Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we begin, yesterday in the House, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins, tabled a number of documents dealing with a land dispute between two residents of the Northwest Territories and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Article 43 of the rules of the Legislative Assembly permits a Member to table "any document which is required to be tabled in the House by any act or order of the Assembly, or which may be in the public interest." On initial review of the documents tabled, and there are many, I am not yet satisfied that they meet the test laid out in article 43 of the rules. It would appear that much of the correspondence is between two parties to a specific land dispute and the responsible government agencies. I am not satisfied that all the correspondence tabled was intended to be public in nature by the respective authors. In order to ensure the protection of those individuals who are not able to protect themselves in this House, I am ruling Tabled Document 52-15(6) out of order until such time as I can conduct a thorough and complete review of the matter. Members should refrain from referencing these documents in the House until such time as I have made a final ruling on the matter. Thank you, Members.

Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Workers' Compensation Board recently redefined its mission to reflect not only its duty to care for injured workers, but also its commitment to the promotion of workplace safety. We need not only simply care for workers once they have been injured; it is equally important to help northern workers prevent those injuries from happening in the first place. The WCB will continue to stress the importance of prevention as part of workplace safety, striving to reduce injuries and suffering as a result of workplace incidents.

To further show its commitment to prevention, and in response to its stakeholders, the WCB recently made changes to its organizational structure. As of July 3, 2007, the mine and industrial safety units, formerly housed separately under NWT and Nunavut operations, are now part of the new prevention services unit, reporting to a common vice-president.

WCB safety officers and inspectors will continue to be responsible for helping to keep northerners safe by ensuring compliance with the Mine Health and Safety Act and Industrial Safety Act. The goal of the division is still to reduce workplace injuries and promote workplace safety. The new protection services unit will now share their knowledge, experience and resources.

The WCB will continue to help northerners build a safer culture that includes a strong emphasis on prevention. Through safety education and training, and dedication to the well-being of the clients it serves, the WCB continues to work toward making the North a safer place to live and work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

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. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to something Mr. Hawkins raised yesterday regarding a constituent who was unable to work and care for a family member, along that same vein, this government must do more to accommodate employees who are caring for family members with disabilities. More discretionary latitude must be given to managers to make allowances in schedules to consider the possibility of work that could be performed from home to accommodate these employees. It's difficult to quantify the value to the family's stability and the real savings to this government when we can do a little to accommodate as opposed to incurring the cost of full-time care, institutional care and when Members are willing and capable of taking care of family members with disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will have questions about our government's policy surrounding accommodation of employees who are caregivers for family members with disabilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today in support of the new program called The Rock Skateboard Ministry established by the SideDoor Youth Ministry. Mr. Speaker, this program currently has the youth of Yellowknife at the arena for the summer months and want to run this program year round. They are looking to secure a portion of the government warehouse building to continue this ministry and are asking for this government's and city council for support.

Mr. Speaker, they have already had a very good response to the program with over 350 youth attending the King of Kings "Revolution Tour" skate demo held between April 27th and 28th. This event was able to draw five professional skateboarders from across the U.S. and Canada.

The SideDoor has now contracted with the King of Kings to supply a professional skateboarder for the summer months and they look forward to a mutually beneficial and longstanding relationship with them. They feel that having this calibre of athletes and well-established organizations supporting this ministry in its grassroots stage is a true blessing and they wish to have role models like this year round to connect with the youth. These riders have made lasting impressions in the lives of the youth they have connected with in the short time they've been here.

Mr. Speaker, consistent numbers of 40 to 50 youth have attended The Rock since it has been open during the best outdoor skate weather Yellowknife has, confirming the youth's desire for an indoor program. This is in spite of having to have the ramps removed periodically for other community events going on in the arena and a difficulty in communicating the return of the ramp with the youth.

Mr. Speaker, what's really good about this program is the numbers seem to be growing from word of mouth on the street. With a set location and consistent days and times, they can only see these numbers increase. Their goal is to provide the youth of Yellowknife a mentored environment with healthy boundaries and limits set in an atmosphere of nurturing and acceptance. This program would continue to provide role models to reflect what it means to be a good person, with a long-term focus on helping the youth of our community reach their highest potential and encourage spiritual development and character.

