Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On October 14 Canadians will go to the polls to choose the next federal government. There has been a great deal of media attention paid to the campaign, to party leaders and platforms, and to the promises made to Canadians. Some of those promises, in areas such as the environment, taxation and economic development, will have a direct impact on the North.

During the past year the North has had a significant degree of media coverage and an unprecedented number of visits by the Prime Minister and other federal Ministers. Quite clearly, we are solidly on the national stage.

The federal election campaign provides an excellent opportunity to raise issues of importance to Northerners and to hear what the national parties, national leaders and local candidates have to say about them.

To this end, I have taken the opportunity to send letters to the national party leaders and to the candidates running in the Western Arctic riding, asking a series of questions about northern issues.

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the party leaders and local candidates for their plans to address the high cost of living in the North, the need for alternative energy to protect our northern environment while facilitating economic development, the need to assist the NWT in dealing with the effects of climate change, the need for critical infrastructure investment in the NWT, the need to address the critical shortage of social and affordable housing in

the NWT, federal obligations under existing land claim and self-government agreements, and the need for a fair deal on devolution and resource revenue sharing. These are priority issues for this government and for NWT residents.

I intend to keep this Assembly and aboriginal leaders informed of both the questions I have asked and the responses. All of this information will be posted on my website, The Premier Online — http://www.premier.gov.nt.ca/ — for all NWT residents to read. I encourage them to do so. I would also like to encourage all Northerners to participate in the national election to the fullest extent possible.

Mr. Speaker, Northerners must make an informed decision on election day. Their decisions will have an impact on our collective future. As Premier I have raised our issues during this campaign to ensure that the NWT continues to be on the national stage and to build upon the foundation of work that we have undertaken to date with our federal partners.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate the management of FSC Architects and Engineers for being named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers.

This architecture and engineering company, proven leaders and innovators in cold climate and remote location building, are now also proven leaders in employment. Committed to providing top level service to their clients, FSC owners concluded that this same service should be provided to their most important company assets: their staff. Management has worked hard to ensure that their staff has benefits that meet or exceed industry standards.

The competition specializes in employment. This year, I am told, was the most competitive since the inception of this project. This year’s field of 2,000 competitors included large and small employers

from a wide range of industries offering varying benefits and working conditions. All the winners are leaders in their field at attracting and retaining quality employees. Criteria included physical workplace; work atmosphere; social, health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.

Details showcasing these top 100 employers will be published in Maclean’s magazine. This information should help other northern organizations, including our own, in developing their own human resource strategies.

In these challenging times, where competition for finding and keeping staff is critical to any organization, forward thinking employers like FSC are finding ways of improving working conditions for their employees and attracting and keeping top talent for their company and in the North.

Again, I’m sure the Members of this House will join me in congratulating FSC for this prestigious achievement. I would like to note that I am particularly proud that my son Warren McLeod is a key member of the FSC team, as well as Mr. Jerry Jaud, who is here today.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today we honour the memory of one of our own RCMP officers. Constable Chris Worden lost his life one year ago today while responding to a call in Hay River. Later today the RCMP will be adding his name to the cenotaph outside G Division headquarters in Yellowknife.

On behalf of our government I extend my condolences to the Worden family and to the brave officers who serve our communities so faithfully. This incident is a tragic reminder that serious crimes do happen here. All too often they are related to illegal drug trafficking and use.

In the past few months we have seen high profile drug seizures in Behchoko, Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik. The RCMP has also made seizures of drugs that were clearly headed to our smaller communities and to work camps.

We have a solemn duty to honour Christopher Worden’s memory, not just when we speak about the events that led to his death but every day around our territory. We owe our officers a debt of gratitude. They need to know they are supported.

This government is taking the steps to ensure that the new backup policy is fully implemented.

In the North there is no such thing as a routine call. More and more often our officers are dealing with people who are carrying weapons or trafficking hard drugs like crack cocaine and ecstasy.

Drugs are a serious concern for our territory. They are certain paths to jail, heartache and family breakdowns. I have talked to many elders who have told me about family members who have destroyed their lives with illegal substances. Fighting drugs is a priority for this government.

Over the long term we are working towards increased police presence in all of our communities and to fully implementing the RCMP backup policy. But this is not something the RCMP can fix on their own. Fighting crime will take a community effort. It’s easy to call for more policing, but the drug dealers will never go away as long as there are still people in our communities who are willing to buy drugs. This is going to take real effort from all of us. We need to refuse to buy drugs. We need to encourage our family members to go into treatment centres. We need to let the dealers know we don’t want them to sell drugs in our communities.

Some of the dealers are from outside the NWT, but others are our own friends, neighbours and families. This government will support people who want to go into treatment, but we are also determined to get the drugs out of our communities.

We plan to open new RCMP detachments in Gameti and Wrigley and to increase the number of RCMP officers in our existing detachments that service remote communities. We will ensure the RCMP have adequate resources to make more patrols to our smaller communities. They are supported by specialty units like the police dogs and major crime units.

During my past year as Minister I have been consistently impressed by the dedication and professionalism of our RCMP. This government supports their effort to make our communities safer. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today at noon we officially launched Family Violence Week with the event planned by the Coalition Against Family Violence at the Great Hall. This year’s theme is Honouring Resistance.

Family Violence Week was first sponsored in 1999 to bring the issues of family violence into the public arena, provide information on social service organizations that could provide help, and call attention to the toll that family violence takes on its victims and our society. We have come a long way since then, and I’d like to highlight phase 2 of the NWT Action on Family Violence, which is the result of much collaboration and commitment on the part of all partners in the coalition.

