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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to speak today about the issue of animal neglect, cruelty and abuse. I last spoke about this issue back in March, when people across the country were floored by charges being stayed against a Behchoko man who was charged in September of 2008 after the local government in Behchoko called in a veterinarian to put down 34 of his dogs who were found to be badly malnourished. Well, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, animal cruelty was back in the news when just last week three puppies were found at the dump in Behchoko, their throats having been cut; a reprehensible act committed on innocent animals.

Even if the authorities find those responsible, here, in the Northwest Territories people can, and do, get away with abusing animals. The Crown stays charges in these types of cases because it is highly unlikely that, given the current legislation, they would be successful at getting a conviction. That, Mr. Speaker, is a very unfortunate reality here in the Northwest Territories.

Last summer a Hay River man was charged while in Edmonton for leaving his dog unattended in a vehicle during a hot day. Had this same offence been committed in the Northwest Territories, the offence would likely go unpunished. This, again, is a very sad commentary, Mr. Speaker, on the

effectiveness and the usefulness of our current legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to know exactly where animal protection legislation is at with this government. How many more times are we going to allow ourselves to be embarrassed both nationally and internationally with our archaic laws? We need to advance this legislation as soon as possible so those who commit these heinous crimes against animals are faced with some serious consequences.

Last spring the Minister of Justice, in response to some questions that I had about animal rights legislation, on page 2718 of Hansard states, “...it could be in the fall of this year. We will do what we can if we need to fast-track it. We are in the process of doing that.” Well, Mr. Speaker, the fall is here, the snow is falling and Christmas is coming. Where exactly is this legislation? How come it has not even gone to committee yet? Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions for the Government House Leader at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a little known fact to some people may be that October is Clergy Appreciation Month. Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of being raised in a home where I went to church all my life. I must say I love church. My father was a deacon in a church and back in those days we even had church on Sunday nights. When the rest of my siblings wanted to stay home and watch The Wonderful World of Disney, I wanted to go to church with my dad, and I certainly remember and value those precious times that I had with my dad and that constitutes a lot of my memories of him.

Mr. Speaker, I have been a member of the Hay River Pentecostal Chapel for over 35 years and then when I first came to Yellowknife, I had to find a church to go. But it was cool, because I told my kids whatever church they wanted to go to, that’s where we would go. So I have had the privilege of going to the Baptist, Pentecostal, Alliance, Church of Christ and the Vineyard Church here in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I tell you this to say that I have gotten to know many of the clergy throughout the Northwest Territories.

In Hay River, we have a really interesting thing. We have a Ministerial Association, which is the pastors of all the churches get together on a regular basis and they sponsor community events. When we see them out having coffee together, we call them the God Squad.

---Laughter

But over my years in the North, Mr. Speaker, as I have said, I have had a chance to meet clergy from all denominations.

Mr. Speaker, we have Nurses Week, we have Teachers Week, Social Workers Week, we celebrate the valued work of many different professions who serve our communities, and today I would like to recognize the valuable contribution of our clergy across the North, past and present; our bishops, pastors, priests, captains, youth pastors and lay-clergy. There are 168 hours in a week taking 1 percent of our time to pause and turn our minds to eternal things is only 1 percent of our entire week, Mr. Speaker, I would suggest, especially for families to help build a strong faith that will stand their children in good times, in highs and lows of life, is time well invested.

Unlike many other organizations, Mr. Speaker, churches rely on the support of our parishioners, so I also encourage people to support their churches and their clergy financially. You might be amazed at the blessings that will come when you bless other people. For those who work in our communities to provide spiritual guidance and support to families at times of loss, at times of joy, baby baptisms, dedications, those who are ill, who visit in our hospitals, who provide spiritual counsel in our prisons, Mr. Speaker, today I would like to thank them all. Thank you.

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about the lack of adequate housing for teachers in Lutselk’e. This is a serious matter that could have many negative implications for the community.

Mr. Speaker, this is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed immediately. I first raised this issue in May of last year after meeting with the local district education authority in discussion with the South Slave Education Authority under which Lutselk’e falls. Both groups were experiencing frustration, because after raising the issue on numerous occasions with this government, they are not seeing enough action.

Also, Mr. Speaker, the NWT Teachers’ Association has been raising the issue of housing for teachers in smaller communities, again getting no action.