Mr. Speaker, over the years, I have been a strong supporter of many grassroots programs in Yellowknife and two in particular. One is the program at the SideDoor. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 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. I have supported two programs in particular; one is the SideDoor program and the other is the COPs program. Mr. Speaker, I believe strongly the real work and real difference can only be made by governments working and supporting the grassroots organizations and programs like these from the bottom up, rather than introducing a solution from top to bottom. In my opinion, the government has not done enough to support these initiatives and I urge the Minister of Justice and the Minister responsible for Youth to work with its partners and put some real money and support behind it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will make a statement regarding working together within the government. Today is a celebration that our government in our territory, the Tlicho Government, and the territorial government and the agency is celebrating today. (Translation ends)

...territorial government, Tlicho Government and the Tlicho Community Services Agency. We are working as a remarkable accomplishment building upon our positive working relations during this last leg of our session.

Mr. Speaker, first let me highlight how we got here. A skidoo journey throughout the Tlicho region back in April was the first initiative to build a positive working relationship with the GNWT and Tlicho Government. The purpose of the trip was to get the Ministers and senior staff to familiarize themselves with the trails of our ancestors in the Tlicho region and how we travelled from community to community. Because of this, they would have a better idea of the Tlicho way of life when I speak in the House, Mr. Speaker.

Secondly, there was a government-to-government, GNWT and Tlicho, meeting in Wekweeti back in June. The two parties were going through some tough times dealing with some very critical issues they were faced with. Their mission: they needed to compromise, cooperate and work collectively. They achieved that goal, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, thirdly, we had the privilege of having our Commissioner, Ministers, MLAs and MP go on a canoe journey just last month during the Dene National Assembly in Behchoko. This is an annual event where youth, elders and community members join in on the journey, some from as far away as Wekweeti, that takes up to 10 days to paddle, Mr. Speaker. It is an ideal time for the elders to tell old stories, stories of the river, stories of the land, grave markers and so on, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, finally, just yesterday again we saw three levels of government cooperate and collaborate for the good of the people. The territorial government was struggling with the school expansion project in Gameti, a challenge we've been having for the past two years. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho Government and the community government decided to pitch in and invest in this important project. After numerous calls, e-mails and making errands across the hallway, both parties agreed to proceed with the project. The end result: a true partnership and driven initiative. All parties contributed. The high school in Gameti will finally become a reality.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, to conclude, I would like to thank the Cabinet Members, my fellow colleagues around the table here for their generous support....

---Applause

...and consideration during our heated deliberations. I would especially like to thank the Tlicho Government for their commitment in building a positive working relationship with GNWT as a whole. This is a great day for the Gameti students, parents and elders. Mahsi.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I use my Member's statement to talk about some of the housing delivery issues and how the delivery of the housing pertains to this government's new approach to program delivery, especially with the new income security model.

Mr. Speaker, the income security model has clearly stated that monitoring, evaluation and reporting are vital operational elements in order for this program to be successful and is based on the best available data, evidence and analysis of program recipients. I can only hope that this accountability process is diligently enforced and acted upon should there be changes required for future delivery and program success. Just as important, Mr. Speaker, the delivery of our social housing by our LHOs should also be diligently monitored, evaluated and reported by the NWT Housing Corporation's regional offices to ensure fairness of delivery and transparency of spending our public dollars on social housing that will ensure that those most in need of social housing can receive assistance as soon as possible.

I can easily point out many situations in many communities, Mr. Speaker, especially here in Yellowknife and all of the other smaller communities, where LHOs continue to provide social housing to clients who are not in need. Many public housing clients have new vehicles, new boats, quads, skidoos and RVs parked around their social housing units and have never provided the LHOs with accurate information on the present circumstances related to their income or options that may be available to them through family support networks. This is the monitoring I am talking about, Mr. Speaker. This government has to regain responsibility of our public dollars we provide to our LHOs to operate the public housing sector of our society so that we do not see more families, like the mother of six camping at Fred Henne Park, who are in dire need of social housing left out in the cold, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Nunavut to announce the deepwater port. During his visit to Nunavut, he made two announcements for a deepwater port in Nanisivik, Nunavut, and the military training base in Resolute Bay, Nunavut.

Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to see the federal government is concerned about the Northwest Passage and Canada's claim for the Far North. It appears that the fellow government will move forward with a deepwater port and military training centre because of this announcement. However, Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate the Prime Minister did not consider establishing a deepwater port for military training as well in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, a logical location by the deepwater port for a military training facility would be Tuktoyaktuk, as Tuktoyaktuk already serves as a major transportation centre for the Canadian Coast Guard and NTCL operations. With regard to a military training facility, Tuktoyaktuk would also be an appropriate location because we have the facilities available to accommodate over 200 personnel at two camps located at Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, although the announcements made by the Prime Minister establishes a deepwater port and military training facility in Nunavut, I would like this government to lobby, on behalf of the Beaufort and the Northwest Territories, to request the federal government to reconsider establishing a deepwater port for military training facility in Tuktoyaktuk or Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories. First, by establishing a deepwater port or a military training facility, it will bring economic and business opportunities to the Beaufort-Delta.

In closing, this will enable the Beaufort-Delta residents not to rely on the oil and gas activities presently taking place. This will bring much needed long-term employment and business to the region. 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, we talked about our concerns with addictions across the Northwest Territories. We have studies on addictions across the Northwest Territories. We have people, Mr. Speaker, who work the front lines. They not only talk about all of these concerns, but they want to do something about it. They are hard working and caring people who do their job 24/7, Mr. Speaker, because they care about the clients they serve. They do this, for the most part, very cheaply. We have board members who are volunteers who do it for nothing.

It came to my attention, Mr. Speaker, last night as we went through the budget process. We go through the supplementary appropriation process, and I see all of this money that is thrown around, Mr. Speaker. I see thousands of dollars on a trip to China and yet we make these people who work the front lines, they scratch, claw and beg for every nickel they can get. It just doesn't make sense, Mr. Speaker. They have enough on their plate with the work that they do to worry about where their next dollar is coming from. The transition house in Inuvik is always having to wait for their funding. The Inuvik Interagency Committee ran out of funding. They can't operate anymore and now they are trying to access the community capacity building fund just so they can keep going. Family Counselling Centre closed after 23 years because they couldn't compete with what the government was paying out. They couldn't compete with it, so they had to close their doors after 23 years of providing a service for Inuvik. Mr. Speaker, these front-line workers work in the trenches and they not only talk about doing something about problems with addictions, but they want to go and charge these problems head on. What do we do? We arm them with a squirt gun to go charge the problems.

Mr. Speaker, it is time that we took a serious look at how we do business here. It is time that we put our money where our mouth is and not just talk about these problems across the NWT and pay thousands of dollars to tell us about these problems for the NWT. We have to support the NGOs who provide a valuable service because they care about the well-being of the residents of the Northwest Territories. It is about time that we did, too. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, several months or weeks ago, I heard the federal government make an announcement on the patient wait guarantee time in Canada. I was quite delighted to hear about this, Mr. Speaker. I wasn't too sure how the interpretation was going to be interpreted or how it was to be translated into our region. The way I looked at it is this region here I am talking about is the Sahtu region. Patients are guaranteed to wait for health services, Mr. Speaker. Patient wait guarantee time for us. We are asking again in terms of like the highway, in terms of other issues that we are looking at this government to start planning a regional wellness centre like any regional centres they have in the Northwest Territories. Put it high on their priority, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our region here is being left out so many times that it is ludicrous when we go into a community like Tulita when we see the health centre where they have a sign that says Inuvik Regional Health Authority. Now, Mr. Speaker, three years ago the Sahtu assumed the authority of its own health services, yet they still haven't changed that sign on the health centre, so we are far back. Some people call us the catch-up region, catch up on this and catch up on that. We always seem to be catching up on things, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that this government look at putting this agenda in terms of a regional wellness centre into our region. We deserve the same programs and services as other regions in the Northwest Territories. It is time to get

it out of the medieval times of health care in the Sahtu and bring it up to modern standards like what kind of services they have in other regions in the Northwest Territories and put some real dollars and real cents and really look at the people in the hearts and the eyes in the Sahtu region and say you are no different than any other people in the other regions that deserve health care. Tell that to my people first and then start putting things into action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak again today about the Deh Cho Bridge and how it is that the government is marching full speed ahead on a project that continues to have more questions than answers.