Our efforts have resulted in greater public awareness of the violence that goes on behind closed doors of a family home; legislation for emergency protection orders; the signing of a victim services protocol with the RCMP; the establishment of new victim referral services in Aklavik, Paulatuk, Behchoko, Gameti and Whati, in addition to existing services in Fort Good Hope, Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith and Inuvik; $340,000 for enhanced funding for social services and $450,000 for creating new services in regions where there is no family violence shelter; supporting the Children Who Witness Abuse Program at the YWCA; and enhancing existing services through the development of interagency family violence protocols, including the Yellowknife Interagency Family Violence Protocol, which was officially announced earlier today.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to building on its past successes, continuing the important work of preventing family violence, resisting violence and helping those who need our support to overcome the aftermath of family violence. I want to thank the individuals and organizations in the NWT who work day in and day out throughout the year with men, women and children in family violence situations to provide them with the support and assistance they need.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the Coalition Against Family Violence and the Status of Women Council of the NWT for spearheading the planning of activities for Family Violence Week over the past several years.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last June I made a Member’s statement about Cabinet communication and consensus government. As I indicated then, I believe in consensus government. I feel that it can and does work. However, for it to

be effective, it will take cooperation from all Members: those in Cabinet and those on this side of the House. Unfortunately, open two way communication and open dialogue does not always occur.

Toward the end of the May–June session I was optimistic that effective two way communication between Cabinet and the rest of us was going to be a reality. Since then there has been improved communication in some areas — unfortunately, not in all areas.

Specifically, I’m talking about the recent actions undertaken by the Premier with respect to advancing the devolution and resource revenue sharing negotiations with the federal government. I’m not criticizing the proposal the Premier has presented to the federal government. It may be a great deal. It may be the best deal that this territory can get. It may even be the right deal.

My problem is that we the 11 Regular Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly don’t have or know

any of the details of this proposal. Resource revenue sharing and devolution are incredibly important to the future of the Northwest Territories. As elected officials all 19 of us need to have input and provide some direction on where we as a territory go with respect to these issues. Unfortunately, we are once again being told by Cabinet what’s being done. We are not included in decision-making and are not being permitted to work together in the best interest of the people of the Northwest Territories.

Today I’d like to encourage the Premier and Cabinet to think about the commitment each of them made during the first TLC of this Assembly: a commitment to work together. Further, I would like to remind you that membership on Executive Council is a privilege, and a four-year term is not guaranteed. Working together is critical for the success of this Legislature and consensus government.

At the appropriate time I’ll be asking the Premier some questions on the status of the devolution and resource revenue sharing agreement between Cabinet and the federal government.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are mining our best sources of non-renewable resources, our richest mineral and fuel deposits and most valuable diamonds, as fast as we can with little regard to the future or our responsibility to nail down firm benefits for those who will come after.

Like many jurisdictions we face two main problems: resource prices can be highly volatile, and the resources are exhaustible. Also, of course, development can have significant negative social and environmental costs.

One opportunity to manage this is to establish a non-renewable permanent fund or heritage fund. This is typically a savings and investment fund established from the dollars government obtains from non-renewable resource development. A heritage fund will help the NWT to provide benefits from non-renewable resources for future generations who will not have these resources. It will give us better protection from boom and bust cycles, and it will provide a stable revenue source for the government. It can be used to help diversify our economy and ensure a stable economic base in the future when these resources are gone.

A recent study by the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development established that the Canadian government has failed to maximize revenue generation, and they make poor use of the revenues they do generate from non-renewable resources. In their comparison of Alberta with Alaska and Norway, Pembina found that the funds of both Alaska, at $40 billion, and especially Norway, at $400 billion, provide significant benefits to their people. In contrast, Alberta’s heritage fund at $12 billion has stagnated and provides relatively little future security to their people. It’s worth noting that production from the originally huge amounts of conventional oil and gas resources in Alberta has been declining now for years, and those resources are largely gone.

We do not have all the levy tools that many jurisdictions have, and our access to royalties is currently pitiful. Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, we insist on being open for business and developing our resources as fast as possible, regardless of our ability to manage the impacts. Perhaps it’s through our devolution discussions, perhaps through access to windfall profits enjoyed by the feds from our resources, possibly through an innovative resources tax, but please let’s get off our butts. Instead of squandering the financial benefits from non-renewable resource development, let’s take the example of jurisdictions that have done it the smart way and immediately establish a heritage fund for the future of our people. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today about a growing concern that I have

with how this government communicates with both the Members of this Assembly and the public.

On Friday I made a statement and had questions for the Premier about how it came to be that the GNWT planned, developed and delivered a billion dollar cost shared infrastructure proposal to the federal government without running any of it by Regular Members of this House. Nor did they have any meaningful communication about it with aboriginal governments. I believe this is yet another sad chapter in this government’s year-long existence.

This is not just a small oversight. It’s a billion dollar substantive proposal to the federal government that Regular Members should have been consulted on. It’s inexcusable. But, then again, should I or any other Regular Member be that surprised? This is the same Premier and government that failed to tell us about a signed concession agreement tying us to the Deh Cho Bridge when they knew it was signed off three days before the last election. This is the same Premier and government who told us that we would be consulted before any layoff notification letters were sent to affected employees. This is the same Premier and government that developed a list for the Building Canada Fund but forgot to consult with us. This is the same Premier and government that divvied up equal trust dollars without involving Regular Members.

Mr. Speaker, in my estimation, this government lacks sense to understand that loose communication, poor messaging and lack of coordination is going to erode public confidence and the confidence Regular Members have in this government. How many more times are we going to have to take issue with this government’s lack of oversight and poor communication skills? Regular Members and the public deserve better treatment. This government just does not seem to understand or appreciate political sensitivity.

Mr. Speaker, the political barometer of this government is broken and in desperate need of repair. As a Regular Member I cannot and will not accept this poor treatment, especially its reoccurring nature. Regular Members cannot continue to be an afterthought of Cabinet. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT today is headed for a health crisis, one unknown to most of us. Sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, are unfortunately rather common in the NWT, but one in particular is not, nor is it common in other parts of Canada. That one is syphilis.

As of last Friday there were 18 confirmed cases of syphilis in the NWT. Compare that to a total of four cases in the NWT in the last 13 years. In early September health officials noted that five cases had been confirmed in the month previous. Added to the three already confirmed cases, that made a total of eight. Several weeks later another five cases were confirmed to bring the total to 13. And now another five cases brings it to 18 as of last Friday.