Mr. Speaker, at this time of the year in the school calendar, teachers are focussing on getting their assessments and report cards ready for parent/teacher interviews, but not some of these new teachers in Lutselk’e. They are more

concerned about where they are going to live next month. Over the last few years, the community has been lucky to find suitable housing, but yet with former residents moving back to the community and existing housing needing major renovations, not as many places are available. This year with two new teachers hired in the community, there is definite need for immediate housing.

Mr. Speaker, the community should not have to be put into this kind of situation. We all know the important role teachers play in our communities and to the North. Mr. Speaker, in 2009, we should not be talking about this. With a situation like this in Lutselk’e, it is like we are failing the people of Lutselk’e.

This government has a responsibility to deliver a certain level of education to all its residents, and this has to include the provision of adequate housing for our teachers, especially in small communities, non-market communities like Lutselk’e.

Mr. Speaker, as stated before, the three main issues area availability, affordability and adequacy. For Lutselk’e, this is an urgent matter, so let’s act now before we lose teachers and let down the students and residents of Lutselk’e. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about the importance of the fur trade in the Northwest Territories. It is one of the oldest industries here. Mr. Speaker, when the Tetlit Gwich’in began turning from the Klondike ventures, they found that Fort McPherson was not changed much from the gold rush days. The Hudson’s Bay Company post was still the mainstream of the community, even the same Hudson Bay trader was there to welcome them, which was my great-great-grandfather, John Firth, who first arrived in the Peel River country in 1872 and was the chief clerk of Fort McPherson from 1893 to 1919.

Over the next decade, the Gwich’in still spent most of their time in the headwaters of the Peel River and then the Richardson Mountains and heading downstream in their moose skin boats in the spring where they wintered and collected their furs and then basically brought them to Fort McPherson for sale. During World War I, the price of muskrat furs skyrocketed and the Gwich’in began to depend on the livelihood of the fur trade by way of muskrat harvesting in the spring, and also the importance of the Peel River, the Mackenzie Delta and the families of the Gwich’in people. But since then, Mr.

Speaker, the industry has continued to sustain itself and the people in our small communities still depend on this industry.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to realize that a lot of the economic spinoffs in regards to the fur trade in our communities is well in the millions of dollars. It still stimulates our communities, especially the hunters and trappers of our communities and especially for the younger generations who still want to maintain that lifestyle. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to realize that this industry is just as important as the diamond industry and as the oil and gas industry and, more importantly, it will be there long after the diamonds are gone and the oil has been depleted, and also that the people will still depend on that lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister of ITI questions in regards to what this government is doing to ensure that we have a sustainable industry of the fur trade, which is one of the oldest industries in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I talked about the lack of adequate housing for teachers in Lutselk’e. I would like to follow up on my statement with questions for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to working with me, and the local district education authority and the community, to see that an immediate solution is found for this situation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an issue that continues to plague the small communities as having adequate housing for some of the professionals that go in there. I could inform the Member that in his community, through the good work of the North Slave Housing district housing office, they have come up with a solution to take care of the needs of two of the teachers. They have agreed to rent them an NWT Housing Corporation house, so that would take care of the issue. That will go on until the end of this school year and then we will look for a longer-term solution. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give myself in this House an update on what the NWT Housing Corporation is doing on the long-term solution? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the longer-term solution is we are working with the Refocusing Government committee. We are in the process of speaking to a lot of the development corporations in the community. We have had some excellent buy-in. There has been a lot of interest expressed by the development corporations in

accessing some of the programs. We do have some incentives that we are proposing to them. Also, one of the incentives is using some of our existing houses and see if we could turn those into housing for staff, if there is a surplus in some of the communities. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise this House when we can see some sort of program roll out so we can examine the long-term solution that the Minister speaks of? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are hoping to have something together very shortly here to share with committee before we go into the next session that would help address a lot of the concerns expressed by some of the MLAs from the small communities, especially the non-market communities. We are hoping to have something very shortly here put together. We will be able to share that with committee and get some feedback and input from committee too. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, as per an earlier commitment, during his next visit to Lutselk’e, can the Minister commit to meeting with the local DEA and the teachers so he can hear firsthand on the issue in Lutselk’e? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I will commit to meet with the DEA. It is always in our best interest to hear what the communities are saying, because they know best what is needed in their communities. If we can work in cooperation with them, that would make the whole process a lot smoother and we will be able to provide housing for staff and a lot of the professionals in the small communities. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for sport, also the Minister of MACA. I had a few questions in my statement. I would like to repeat them here in the hope of getting a positive answer. Does the Minister realize that the multisport games buck stops at his desk? Will he be more receptive to the 55-plus athletes’ request for financial assistance? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.