Yesterday, I questioned the Premier on why the government has not provided proof to Members of the House, stakeholders and to the public, on how the proposed Deh Cho Bridge would impact the cost of living in Yellowknife and the North Slave region. Mr. Speaker, all I want is proof. Why can't anyone show me evidence or proof that for $150 million and $6.75 a tonne, this project would not adversely affect the cost of living here.

During my tenure here in this House, the cost of living has remained one of the biggest issues in all of our constituencies. Why would the government put in a piece of public infrastructure that would add to the cost of living for over half of our residents? There remains no proof or no evidence to the contrary, Mr. Speaker. That is why I am standing here again today questioning why this bridge is such a priority. If the Premier is so confident that the bridge would not increase costs, why hasn't he shown us? Is that too much to ask? The bridge project would have seemed a good fit, Mr. Speaker, for a thorough analysis by our new macroeconomic policy shop. I wonder what they would have said. I guess we will never know; or perhaps someday we will go down the road when every government for the next 35 years will be putting $2 million extra into this bridge. Perhaps somebody, Mr. Speaker, will figure it out.

The cost of the bridge has gone from 60 to 70 million dollars to what will be well over $150 million, yet the Premier and government have not come back to Regular Members to see if, based on supporting evidence, we could support it. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, based on what many of us have seen or not seen on this side of the House and with no federal funding, a free vote by Members of this House would clearly show the majority of Members would not support this project as it has been rolled out.

There is currently a statement of claim in the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories against the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I can't talk about specifics of that claim, but what I want to get a handle on is the potential liability to the GNWT through this action. Mr. Speaker, it makes me wonder what other liabilities exist in our future negotiations.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. I do thank him for my invitation to the ceremony in Fort Providence on Friday. Mahsi.

---Laughter

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am hearing from RVers and others who have been bottoming out on the Highway No. 3's dips and ruts. My concerns are twofold. Firstly, this is a newly paved road. I don't think we should be experiencing these kinds of problems so soon after completion. Secondly, I am concerned about what is being done to our tourism industry image. RVers are in contact with each other about facilities and road conditions. It is a huge community, Mr. Speaker. We would do well to pay attention to their concerns. The Japanese are being turned away from Canada and they are looking elsewhere for vacations. Can we afford to turn away the RVers too? I am concerned about the poor highway conditions of Highway No. 3 between Yellowknife and Behchoko. I don't accept climate change as the excuse that they keep flogging. The same climate conditions happen on both sides of Behchoko on Highway No. 3, but I am not sure what they are doing about it because the answers addressing the dips seem to be dipless or foolish.

Mr. Speaker, ITI document Tourism 2010 mentions the need to provide world-class services if the NWT wants to move forward by tracking a vibrant tourist community. The older RV group is becoming an increasingly dominant group of tourists. They form what ITI calls the general touring group. They spent over $6 million in the NWT in 2004 and 2005. More and more baby boomers are retiring and taking that lifelong dream of travelling all around Canada. This is a booming industry. However, with the cost of fuel and the condition of Highway No. 3, Mr. Speaker, what are we doing to attract them? Mr. Speaker, I am not sure I am prepared to turn away $6 million of tourism revenue, new money for opportunity for northern businesses or tourism operators. I would certainly hope that the Minister of Transportation would feel the same.