Why are we continuing to see an increase in the number of cases of syphilis in our territory and why in this day and age when it’s easily cured? Eighteen cases to date for this year alone versus four cases in 13 years. There’s something wrong here, Mr. Speaker.

I understand that the department is trying to track down anyone who has been infected or is at risk of infection and administer appropriate treatment, yet we are continuing to see an increase in the number of syphilis cases. What else is the Department of Health doing to halt this outbreak? Not enough, in my estimation.

A month ago there were some reports in the newspapers, and there is a warning of the outbreak hidden deep in the department’s website. These actions are insufficient to really warn the public, to mobilize residents who may be at risk. A major education and publicity campaign is warranted, Mr. Speaker.

Early last month the department refused to identify the two NWT communities where the syphilis cases have been reported, in spite of the fact that patient confidentiality is guaranteed. Syphilis is an infection, and it has disastrous consequences if not treated. People die from this infection. It is easily cured, however, if you know you have it. The department should be doing more to highlight which residents are at risk and which residents should consider getting themselves tested. An STI can be stopped in its tracks as long as everyone who has been infected gets treated. It’s time the Department of Health took aggressive action to stop this outbreak.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, the NTPC general rate increase for 2008, I’d like to address this burning issue for Nahendeh residents: a proposed increase in power rates to the NWT smaller communities. I have long been a champion of a standard flat rate system. That’s right: a one rate power zone. This, I believe, brings fairness and equality to all NWT residents in

regard to having an essential service, electricity, in all our homes, the same access and the same benefits no matter where you live in our NWT.

One year ago I asked the Public Utilities Board and the NTPC to have the general rate hearing for their general rate application in our small communities to hear and see for themselves the concerns from the community based residents. But they did not. Now we see that the most impacted residents in this general rate application are the small communities. I feel they still do not have a voice. I object to the increased rates.

Why does this Crown corporation go straight to the people who have the highest cost of living to have them pay more? I think the current process, the proposed general rate increase, should be delayed and deferred. Above all, I ask that the NTPC first review their operation costs and their bonus clauses before coming to the people’s pocketbooks.

We MLAs are asking the same from this government. Make sure that the House is in order, and demonstrate to the people that you can do more for them, not the people do more for government. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, many times over my first year as MLA for Tu Nedhe I spoke of our lack of programs and infrastructure for youth at the community level, specifically in my riding. On September 8, 2008, I attended the grade 12 graduation in Fort Resolution, where six graduates were honoured. This year’s graduation brings the total to 27 since grade extension started in Fort Resolution in 1999.

Of the 21 students who have graduated prior to this year, 18 of them have gone on to post-secondary education or landed themselves good paying jobs. Our youth have continued to move forward to do what they can to better themselves, even with the limited opportunities in our smaller communities. However, our government has not effectively responded to the needs of the youth in the smaller communities.

Mr. Speaker, in the budget of this government we have not provided any infrastructure, any substantial operating and maintenance dollars specifically targeted for youth in small communities. I have asked the government to think strategically to turn things around for the youth and provide the youth every opportunity possible to improve their

lives and to help them become productive members of society. I feel that the government is unable to see beyond this term of office and therefore is unable to think long term and strategically when it comes to curing the ills of our society through youth improvements.

Mr. Speaker, as the government we have not responded to the youth issues we have all heard about in the news. To put this in simple terms, we need to work with the youth, give them something constructive to do, or they will find something to do on their own. Usually these are not productive or community building but, rather, damaging and counterproductive choices. Later on this week I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Youth.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the sessional statement given by the Premier I was alarmed to find out that recently there had been a significant proposal offered to the federal government in regard to discussions on devolution, resource revenue sharing, seeking inclusion of Northerners, yet the proposal talks about infrastructure partnership with Canada.

Also, in regard to the integrated part, after looking at the overall devolution and resource revenue sharing deal…. That deal wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the land claim agreements that have been negotiated over the last 30 years. In the Gwich’in agreement it clearly states:

“The Government of the Northwest Territories shall involve the Gwich’in in the development and implementation of any Northern Accord on oil and gas development in the Northwest Territories which [had been] negotiated pursuant to the enabling agreement, dated September 5, 1988, between [the Government of] Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories.”

This land claim agreement has precedence over the Legislative Assembly, yet we find out again that this government is totally ignoring the land claim agreements, the aboriginal organizations who have these agreements and, more importantly, the political partnerships we say we have in place between ourselves and aboriginal governments. I spoke to the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, who didn’t hear anything in regard to this matter, was not consulted and was not even aware that this proposal exists.

I believe that as a government we have to do a better job of being transparent, open and up front with our so called partners. More importantly, the Members of this Legislative Assembly should not be caught off guard by a sessional statement, by a deal that is supposedly worth a billion dollars. We’re told there are going to be layoffs, there are going to be tax increases and nowhere was this put on the table.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking questions of the Premier on this matter.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have listened to Members talk during the previous days about concerns of residents in the communities. I have attended many community meetings and listened to briefings about programs and services of the government. The Minister of Finance has released a discussion paper called Revenue Options. It is unlikely the residents of Ulukhaktok, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk and Tuktoyaktuk will read this discussion paper.

The Minister of Finance held a round table discussion for two days last week in Yellowknife. I know that no one from any of my communities participated in this workshop. It is also unlikely that many of these community residents will send in their comments to the Minister.

So it seems to me we come from different situations as Northerners. Some people come from places of abundance and wealth; some people come from small northern communities where even a high income does not go very far. Having a good job in small communities does not guarantee that the government will actually deliver basic services.

Mr. Speaker, the residents in my communities expect me to convince government to not make it any more difficult to live in small communities. The Northerners in the communities expect me to convince the government that residents of small northern communities need help from this government.

I am talking about our hopes of basic services — to have a health centre with a nurse, roads of gravel, housing for teachers, safe drinking water. The incomes of our families are not high, Mr. Speaker. Our young men and women are not able to easily find high paying jobs. The cost of living in our communities is high. Our fuel costs are set by the Petroleum Products Division.

