Mr.

Speaker, I’d like to make

mention, as so many of us already know, that February is Black History Month and that 2008 marks the 175th anniversary of the abolition of

slavery in the British Empire.

It has been 12 years since Parliament officially recognized February as Black History Month. In a unanimously carried motion brought forward by the Hon. Jean Augustine, this month hosts activities scheduled across Canada to provide the chance to put the spotlight on the contributions made to our communities and to the country by Canadians of African and Caribbean descent.

The many nationalities that compose Canada’s Black community have been here helping pioneers. They have built and defended Canada and Canada’s society from the very beginning. From Matthieu da Costa’s arrival in the 17th century with

the first European explorers to William Hall, Canada’s first Victoria Cross recipient, the impact and the contributions made to our history is untenable. It’s incredible, Mr. Speaker.

Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the long history and celebrate a heritage that has struggled, endured and certainly overcome. It is also a time for us to reaffirm our commitment to promoting respect, equality, diversity in our country.

Mr. Speaker, I invite all Members of this House and the people of the G.N.W.T. to celebrate the achievements of black Canadians and recognize the important role they have played in our national history. Their contributions have helped shape Canada’s diverse mosaic, and they have established themselves in our collective identity.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to some day when this House will proclaim this and make this a milestone for our Territory as well.

Our capital city of Yellowknife has been named the most sustainable small city in Canada.

Applause.

I hope you will join me in congratulating our capital in feeling pride about its hard work toward achieving sustainability.

The Corporate Knights magazine of Toronto judged 18 small cities with populations under 250,000 on their efforts to have minimal environmental impact and to create a healthy population. Yellowknife came out tops. It was given recognition for the $300,000 that is budgeted to do a geothermal research study at the abandoned Con mine site to potentially access heat from underground. Yellowknife’s community garden co-operative — dedicated people who both grow their own food and contribute produce to those less fortunate — added to Yellowknife’s profile. The report further recognized that people are able to walk and ride bikes to work because of our extensive trails and short commuting distance.

I would like to congratulate the city councillors and mayor of Yellowknife for providing the leadership to strive for sustainability. They have committed $500,000 to a Community Energy Plan that sets steady targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and $175,000 to a Smart Growth Plan looking at long-term urban planning.

I know they are aware of the many ongoing issues that pose challenges and need attention. I’d like to briefly mention, on the Community Energy Plan, that the one large project, the pellet boiler going in — I believe it is for the swimming pool and the arena — they’re coming in within 1 per cent of achieving their target in greenhouse gas reductions with that one project. It must be a modest target, but they can build on that.

Mr. Speaker, social, environmental and economic sustainability is of vital importance to all life in the North. The best way to achieve it is to use our own local and regional resources to meet our basic needs. By enhancing literacy, mixing in traditional knowledge, tapping the innovation and industry of our people and using the materials at hand, we can produce much of our own energy, food and shelter in ways that build robust local economies, capture people’s imaginations and community spirit, and respect the environment.

Mr.

Speaker, I hope all Members join me in

acknowledging and supporting the efforts of all communities working towards sustainability. Once again, bravo, Yellowknife. Keep it up.

Applause.

Today I’d like to wish everyone Happy Valentine’s Day and, in my statement, highlight a sport that I love. I want to alert all Members of this House to an upcoming event that is sure to please and delight even the grumpiest among us.

The N.W.T. Power Corporation Junior Cager and Senior Cager Basketball Championships will be held in Yellowknife February 22 to 24 and February 29 to March 1. Members can go to any school in Yellowknife on either of these weekends and witness kids from communities across the North having fun and playing my favourite sport. Basketball rules!

Mr. Speaker, these two weekends will showcase both our upcoming athletes and our current star athletes. There will be competition in five different categories: grades 6, 7, and 8, under 15, and under 19. The tournament will showcase members of both the men’s and women’s 2008 Arctic Winter Games basketball teams competing, in this case, against each other, representing their home communities.

This is a big tournament, Mr. Speaker. For the 2007 championships, Yellowknife hosted 73 teams from communities across N.W.T. and Nunavut. More than 150 basketball games were played by more than 700 athletes, and all this was done on two weekends.

It is through the efforts of volunteers that these two weekends are successful, volunteers like Bill Burlington of Sir John Franklin High School, who has been teaching in the N.W.T. since the days when Pine Point was a vibrant community; volunteers like the numerous teachers and community members who coach these teams; and volunteers like the members of the Basketball N.W.T. organization who volunteer tirelessly before and during these championship weekends to ensure the kids have a great time and enjoy the competitions.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to acknowledge and applaud the corporate sponsorship of the N.W.T. Power Corporation, which recognizes the value of sport and what an active lifestyle can have for our young athletes. The Power Corp commitment to these tournaments ensures successful championships.

When the temperature drops past minus 30, a weekend of basketball will warm you up and create good memories. I have my own good memories from involvement in this sport as a player.

So, Mr. Speaker, dust off your sneakers, pick a gym, and cheer on your community’s team next weekend, February 22 to 24, and the following weekend, February 29 to March 1.

July 3, 2008, marks the anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. Four hundred years ago this year, Samuel de Champlain sailed from France, landing three months later at

Pointe de Quebec to establish a permanent settlement on the St. Lawrence River.