Mr. Speaker, a year ago we had the launch of what was called the completion of Highway No. 3. I certainly hope no one had a little sign out there that said mission accomplished, because we are going to have to go back and airbrush that photo because this highway needs a lot more work. We need a plan to start fixing it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In January of this year, along with many other territorial leaders and wildlife

professionals and outfitters, I attended the most successful Caribou Summit in Inuvik hosted by the former Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. There was a strong sense of a need for urgent collective action in the face of substantially declining caribou herds in the NWT, the Yukon and Nunavut.

Mr. Speaker, caribou is an absolutely essential part of the lifestyle, economy and the livelihoods of people here in the NWT, all northerners who have come to rely on this remarkable natural resource.

Prompted by this, the Minister undertook a number of prompt and dramatic actions. One of them was to bring a request before this Assembly to I believe almost double our budget for surveying caribou herds this year to over $800,000 and that was readily accepted by this Assembly. The Minister also took prompt and dramatic action to cut allocations to caribou sport hunting outfitters, Mr. Speaker, reducing the allocation by almost half this year to 750 and half again next year to some 350 tags in total.

Mr. Speaker, the government also promptly, dramatically and unfortunately locked horns with the Wekweezhii Resource Management Board by going into some very unknown and confusing territory and frustrating dispute over jurisdiction, Mr. Speaker, based on the Tlicho land claim, that put our government at odds with the Tlicho over who is responsible for management of this resource in Tlicho land.

Mr. Speaker, the survival of caribou is a paramount issue across the North and all of our communities. It is also a real source of cash and opportunity in our tourism industry. I am going to be asking some very carefully worded questions for the Minister of ENR later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Members' statements. The honourable Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to mark the passing of two members of the same family from my home town of Fort Providence. Elise Gargan and her daughter, Rose-Marie Teasdale, or Rosa as she is better known in Fort Providence, passed away within a week of each other in July of this year. Elise Gargan was 81 years old. She was born in 1926. Her daughter Rosa was 61. Elise was married to Baptiste Gargan. During her long life, she gave birth to 17 children. The couple lived a very traditional life, hunting, fishing and trapping along the Mackenzie River and more specifically lived around the Redknife River area. In their later years, along with their children, they moved to the community of Fort Providence so their children could attend school.

Rosa lived most of her life in Fort Providence and also lived in the community of Pine Point. She had four children: Ricky, Barb, Bobby and Colleen. My condolences go out to all of them and also to her partner, Morris Nadli. Mr. Speaker, both of these women will be greatly missed by the Gargan and Teasdale families, by their many friends and by the community that they were such a big part of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a number of visitors I would like to recognize. First, two teachers from St. Joe's who are spending part of their summer holiday to visit us. I don't think we could see from this side, but it is my constituent Rosemarie Critch and her friend Linda Nickerson.