I don’t think the government is going to find a way to reduce the costs. I don’t think the Minister is

going to find immigrants who want to move to Nunakput communities. If the economy grows in the communities, it will be because of the oil and gas industry, not because of something the GNWT does.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. We doubt that if the GNWT collects more money from its citizens any of the money will find its way to Nunakput communities. It seems to be the right time to ask, to let the Minister know what we think. We think we are not able to pay more taxes on our fuel, on our groceries, on our incomes. We think that would be very unfair. We need to take interest in our small communities to help us maintain our services and make it possible for families to live in northern communities.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been listening to my colleagues here today talking about the lack of communication with Regular Members on this side. I have been in this government now for four terms. I have never seen it worse than it is right now. I am feeling extremely discouraged, to be honest. I hate to admit discouragement, but I feel discouraged.

Any time we offer an opinion or any kind of criticism, even if we try to be constructive on this side of House, it seems to be met with, so early in this term, almost kind of a mocking arrogance from the other side of the House — the demeanour, the talking, the laughing when we are trying to share things that are really important. We’re not here just for a good time; we are here to get something done.

I think everybody here could be doing something different, but we are here because we feel we have something to offer and something to contribute and something to bring to the table on behalf of Northerners. Every time we talk like this, it seems, I could say we get met with this kind of mocking laughter from the other side of the House. Well, I’m telling you, I don’t think they think over there that we will do anything about this situation. I think that is why they can sit there and laugh at it; I don’t think they think we will do anything about it.

We all got on board the good ship Government when we got elected a year ago. But I’m sorry; the government has got its sails down. We are going

nowhere fast. The petty little bits of legislation that come before us: if that’s the agenda of the government, that’s pretty sad, and it is out of touch with the realities facing the North. We have big problems. We have big issues out there, and we are just taking this kind of, I don’t know, stargazing approach.

Maybe I’m not in touch. I’d sure like to hear from Northerners about how they feel this government is performing. My sense from within this government here, sitting at this table, is that we haven’t even raised the sail on this government yet. We’re just tossing about to and fro with no real direction. I don’t want to be part of that. I don’t want to be on that side of the House. I want to be here, but I want to feel that the input I have, the energy I have to bring to this job is meaningful and respected and will actually get some results.

We do have an issue here. I would be very interested in hearing from the folks out there in the public about what they think of this government. This is not a bureaucratic exercise. We are the leaders; we are the visionaries, so let’s get the sails up.

Thanks, Ms. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. In May of this year I raised the issue of the lack of trades programs in the field of cooking here in the North. At the same time, I also talked about the opportunities and solutions we have right here. However, in typical fashion, it seems that maybe another good idea has been lost in the grumbling bowels of government. What continues to be obvious to me is that there still are many gaps that need to be filled in our trades programming for those who want to learn more.

That is why, more than ever, a Red Seal trades cooking program needs to be supported. There is a hunger out there, Mr. Speaker, to learn, to teach and, most certainly, to be fed. There’s a high demand for certified cooks in our diamond mines, exploration camps and certainly in the food service industry in our communities.

I ask the government: what additional signals are you looking for? Because if you need something to be made more obvious, I’m sure many of us here will get them for you. This sector truly is not being served. The demand for skilled cooks will only increase as government watches maybe even the Mackenzie pipeline go by with no one to train to send to their camps.

We all know there is a camp cook training program at our rural college, but this is an entry level program, Mr. Speaker. It does not provide the necessary training for a fully licensed cook in a Red Seal tradesperson program. I believe we need to extend the cook training program opportunities here in the North. We have the facilities here in Yellowknife; they are just sitting idle waiting for students. We have journeymen, we have journeywomen who want to teach their skills, but we have no government support to back them up, and we certainly won’t have any students for them to teach.

Let’s not waste this opportunity. Government, I hope you’re listening. The potential is sitting idly by. They certainly want to learn. I’ve had the opportunity to take the Education Minister down to see this facility here in Yellowknife, and there is promise, Mr. Speaker. There is certainly promise for the next generation, because it shows that it wants to learn. So let’s unlock these doors, not keep them locked. We have industry that wants to be part of the solution. Where’s the Minister helping them? Bring them to the table, I say.

We have the people, we have the skills, we have the teachers, but we now need government. The next step is easy. Let’s flip into gear before this opportunity boils over and is lost. I will have questions for the Education Minister later today.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today this Assembly placed a vote of confidence in me by electing me to a seat on the Executive Council. I truly am grateful for that, and I’m humbled by that. I will do my utmost to carry on the good work of the Regular Members and the Members of this House.

I want to use what is possibly my last statement as a Regular Member to assure my constituents back in Inuvik Twin Lakes that I will continue to press their issues while I’m down here. One thing I have noticed over the last couple of years I have been here is that a lot of issues that Members on this side of the House bring up are common to all communities across the Northwest Territories. The issues that are common will continue to be brought up by Regular Members. I will continue to and I commit to work with constituents in dealing with all the constituency issues that come forward. I just want to use this opportunity to let them know that I

am always available. I will continue to fight for the constituents of Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Again, colleagues, I thank you for your vote of confidence today. I go back to the Member’s Conduct Guidelines that we all signed, and I take that quite seriously. I know we have discussions here on “this side, that side,” “we, they” and “us, them.” I said this morning that I believe in the principles of consensus government. I think we have to look at it sometimes as “we” instead of so much as “us” and “them.” I think we should work towards that.

The Member’s Conduct Guidelines that I always point back to has a statement in there that says, “To my colleagues, I owe fairness and respect for our differences and the duty to work together with goodwill for the common good.” I truly believe in that. I think that as an Assembly, even though we do have our differences, we try to work towards the common good of people in the Northwest Territories. I will continue to do that no matter what side of the House I sit on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am honoured to have constituents all the way from Tuktoyaktuk, my good friends Francis Andersen and his brother David. Andersens, welcome to the house. Also Charlene Steen and her daughter Kailey. Also Mrs. Shannon Steen. Her father was a past Minister and MLA for Nunakput, Mr. Vince Steen. Welcome to the House.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Warren McLeod and Jerry Jaud, principals of FSC Architects and Engineers, one of Canada’s top 100 employers.

