of students as commodities. Mr. Speaker, I do not agree. However, if it's the only way to get a message to the Minister, then so be it. Then if ogres can be like onions, students can be like commodities, Mr. Speaker. So students need investment just like commodities and they need stability to make sense. To illustrate my point, Mr. Speaker, I could draw comparisons to the stock market. Every once in a while there is market disruption, like a fire or school falling off its piles. Until this disruption is dealt with, all other schools will not see any new investment. Every once in a while a new product, or school, comes on the market. Everyone wants one; it has shiny bells and all the whistles. It doesn't matter that there is a perfectly good product or school just down the road; everyone wants the new product until the next one comes along. Every once in a while a new concept or an idea comes along and soon everyone is copying it or modifying it until the great idea or concept comes along. Every once in a while the government decides it needs to meddle in the market, also known as market disruption, Mr. Speaker. The usual consequences of this is one sector of the market will suffer at the expense of the other. You know, Mr. Speaker, although the stock market has good and bad days, in the long run it is stable and usually corrects itself. The problem with the Minister's solution is that it does not allow the market to correct itself.

We have two strong, excellent school boards, Mr. Speaker, here in Yellowknife. That's a wonderful thing.

What I worry about is the ability of the public system to stay competitive and relevant if it loses one-sixth of its programming space. I'm also concerned with the inability of the Minister to clearly articulate his expectations to both the public and Catholic school board. If his mind was made up that the only situation for the public school board to lease one of their schools to the Catholic school board, he should have told somebody in September; certainly instead of spreading his letter here recently and creating such drama and hysteria as he has done as of late. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to recognize the three folks in the gallery with the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition: Dennis Marchiori, who works for the city of Yellowknife, and Members will remember his days here helping us in this building; Dayle Handy, who's the homelessness coordinator; and, of course, as Mr. Handley has already indicated, Glenda MacKenzie, with the Salvation. Welcome to the gallery. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize a former classmate, from the class of 1988. there were only 26 of us from St. Pat's that year and it's always nice to see a classmate in the building, in the gallery; and Dennis is also the director of public safety with the City of Yellowknife. Welcome, Dennis, and welcome to the other guests, as well. Mahsi.

---Applause