---Applause

I would also like to recognize my family, my mother-in-law who is visiting from England, Peggy Radcliffe; my brother-in-law, Steve Radcliffe, and my other half, Mr. Dave Radcliffe, who is also a teacher.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize all of the visitors in the gallery today. In particular, I have a constituent, Mr. Allen Hartman, with the Department of Transportation. Welcome, Allen. Also a former co-worker at the former Department of ED&T, Mr. Glen Abernethy. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to have an audience here. Acknowledgements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on June 26, 2007, the Tlicho Community Services Agency was once again recognized for their innovative management, this time internationally. They were recognized by the 7th Global Forum in Vienna, Austria. Mr. Speaker, we were honoured and privileged to have attended the celebration in Austria. Members who joined the journey were myself; Mr. Charles Dent from ECE; Alphonse Nitsiza, the chair of the Tlicho Community Services Agency; Joseph Mackenzie, vice-chair; and Anna Beals, the director of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the Tlicho Community Services Agency staff and board members for their contribution and commitment to make this happen. Without them this would not have been a reality. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland. In terms of the Sahtu's wish to...I don't know how you interpret the patient wait time guarantee in terms of what does it take in terms of our board, our community here, communities in the Sahtu, to look at the possibility of having a regional wellness centre in the planning stages of the upcoming government in terms of we want to have regional wellness centres?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of items there. One, although the Member's had a play on words with the patient wait times guarantee process we've set up with the federal government, our goal is to get nurses into our smaller communities through our community health nurse initiative. That's ongoing and that's targeted at the front line where people in our communities don't have doctors, so that they can see the nurse in there and making sure those are fully operational. The other area the Member is speaking about is a regional facility as the Sahtu area is taking on more and more responsibility. The Sahtu now has the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority and the department is working with them on a master development plan as well as community development plans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the department look at an initiative brought by the Sahtu leadership in terms of looking at a P3 model in terms of helping out with this government? We want to be part of the government. Would something like that be feasible by this government to look at a P3 model in terms of building a regional wellness centre?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before we can look at a proposal, we have to work with the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority on that master development plan and look at the infrastructure we have in the region, then at that point decide if further steps need to be taken, then look at how we can build that into our plan as a department and requesting funds from this Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some of the responses from the other Ministers in terms of the work that we want to do in the Sahtu, we want to ask this Minister what would it take for them, for this department to say this is urgent, this is a need that needs to be happening right away in the Sahtu in terms of establishing a wellness centre? What does it take from the Sahtu people to say we want something like the Deh Cho, something in the South Slave, something they can...(inaudible)...to say we want a regional wellness centre, also? What will it take, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first and foremost it would take having a master development plan agreed with between the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority and the Department of Health and Social Services. That would be a starting point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in light of that, getting the process in place with the department and the Sahtu regional health board, would the Minister look at committing to put together a feasibility study in terms of looking at a regional wellness centre and putting that on the agenda with the next government?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't speak for the next government but on our process as we're working, we are working, from a department level, with all of the authorities and we continue to review our development plans. We have a master development plan with every group that looks at community infrastructure and regional infrastructure. So first things first is we need to get agreement on a master development plan with the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority which would take into consideration the population served and the facilities they have at their disposal for providing programs and services to residents. So that would be the first part. Once we have that, then we can, as I stated earlier, as a department if that priority comes through, is bring it forward in our departmental plans and then bring forward a plan that would require the approval of the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I highlighted in my Member's statement today, there are a

lot of concerns, as I see it and RVers see it coming to Yellowknife, with that Highway No. 3. Mr. Speaker, some sections are very good; I'll say that for a fact. But some sections are very less good let me tell you, Mr. Speaker...

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, that highway cost us approximately $200 million and I'd say that's probably $200 million well spent on a dust control program but not a highway, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to know, has the Minister of Transportation done any work in finding out what it will cost to fix those dips in that highway? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Transportation takes concerns raised by the travelling public very seriously.

The concerns raised on Highway No. 3 have been raised by the chief of Behchoko as well as the MLA...

...numerous times and I just have to remind the Member, as well, that the Government of the Northwest Territories has invested millions of dollars over the past many years and the highway is now wider, straighter and safer overall. We continue to monitor any major concerns and we'll address them as such, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transportation reads that script very well. I almost believe him. But I didn't. So, Mr. Speaker, the fact is the warranty of this project seems to have gone by the wayside. I'd like to know was there a warranty in place or did we get a second-rate job at a second-rate price? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The department takes great pride in all its projects. We complete them to the best of our ability and we will continue to do so. We pride the contractors that work for our department as well. The Member did mention that climate change is affecting the highway and we do maintain that, as well, Mr. Speaker. There are many, many ice lenses that were discovered during construction and we continue to repair those and mitigate them as conditions dictate. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister with his very thorough answer on the lenses and climate change problem, but it's interesting because on one side of Behchoko, the side that Yellowknife is on, the highway goes up and down like a roller coaster and the other side between Behchoko and Fort Providence is relatively smooth; it's a great quality highway. So, Mr. Speaker, maybe the Minister of Transportation can enlighten this House on why our side of Highway No. 3 is in such poor condition in reference to why the other side is in so much better condition. Can he help me with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker...

---Laughter

...the Member's asking for enlightenment and I'll try my best to do that.