I would like to recognize Richard Edjericon, Weledeh resident, and I believe Jerry Jaud is also a resident of Weledeh.

I would like to recognize Blake Rasmussen, a well known individual from Old Town, I think, and also from my high school grad. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. Hope you are enjoying the proceedings. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During my Member’s statement today I talked about the issue of elevating our trades program. I highlighted the issue that we have a perfectly good facility here in this community that could raise the standard from just regular cook to a Red Seal tradesperson. I am wondering what the Education Minister has to say about that here today. I have taken him down to that facility in person on a tour, and I know he liked it. I would like to know what the Minister has done since the last time I took him on a tour to help raise and elevate this type of program in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, we did tour the facility the Member is referring to as having potential for a cooking program. It is one of those programs that is often needed throughout the North and also throughout Canada.

The Member made a statement about the lack of support from the government. Mr. Speaker, we do support all kinds of training programs, apprentices and at the professional level as well. We’re very proud of that. Also, since we met with Chef Pierre, there has been some ongoing discussion within my department, and my department has met with the chef as well. Mahsi.

I’m glad to hear that the Minister supports trades, and I’m glad to hear that the Minister supports the potential of this program. When do you think we can actually hear or see something coming to fruition on this project? It’s an opportunity before us, and I’d certainly like to see the Minister move on this sooner than later. Can I expect something sooner than later from this Minister?

Since June of this past summer my department has been working closely with Chef Pierre. They also toured the facility. They did talk about the proposal coming forward from Chef Pierre and also asked questions on the accreditation program. That is supposed to be forthcoming.

At the same time, there is also great news from the Mine Training Society. There was a proposal submitted by Chef Pierre, in partnership with the Native Women’s Association, to deliver a camp cook program. That is one of partnerships that has

always been successful in the past working with the Mine Training Society. It is an 18 week program and involves the Ready to Work program, which consists of income assistance clients. That is a positive step as well.

Those are the ongoing discussions that we’re having. It is looking good, and we are going to deliver programs through these partnerships. Mahsi.

I’m aware of the many journeymen and women that Chef Pierre has at his business downtown. It could become the new Red Seal training program for trades cooking. They have many tickets under their belt, and they’re able to train under many aspects of cooking.

It’s good to hear that the accreditation is being worked through. What else is holding this back, or when can we expect a big announcement from the Minister that we’re able to move forward on this initiative?

I thought I just announced a huge initiative here on the training program.

I think this is a great start for us as a department, the GNWT, the Mine Training Society and also the partnership with the NWT Native Women’s Association. It’s a true partnership, and it will move forward. Again, it’s an 18 week program.

With this accreditation program we’re still waiting for Chef Pierre to get back to my department and discuss further the next level, because this is one area that we’re focusing on as a department. The proposal has been submitted to the Mine Training Society, and they are moving forward on this. We’re watching and monitoring that carefully. We have to work with those partnerships as well, instead of just one partner. Those are the discussions that we’re having with various parties.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I did hear the Minister cite a camp cook program with the Mine Training Society, but that’s not the Red Seal program that I’ve talked about and that he knows I’m referring to.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to be clear on the record today. Is this department fully committed to getting a Red Seal trades program for cooking here in the North, and are they fully committed and behind this project to make sure it will happen?

To date we have 4,683 individuals that have been certified through apprenticeship programs. We should be proud of that here in the Northwest Territories. We continue to deliver those effective programs. Camp cook or

the cook apprentices could be one of them. We need more information from Chef Pierre and his resource people to provide the accreditation so we can move forward. Mahsi.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation with regard to the general rate application increase for 2008.

Once again, as in my Member’s statement, I said that residents disagree. I’m here to ask the Minister: is there a way to delay or defer this process until we get a good review of the NWT Power Corporation? Another way of doing business there is to look at reducing the operating costs. Can the Minister address that? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is there an opportunity to delay this? No, there is not an opportunity, as it’s been filed with the PUB and they’ll go through their process. The fact is that it is dealing with the cost of fuel for previous months and having to make up the shortfall. The more we delay, the cost to the Power Corporation itself continues to climb, and we’re going to have to deal with that. That’s where we are in that scenario. Within the existing operating environment that we have, the Power Corporation has to make up for its operational needs, and the rate base is the only way to do that. We’re working through that process.

Are there ways of dealing with the cost of the Power Corporation? I believe there are. Through the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee we’re looking at a number of options with the Power Corporation, as well as just how we deal with the issue of energy production in the Northwest Territories.

I really believe that there’s got to be another way of doing this, that the Power Corporation is the one that submits the general rate application. They must have the ability to at least look at their operating costs to be able to determine some savings there, some efficiencies, and then use those internalized savings to pass on to the customers. Then maybe there is an increase, but it doesn’t have to be straight to the pocketbooks of our NWT residents.

I believe we just recently sent out a package to all Members of the Assembly on how the rate base is structured in their communities, from those communities that are on diesel, those that are on hydro, the administration costs, the amortization costs and interest costs on loans. All of that was put together to show Members just how much and to what percentage certain activities take up of that rate structure that impacts communities. That is one thing we’re doing; we’re looking at those costs. The Power Corporation, whenever it goes to the PUB, has to justify its operational requirements. That’s another method of looking at it.

Overall, I believe we have to, as the Legislative Assembly, set some direction in the area of the operation of the Power Corporation and how the Public Utilities Board looks at that. We’re prepared to sit down with Members and go through a whole list of initiatives that we’re looking at. Hopefully, if Members are in agreement through the business planning process, we’ll be able to come up with some options that we can put forward during the life of this Assembly.

I don’t think residents of Nahendeh believe that for a minute, because we have two distinct different operating communities. We’ve got South Lake, which uses a different utility provider, and then you’ve got a community like Nahanni Butte, which uses NTPC, and their rates are almost a dollar different there. How can that be? That’s why I believe in an internalized review of the NWT Power Corporation. How our people pay for this cost should be reviewed and internalized before we ask for an increase in rates for all the communities. I’d like the Minister to see if he can do that.