The trading post he built there became Quebec City — at one time the capital of New France — a territory that extended from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes, as far north as Hudson’s Bay and as far south as Florida. It was an important staging ground for the development of modern-day Canada and continues to be an entry point for thousands of new Canadians.

Quebec City is celebrating the anniversary with a year of wide-ranging cultural events and festivities, including the nationwide commemorative bells project. The Hon.

Josée Verner, Minister of

Canadian Heritage, invites capital cities across Canada to mark this historic event by ringing the bells and chimes at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 3, 2008. This is the date and time that Champlain is thought to have landed in 1608.

It may seem early, but I encourage this Assembly, as well as other communities across the North, to participate as well. This can be done by raising the Quebec flag and ringing the bells on July 3. It’s never too early to begin planning our participation.

This symbolic Canada-wide activity gives us all a chance to express pride in what our nation has become and what we are capable of achieving in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Before I go to Members, I would like to recognize some very special visitors in the gallery today. We have eight interns who are visiting us for a few days from the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme. I would like to recognize Ryan Cookson, Sabrina Hoque, David Michon, Kayla Monteiro, Katie Robb, Aamir Taiyeb, Matthew Thornton and Judith Wong. On behalf of all Members of the Legislative Assembly in the Northwest Territories, welcome to our Chamber.

I’d like to recognize two people: John Argue, a resident of the Great Slave riding; as well as Bill Braden, a resident of the Great Slave riding and a former Member of this House.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a constituent of mine and chair of the WCB, Mr. Denny Rodgers.

Mr. Speaker, on my way I saw a constituent, Mr. Archie Smith, who I’m very pleased and honoured to recognize, and as

well Mr. Rodgers, the chair of the WCB from Inuvik. I had breakfast with him this morning.

I’d like to recognize two residents of Hay River South: Heather Copewell, who is here awaiting the arrival of a new baby; and my constituency assistant, Wendy Morgan.

Mr.

Speaker, I realize

Mr. Braden has already been recognized, but may I just take this opportunity to tell him that we do miss him around here. I know we have new Members here. And also to wish him well in his career as a photographer.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the interpreters and interpreter trainees: Alizette Abel; Terry Villeneuve; Archie Smith — the bestest guy; Mary Jane Michel; Bernadette Lockhart; Elizabeth Boucher; Henry Catholique; and Joyce Isadore. Thank you.

If we’ve 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 in here.

Item 8, oral questions. Mr. Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re all aware of cost overruns on many of our infrastructure projects, which have been spiralling out of control for a number of years. It’s something we need to be very concerned about and finally get on top of, because projects get cancelled and deferred.

It has come to my attention that one of the contributing factors to this problem is the way the fees are structured for project consultants. The fees are structured based on a percentage, which actually may give the consultant an incentive to encourage cost overruns. Mr. Speaker, that is not the way we should be running these projects.

My question to the Minister of Public Works and Services is: will the Minister commit to a timely review of the fees we are providing to consultants to ensure they are not unwittingly providing incentives for cost overruns?

Mr. Speaker, the

government of the 16th Assembly has appointed a

committee made up of all the infrastructure departments in the lead, and what we’re tasked with is to review the infrastructure process and the process used to select and determine prices and also do the construction. We’ll certainly, as part of

that, consider the concerns the Member is raising, and we will report back as things progress.

I’m glad to hear it’s at least being discussed, but the way the Minister coins it is that status quo will continue to be the process that we’ll live by. I cannot justify that we don’t attach a fixed fee as opposed to percentages, because we cannot justify losing people on jobs over poor fiscal management that this government’s been running by.

So will this Minister, who can do the job, clearly and immediately take on this task and report back to this House on his findings on a way we can save money and fix the process so consultants don’t have the advantage of these projects by encouraging them to go into cost overruns?

I thought I had been very clear and concise when I committed to take that on as part of our review. I’ll reinforce that by saying yes, we will take his advice and follow it up.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not used to a “yes” from this Minister so quickly. Now, what does “immediate” mean in this particular case?

Laughter.

Because at the rate government moves, “immediate” could be the 17th Assembly. So I’d like

this Minister’s definition of what “immediate” means. Are we going to see it before the next sitting?

I’d like to respond by saying that the Member can consider it started already. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation a couple of questions on our residency guidelines.

I’m dealing with an issue back in my riding where a young student went down south, and for whatever reason that student returned to Fort Simpson within two weeks. When she applied for the housing program, they said she was ineligible because she was a non-resident because she moved away. There is something fundamentally wrong with that assessment there, Mr. Speaker.

I’d like to ask the Minister about the guidelines and policies with respect to accessing programming when you’re a student.

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker. I’m aware of the case that the

Member’s referencing, and I have the same

question. I’m in the process of following up with the Housing Corporation that leaving this Territory for two weeks should in no way impair a Northerner’s residency. So we’re in the process of sorting that one out.

Just in general terms, what exactly is the policy for our students who are going down south to get trained and wanting to come back to live and work? We shouldn’t be creating barriers for them to live, either. But what exactly is the existing policy, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, as far as I know, under the rules of SFA, as long as a student is on SFA and is training and is eligible for SFA and is down south in post-secondary institutions upgrading their education, they continue to be considered a Territory resident, they’re covered with their health care, they continue to get SFA, and they’re considered to be N.W.T. residents for the purposes of all those areas, including voting. So we’re very clear that if you’re there for two years, four years, working on your Masters, you’re a Northerner, and we want you to come home. Thank you.