---Laughter

He's got to remember that the new Highway No. 3, there were some major realignments which means we had to cross some new sections; some of them had these ice lenses in them. So that's what's causing the slumping and erosion that's going on to this date, Mr. Speaker. Also, because it's a fairly new highway, it will take about seven to 10 years it's estimated for it to settle and maintain that solid base. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think all through this we've missed the answer of how we're going to fix this and how we're going to deal with it. We're going to hear just sit and wait, but we just had a mission accomplished or a big celebration last year. Well, Mr. Speaker, yes, it was a great celebration that it sort of got done, but when are we going to actually go back and just finish the job? So how much is it going to cost to fix and when are we going to get started on that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Our Chipseal Program is something that we monitor. There is a five-year cycle for it; it takes about five years for the chipseal...It does deteriorate. We do have an annual budget to address this on Highway No. 3. that's about $650,000 to $700,000. The first sections that were done on Highway No. 3 were about five years ago and we're addressing those right now, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about the transfers of some positions to the Tlicho region. I'm not sure when this will happen. I'm talking about the staff housing. We're still not sure about what's happening with that so I'd like to ask the Premier a question. (Translation ends)

I raised an issue on the North Slave staff being transferred to Behchoko, the soon-to-be headquarters for the Tlicho region. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to focus on a staff housing initiative that the Executive department is currently undertaking. The question is to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier for the current status of the proposed staff housing in Behchoko for all of these new GNWT employees who are supposed to be transferred. Where are they at with their discussion and plan? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The regional director has been dealing with this issue; he has been looking at which staff positions can be transferred, the availability of staff housing and the availability of office space. Mr. Speaker, I don't have an up-to-date report on exactly where that's at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my next question was to get into detailed questions, but I can probably wait. The next question I have is the Tlicho Government continues in effect as in all two years ago. It is imperative that the GNWT respects the self-governance of the Tlicho people. How soon can we anticipate the building of this staff housing? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are continuing to build houses in all of the regions through the affordable housing initiative. We don't build housing specifically for staff but we're building affordable housing that people can either rent...We also build public housing that people could continue to rent. Mr. Speaker, I can give the breakdown of where we are with the whole North Slave and possibly by community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would these staff houses I'm referring to, those GNWT North Slave regional office being transferred to our region, specifically under staff housing, has the Department of the Executive been working with the Tlicho Community Services Agency? Are they working with the Behchoko Development Corporation, the community government of Behchoko? Where are they with that? I understand the regional director is working on it but I'd just like to get a feeling of how far we're at with that. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that the regional director is working with the Behchoko leadership on this one. I'm not sure exactly what the Member is asking. When it comes to housing, then, yes, we definitely are working through the local housing authority, community services agency and also with the Behchoko government on that. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of units going into each of the communities. In Behchoko there are 33 units that will be going in there over the next couple of years. On office space, I'm not sure of any specific discussions that are happening on that front. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, on the office space and also the accommodation for the staff that would be transferred to the community, I'm sure they will be needing some accommodations instead of commuting back and forth. As my colleague highlighted, the road is in bad shape so I don't think they will be commuting back and forth. Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Premier is, when could you provide that information to myself so I can sit down with my chiefs and move forward with this? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to have a report, an update to the Member, before the end of the month from the regional director on where we're at with the discussions on the transfer of positions, the creation of more job opportunities in Behchoko. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a couple of carefully crafted questions for Mr. McLeod, the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources. It concerns the very high profile debates and work that has gone, so far, into the plight of our caribou herds and our role as stewards of the caribou to see what we can do to better manage them. Mr. Speaker, we got into a jurisdictional dispute between our government and the Wekeezhii Renewable Resources Board over who has jurisdiction for allocating tags and harvest levels in Tlicho land. My question is, will the GNWT recognize the Wekeezhii board's claim to jurisdiction in allocating caribou harvest in the Tlicho region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for his carefully crafted question and I'll craft my answers accordingly. Mr. Speaker, we work with all aboriginal groups, all aboriginal governments and we respect and abide by all the land claim settlements and all the agreements that are out there, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, $800,000 was allocated by this Assembly for additional work to conduct surveys to confirm, determine, and keep a much closer eye on the trends and circumstances that are affecting the health of the herd so we can make better management decisions. I would like to ask the Minister if he can advise, have those surveys been undertaken yet and what indicators, if any so far, are the caribou counters bringing back to us in terms of the health and the status of the herds? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we don't have the results of the surveys that have been conducted. Some of them are still ongoing. The ones that have been done haven't been compiled and been provided to me. So I don't have that information and we don't expect we'll have all the information compiled until sometime later this fall. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Inuvik we participated in a number of workshops there over a couple of days. It was one of the more remarkable meetings that I've attended, Mr. Speaker, because of the unity and the consensus that was demonstrated there. Many, many different ideas and approaches were discussed about a very wide range of actions that could be undertaken by the GNWT, by aboriginal organizations, by hunters and trappers to help us do a better job of managing the resource. We talked about better education, better monitoring and reporting practices and, above all, collaborating. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister what other steps are we undertaking to do our part in better managing the caribou herds? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's been contact with all the different regions regarding the situation with the caribou herds in those specific areas. We've had action plans discussed with the different resource management groups and aboriginal governments. Some of the actions have been readily accepted, others we're still discussing on if there's better ways to do and implement some of these actions. Mr. Speaker, they're all at various stages and I certainly could provide that information to the Member if he wanted. It's quite a lengthy process and there's a lot of different actions. Some apply to some areas and others don't. So, Mr. Speaker, I'll have to commit to do that.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thanks for the information. Mr. Speaker, given the high profile, the seriousness, the significance of caribou in our economy and our lifestyle up here, can the Minister advise is there a solid communications strategy in place that will be distributing this information and helping to inform everybody of the results and the steps as they are developed, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are action plans that we're working jointly in the Beaufort-Delta and the Sahtu. There is still some concern in this area where we've made recommendations to the Wekeezhii board and we don't anticipate that we'll hear back from that board until the end of September, Mr. Speaker. Then certainly if our legal division has a review, we can provide what we can make public at that time, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member from Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are in following up to the Member's statement I made about the proposal being put forward by the SideDoor in support of a program that would, I think, create another opportunity for the youth in the community to spend their time productively. Mr. Speaker, I have to say that in my time as an MLA, I've had the good fortune of meeting and working with a lot of young people who are doing great things, a lot of positive things, taking full advantage of all the financial assistance and everything available to reach their potential, but we all know that there are youth who could use help with being in more productive places. We need to organize programs that are attractive to them and skateboarding seems to be something that is really attractive to young people. The SideDoor has a good program to do that. They have already done a pilot program on this in April and they want to continue to do this. I know that they have already submitted a proposal to the government, through the Premier, and I'd like to ask either the Premier or any Minister responsible about where they are with this proposal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have taken this issue up with the Department of Public Works who are responsible for the government warehouse, which is the facility the ministry was interested in. I want to acknowledge first the good work that the ministry does with young people and the efforts they've made on this skateboard park idea and King of Kings competition that they're putting on. Mr. Speaker, it's all good work for young people.

Unfortunately, when we took a look at the government warehouse then, there were several issues; the primary one being just space. There just was not the space to be able to accommodate what they were wanting to do there. There were also issues that could have been overcome; things like security and safety and liability and insurance and so on. Those are all things we could resolve, but the problem was with space. Having said that, Mr. Speaker, we don't want to let this drop. I want to see if there are ways that we can encourage the city to make more space available. Mr. Speaker, I just signed a letter to the proponents of this proposal just before noon saying that we would not be able to make space available in the warehouse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad the Premier mentioned that because I checked with them prior to noon and at that time I was not aware that they had made a decision. So it was somehow criss-crossed in our communication. Regardless, I think this is a good issue that the SideDoor ministry is working on and it's something that the government and all municipal governments should look at; especially our city. So I would like to ask the Premier if he would employ what resource is available in the government, whether it's somebody in the youth department or MACA, to see if there are any other options we can look to to implement this, The Rock program, because I think it's a very good program. Could he look into that for me? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.