Under the direction of the Public Utilities Board rate structure is the process that’s used. PUB has said that the Legislative Assembly has to give direction in that area. If the Assembly wants to look at how it addresses that, that’s the initiative we’re prepared to sit down and talk about and bring forward to Members for further discussion and hopefully some decisions.

For the actual program itself, doing an internal review, I believe we are going to do that through the whole energy initiative of how we develop power, how we distribute it and some of the alternative sources of energy that are out there. We’re prepared to go to committee with a lot more detail and try to see where there’s support for moving ahead on some of these initiatives.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister know if a part of the

general rate application community hearings — I think that’s what they’re proposing — will be in some of our smaller communities, in particular the Nahendeh communities?

The Power Corporation doesn’t itself select what communities they go into. It’s through the PUB. They’ve set up a process and how others can also feed into that system of their review. I don’t have a list with me at this time. We can work with the Minister responsible for the PUB and provide that for Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It should come as no surprise today that my questions are directed to the Minister of Health. As I mentioned in my statement, we have 18 confirmed cases of syphilis, as of last Friday, in 2008 alone. Compare that to less than one case last year and four in the last 13 years. My question to the Minister is: why do we have this continuing increase in the number of syphilis cases in our territory? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to make sure everyone knows that the Department of Health and Social Services and myself as Minister take any infectious disease situation very seriously, as we do the latest outbreak of syphilis. It appears that there were a number of individuals with syphilis that were highly contagious at the time of contact.

The public health medical officer, chief medical health officer Dr. Corriveau, is using all of his authority and powers to assess the situation, identify who has this infectious disease and track all those that may have come into contact with it. We are keeping a very close eye on that, and he is working with the local health centres and communities and the media to raise awareness to address this situation.

I thank the Minister for the comment. I recognize the efforts of the department, as she’s outlined. I’m having great difficulty in understanding why the department thinks these actions are enough. I feel that they’re very understated.

Again, my question is to the Minister. Why is the department not taking aggressive action to publicize this threat to our residents, alert them to the potential risk, and provide them with information on access to testing?

The chief medical officer and the department have been very aggressive. It has been on the media and in public announcements. They are working on the ground, in the communities. They’re in close touch with all of the community health workers. They’re screening potential people who might come into contact with it. They’re keeping track of who are the originators and who they’re having contact with. They have very good information about their whereabouts and their travel schedules. They have sent out communications through doctors and nurses and anybody else who would have any contact with the individuals. We are very aggressive in getting on top of this latest syphilis outbreak.

I guess we have to agree to disagree on the definition of aggressive. It’s been more than a month since the first sort of spurt of confirmed cases came forward. We now have 18 cases, and the cases are continuing to increase. I trust the Minister that there is action happening, that we have professionals doing their job, that things are going forward and that the work is being done to try and stifle this outbreak.

My personal experience is that I have seen nothing except a report in the newspaper some three or four weeks ago. If there is a publicity campaign, it’s not that noticeable. I would like the Minister to try to explain to me what the actions are that the department is taking that is alerting everybody to the current outbreak.

The department and the chief medical health officer have contacted all the communities where we know these cases are occurring. They are using social networks on the ground. Some of our health care professionals are going door to door with community people who we know are able to provide assistance in a culturally sensitive way. We are doing aggressive screening for those who are in a high risk group.

I would like the Member to know that the chief medical health officer has vast authority and power under the new Public Health Act. He knows he has all the options available to him, and he will use his power and exercise it accordingly. At the moment he feels that the measures we are taking right now are allowing us to have very good knowledge about who these people are and where they are and what their potential contact might have been. So I want to assure the Members as well as the public that this is a top public health issue right now and that we’re doing everything we can to be on top of it.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. I appreciate that those actions are being taken on the ground, but I go back to the need to

publicize this particular situation. I think that if people are aware that there is an outbreak of syphilis and if people know that they are particularly engaging in behaviours which can lead them to be at risk, then that information has to be out there. I think a much more aggressive publicity campaign and educational campaign is warranted. I’d like to know if the Minister and department are considering that.

Mr. Speaker, the department works all year round to promote and encourage safe sex. The use of condoms would prevent most contagious, sexually infectious diseases, including syphilis. We are aware that these conditions are occurring more commonly in certain areas than others. Health officials are aware of that. But we want to make sure that everybody in the Territories is vigilant and taking necessary steps, and if we announce what areas they might be in, they may think that they’re safe. So we would like all residents to know that this is a highly contagious infection and that everybody should be practising safe sex at all times. The use of condoms is encouraged.

As the situation progresses, we will take all measures under the Public Health Act, which is quite vast in its authority and power, and we’ll make sure that we protect public health and safety.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We obviously are making a lot of decisions here about our future, and we are dealing with issues as a result of previous governments that have made decisions that are affecting our current situation. What is this government doing to establish long term financial benefits from the investment in or from the use of our resources, such as diamonds and oil and gas? What efforts are we putting in to establishing a heritage fund for our future?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of a heritage fund has been now around the Legislature since at least the 15th Assembly. We’ve raised this issue. I raised it at the round table. It was raised in my fiscal overview of the government. Work is underway to come forward with a discussion paper to lay out some of the options for a heritage fund that would be, I would suggest, set up by statute, by legislation. There are some very strong models to look at. We have the Norway model. We have the Alaska model. We

looked at what Alberta has done. Pick the best and come forward with a discussion paper.

Clearly, there’s a recognition that we have to start saving for the future. We have to think past the life of each particular Assembly. If all of us had gone through our working lives without having forced savings, when it came time to retire, we would have no pensions, because we’d have spent every cent we have today. We have to think of our grandchildren and future generations. This government is very interested in working with the Assembly to come forward with what would be a good model for the Northwest Territories.

