Northern allowance and settlement allowance is given to people in small, remote communities all over this great Territory because of the high cost of living. Even with those allowances, people in my riding are paying 80 percent more for basic necessities than people living in the major centres.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister in question period. Thank you.

The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, we’ve heard the Minister’s 2010 budget address and the main estimates have been tabled in the House. As I listened yesterday, I was struck by a particular statement in the Finance Minister’s address. He said that we’ll have to return to, “a sustainable path,” and, “maintain a tight rein on spending in the fiscal year following this new budget.”

I support our current level of spending and I support the same level of spending for the 2010-11 year as it’s laid out in the budget. But I recognize, as does the Minister, that we will have to reduce or cut back our spending in the fiscal year 2011-12.

It might be a bit premature, but I am already concerned about two things in regards to that 2011-12 budget. First of all, how will we reduce our expenditures and, secondly, what will we do in anticipation of shrinking revenues? The Minister stated yesterday that expenditures will be capped at a 3 percent growth for 2011-12. It’s likely to be a difficult target considering that this proposed budget for 2010-11 is 7.5 percent bigger than the current budget year we are in now.

But there is a knight in shining armour, so to speak, to solve our expenditure dilemma. Two years ago, we established, under the Department of Executive, a new entity called the program review office. It exists to evaluate the business of government to find efficiencies within our bureaucracy and presumably savings, but we’ve heard little about the workings of this office. Granted the program review office did undertake a study of GNWT office space requirements and produced a very comprehensive and useful report, but what else has the office done? Members know about a couple of projects, but are not privy to the results of those projects. It’s

quite likely that the results of these projects, undertaken since the office was established, helped to shape the main estimates that we are about to debate. Members have no report to consider and have not been briefed on most of the program review office projects.

I, for one, would like to be able to review the work of this office and be able to know if any savings were realized and I think the public deserves access to these results as well. If we really mean it when we say we are a transparent, accountable government, as we so often hear, then this kind of information must be shared.

Looking ahead a year, what of the 2011-12 budget and the impending cap on our expenditures? What will the program review office be doing over the next fiscal year? Does the Minister of the Executive already know these areas that will be targeted?

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

----Unanimous consent granted.

Does the Minister of the Executive already know the areas that will be targeted for the 2011 budget? If so, will he let Regular Members and the public know? I say again, for the sake of transparency, this kind of information must be shared and I will have some of these questions for the Minister of the Executive at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this morning I was thinking about the issue of the caribou and how important that issue is going to be in the coming months or days in terms of our relationship, this government’s relationship with the aboriginal governments down the Mackenzie Valley. Mr. Speaker, this type of issue has been heard in court, decisions have been made across Canada. There are several cases that can be cited in terms of aboriginal rights to hunt, fish and trap; treaty rights to hunt, fish and trap. Even the Constitution of 1982 has affirmed the aboriginal rights in terms of their way of life.

Mr. Speaker, we even had a court case here about a duck, a famous duck that was shot out of season. We had another issue on hunting caribou in the corridor here in Yellowknife was heard in terms of these type of issues that have a direct impact on an aboriginal nation, people who demonstrate and practice their way of life.

Mr. Speaker, I, for one, wanted to look at this issue. I have not yet concluded my assessment, but I believe that this process here will be a legal

process. I believe that our legal beagles around the Northwest Territories and probably Canada have started doing some research as to what rights have been infringed upon, what rights have been violated. Has there been a process of consultation by this government with the affected parties in terms of this issue of banning specific hunts in specific areas in the Northwest Territories?

I believe that politics has greatly played into it, Mr. Speaker. When we heard it in the communities in terms of the interpretation of consultation and telling a nation of people that that is something they aren’t able to do, that doesn’t sit right with a lot of people in the communities.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that issue will have a great impact on our future relationships with aboriginal governments in terms of going forward as a nation on resource development and devolution. I believe we really need to do our work on how we protect our people, but at the same time work with them. Thank you.

The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

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

With the recent tragedy in Haiti, the country that is in great need of help and assistance, to start developing their country over again, a small community in the Northwest Territories has the intention to help. The community of Behchoko, under the spearhead of Michael Botermans and the

youth, came up with an idea of how to fully utilize a penny to start developing the country of Haiti over again.

The community initiated a penny drive where kids, community members, elders, leaders, and everyone picked pennies up from the ground, dug into their treasure chests, savings, and their homes. The community pitched in and gave pennies to the worthwhile cause. They saved approximately $2,585 in pennies for Haiti relief and donated it to the Development of Peace, a Canadian non-profit organization.

A penny will certainly go a long way to put food on the table, shelter, put clothes on their backs, rebuild the country, nation, and change the world forever.

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. It’s an honour today to introduce His Worship, Mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, Mr. Mervin Gruben in the gallery today.

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

I would like to recognize His Worship, the newly elected mayor of Inuvik, Mr. Denny Rogers. Welcome to the Assembly, Denny.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

I would like to recognize two individuals in the gallery. First, the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Mr. Richard Nerysoo, as well as the president of the Northwest Territories Métis, Ms. Betty Villebrun.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.

I would like to recognize my wife and partner of 40-plus years, Melody McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

I as well would like to take this opportunity to recognize some constituents: Mr. Ken Hudson, the president of the Métis Local in Fort Smith; hunter and carpenter, Louise Fraser, as well part of the Métis and a respected elder; and of course Betty Villebrun, President of the Northwest Territories Métis. Welcome.

I’d like to welcome everyone to the House.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My oral questions today will be following my Member’s statement: the issue with the fact that income support is now transferring back the administration of the housing to the LHO.

I appreciate my colleague from Hay River South who stood up to speak against it. She clearly announced this morning that she would, so I knew she’d let my statement go before hers. But one thing she didn’t talk about is the fact that we’ve got 14 positions out there that were in this original transfer and the fact that it cost $1.5 million to carry this on. So she must be in favour of the fact that these 14 positions are now in flux and we don’t know, and we’re going to get some clarity, hopefully, on this as well as the cost to switch it back.

My question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment would be: in this transfer of administration back to the LHO, how much will it cost and what will happen to those 14 employees that were brought on board to help with this program?

I’d just like to remind Members to keep your oral questions to a particular matter and not to a particular person. With that, the honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Just for the record, it’s not 14 positions that were transferred. When the transfer occurred in 2006 it was $1.3 million, not $1.5 million. That consisted within that of 10.75 PYs, not 14 positions. I just want to make that clear. But this is still in the planning stages. We just announced within the budget announcement that these programs would be transferred back to the Housing Corporation. Those logistics, the details of it need to be worked out still. We’re in the planning stages. We will be consulting with the standing committees on a going forward basis. We need to identify the detailed information and as we speak we’re going through it in a more detailed fashion.