Thank you for those comments. If all interests and intentions, as the Minister has said, have been here since the 15th Assembly, I want to

know what we are doing about getting this done. Currently this government is not shy about insisting and pressuring the assistance panel to make decisions on project developments. We are not shy about prejudging development projects as no-brainers. We can’t develop our resources fast enough. All of those benefits are leaving the Northwest Territories. We needed this fund established in the 15th Assembly. Here we are in the

16th . What are we doing to actually get it done?

In the next few weeks there will be a proposal brought forward for review. It is being worked on right now in Finance. We are very serious about this. There are clearly things we have to consider about such a fund, and we have to be prepared not only to establish it but to look at how we want to have some initial seed capital put in it at a time when we are struggling to make ends meet, as it were. But within the next few weeks there will be a document brought forward from Cabinet to committee so we can talk about the type of fund to set up, whether it should be in legislation and what the particulars of that type of legislation should be.

There we are talking about it again. I really want to get this fund established. I’m wondering if the government is investigating, for example, Norway’s special tax that ensures that excess profits from resource development companies go to the government for the benefit of the people or the production tax that’s used by the state of Alaska. What are we doing on the ground?

We are going to pull together a considered paper that’s going to be shared with the Regular Members, having heard very clearly once again in the House the need to communicate and consult before significant decisions are made. That work is underway, and we will be moving forward on that in the next number of weeks.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for those comments. It’s nice to hear that something is happening — still not sure what. We’re going to hear something in the next few weeks. What exactly are we going to hear in the next few weeks? And what will be the schedule for putting that in place, getting it done?

I am particularly taken with work that was done in Norway, the fact that they set up a fund in legislation that’s politically tamper proof. It’s not tied to consolidated general revenue. The parameters of what can be done to it, how it can be done are very clear. The money is kept separate, and all the petroleum, oil and gas revenues go into that fund.

There are other ones to look at. Alaska and Alberta are two. The biggest one in the world is Abu Dhabi, which is almost $800 billion. The one in Norway is about $380 billion. So there are things we can learn. We want to set up the best one, tailored for the North, which, I would suggest, we would want to have set up in legislation so that, in fact, it is separate and politically tamper proof, but that is a discussion we have yet to have.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

My questions today are for the Premier. On September 29 it came to our attention that on August 22 the GNWT proposed a ten year partnership agreement with the federal government in which the two governments would cost share and determine priorities for a $1 billion investment in the economic infrastructure of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, I would like the Premier to tell me when he and Cabinet developed the proposal, and given the importance of devolution and resource revenue sharing, why did he not engage with and discuss the proposal with Regular Members prior to making the offer to the federal government?

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Speaker, when I first announced that we’d be prepared to put devolution resource revenue sharing on the back burner, I got some negative feedback on that process. We had ongoing discussions with regional aboriginal leadership and in fact looked at the opportunities when we had meetings with the Prime Minister. I’ve had meetings with the Prime Minister to talk about

looking at other options, because the option that was on the table, which Members are fully aware of, was not something we would consider to be adequate here in the Northwest Territories.

Also, Members know that I’ve talked to him a number of times, trying to get a deal with the federal government on, for example, the Mackenzie Valley Highway. So putting those together, looking at an infrastructure plan, it’s a framework that’s been put out there, floated out there, and we’re working on trying to keep that door open. Of course, no discussions are happening at this time until we know what the results of the federal election will be.

I’ve informed Members, through communication of letters, to let them know of the proposal and the meeting with the Prime Minister. Hopefully, we’ll be able to give more detail as we see the results of the election and find out just where this will go.

Yes, I remember when it was suggested that devolution and resource revenue sharing were off the agenda. We all were obviously concerned, and we pushed for him to get it on, and it’s on. That’s good; that’s fantastic. What I’m talking about is a proposal that has now gone forward to the feds. We don’t know anything about it. We don’t know the details. We didn’t find out until September 29, which was 38 days after you made the proposal to the federal government.

I’m still curious, and this is going to go back to my first question. Why wasn’t this information on the specifics of this proposal shared with us prior to making that proposal to the federal government?

Just earlier in the Member’s statement I was told to put the sails up and get moving, and now I’m being told to put the sails down and park it until I get word by word discussion with my colleagues.

Yes, we should have gotten the information to you sooner. In this case, because of the time frame, trying to get all the pieces together in a sense of regional leadership, getting that piece, having the Prime Minister come up to the Northwest Territories and trying to fit it in the schedule, I didn’t have an opportunity to share that with Members. I guess I’ll have to wear that one, as well, on the process that we’ve been involved with.

The Member himself has said this may be the right process, the right thing and what we need in the Northwest Territories, but the process is bad, so maybe we should just stop and not move forward on this. So I’ve got clear signals from Members of the Assembly. We’ve got residents out there saying it should move ahead. We’ve got a need for more revenue on the table, and I’m trying to build a bridge to get to that location.

I’m hardly suggesting it’s time to take down the sails. I share my other colleagues’ advice: it’s time to get the sails up, and it’s time for us to move forward. What I’m simply suggesting is that when it comes to something as important as resource revenue sharing and devolution, it’s important to keep us all on the same page, which I don’t feel actually occurred in this case. I mean, I would like to know the details.

I guess the second question, since I really didn’t get the first question answered, is: when are we going to get the full description of what this proposal entails and what the benefits and the negative aspects of the deal are for us in the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Speaker, as I’ve written to Members and told them, this is a framework. There is not much more detail than what I’ve already given Members on the framework. It is an avenue to open the door for further discussion with the federal government. It includes a partnership among the federal government, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the private sector. I’ve given that to Members. We’ve been working on trying to schedule a meeting with Members. I’m open to when the Members confirm a meeting date. I believe we do have some time set aside here in the very near future.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to hear that. Given that we’re all supposed to be equal partners in working towards the best interests of the people of the Northwest Territories, I’d like the Premier to commit to working with the Members on this side of the House and providing us with timely, upfront information in the future when it comes to items such as resource revenue sharing and devolution, as well as any other big picture items that the government might be proceeding with in the future.

Mr. Speaker, Members make a point of how I haven’t communicated with Regular Members on quite a regular basis, and a number of examples were given. But we have listened to Members. We’ve approached Members with some solutions to some of the concerns that were raised. We’ll continue to do that — to work with Members to try to come up with the options.

But, Mr. Speaker, one of the things I need to do before going to Members is to see if there’s even any appetite from the federal government, in this case, for a solution. Otherwise, I’d be wasting Members’ time by coming and saying: here’s an idea; what do you think? And then I’d have the federal government say no to it. Right now the door

has been opened, and we can have further discussion on this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to continue on with the line of questioning that my colleague Mr. Abernethy had. It gets back to the cost shared infrastructure proposal that the government put on the table.

Going back to what the Premier mentioned on Friday, I can understand that they have to get on with things. They have to do things. Move and move quickly, I think were the words the Premier used. Again, I understand that. But you don’t develop a substantive proposal, a framework as he calls it, overnight.

I’d like to ask the Premier: who put the proposal together?

I hope I get most of the response here right, as I didn’t quite hear the last part of the question. But I’ll try and respond to what I did hear.

The work that’s been ongoing originally started with an opportunity to sit down with the Prime Minister. I had about 20 minutes with him to give him the idea that we needed to look at other options, to put on record with the Prime Minister that the deal that was put forward by Finance Canada during the last government and that seems to carry on through this government wasn’t satisfactory, that we were not prepared to go there, but there are other options that we could work on. At that point we felt there was enough uptake on the idea that there may be some other options, and we started putting some ideas together.

One of the other things that I spoke regularly about during my time as Premier for the Northwest Territories was about the Mackenzie Valley Highway. So I’ve put those two together as a possible option.

The best I can cobble together from the correspondence that was provided to Members and the timeline…. I think this framework was presented to the Prime Minister in Inuvik. That would have happened at the same time the Members of this Legislature were at the Gwich’in health and wellness camp just outside of Inuvik.

The question that I have: if the Premier, as the leader of our government, is going to make a substantive offer or a proposal to the Prime Minister

while he’s in our backyard, why wouldn’t he at least tell us that he was doing that, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the meeting’s happening and the time frame we did…. Again, I go back to the fact that I needed to have an idea that the federal government would take this up and carry it forward and on that basis feel comfortable that we could proceed.

Notification that the Prime Minister was travelling up was rather short, and as Members were aware, trying to get some time set aside to actually have a one on one about the Northwest Territories with the Prime Minister was quite difficult. That doesn’t give any excuse to the fact that we were there. And, yes, at caucus I probably should have put that on the table and shared that letter with them before it went to him.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Premier for that. I do believe that at the very least he had an obligation to tell the Members who were in Inuvik at the time that this was taking place. That didn’t happen, and that’s unfortunate.

From the time the proposal was made until Members were notified was, I think, 38 days. Again, I don’t understand why, if we’re making a substantive proposal like that, it would take 38 days to let Members know.

In his comments to me on Friday the Premier also stated that he was looking forward to getting together with the committee to go over some of this. Are we going to get the framework in its entirety or just what the government wants us to see, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the letter I sent to Members has what we have on the table. We can share all the information about how we came up with this number in the hope of having something further. I would rather do it that way than try to get into a process here and have the federal government decide: well, they’re discussing it there, and there’s no real commitment and no use having any further discussion. I’m ready to share all the information we have, and I believe we have given that to the Members. But we can go through it in more detail or have more questions at that point as well as to what we’ve put on the table and what we hope to achieve.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, it just gets back to my first question. I’m not sure if the Premier heard the end of that first question, so I will ask that one again. I’m just wondering: who put the framework together for the Government of the Northwest Territories to be presented to the federal government?

Mr. Speaker, the Executive and a number of the other departments that have the information pulled this together. We worked with a number of other people who had access and could give us information on times, and we pulled that together. But it was pretty well done internally on this one.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Mr. Speaker, just to remind the government that Nunakput has all the oil and gas to drill that proposed pipeline. To the Minister of Finance: will the Minister agree to consult with Nunakput residents and organizations before he makes revenue decisions?

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, the work we’re doing will be brought forward, as I have committed to in the House, through the business planning process and further into the budget process, where there will be time for review and discussion. We have agreed to come forward and give the public the results of the round table and all the feedback we have received. That document is being worked on as we speak.

Mr. Speaker, he says he’s giving us enough time. I have a pretty big riding, and the travel times are out. I have to go travel for two weeks, so I hope he does give us enough time to present this to my constituents.

Mr. Speaker, we’re going to be timing the work we are doing. There are people working on it right now. We know the business planning is going to start in the middle of November. We would like to have as much of the information as we can have pulled together at that point to talk about what’s being proposed for 2009–2010. If I can refresh everybody’s memory, we are looking at year 2 of reductions, about $28 million or so.

As well, we are tasked and targeted with finding $10 million in new revenues. We will come forward with that work clearly laid out for the ’09–10 budget and the business plan. Further work will be laid out, but that will be for future years, in 2010–2011 and going forward.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier in regard to my Member’s statement and the Premier’s sessional statement.

There are certain sections of the agreement where the government shall involve the Gwich’in in any devolution process. I’d just like to ask the Premier: exactly what consultation has taken place today with the aboriginal governments in regard to this proposal?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Speaker, as the Government of the Northwest Territories 16th Assembly took office, we set up a new arrangement with regional leadership. We hold four meetings a year where the regional leadership as well as the Government of Northwest Territories can put items on the agenda.

We have been having discussions at that table about devolution and resource revenue sharing, and again this opportunity came up. I made a number of calls, because of the short time frame, to try to get as much of the aboriginal leadership as possible up to speed as to the letter I was presenting. In fact, I did speak with the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council. I have correspondence with the president on, for example, the Mackenzie Valley Highway right up to the coast, so we have had a discussion.

We haven’t had a chance to meet face to face about the meeting with the Prime Minister and where we may be able to go from here. We are starting that process, and our next meeting, I believe, will be late November.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Premier: exactly what is the price tag on this proposal, and what are we are talking about? Are we talking about a billion dollars or more? I think the number for the Mackenzie highway is somewhere in the range of $6 billion. What is the price tag on this proposal?