Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 31, Recall Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River, that the Speaker be authorized to set such sittings hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Issue: The committee expressed a concern with the wording contained in the draft act with respect to the age for starting kindergarten, where a child would have to be five years old as of December 31st to be eligible. It was felt that the act should be more flexible in this regard, particularly when taking into account the flexibility proposed for the school calendar.

Response: Department officials agreed with the suggestion and responded with a proposal to change the wording in the appropriate sections to state that "the child must be five years old within five months after the start of the school year."

This would take into account the more flexible school calendar by clarifying that regardless of when the school year started, if the child turns five prior to the half-way point they will have the opportunity to start kindergarten. For example, if the school year started on September 1st, the child would be eligible to enter kindergarten if they were to turn five by the 31st of January rather than December.

Inclusive Schooling

Issue: It was noted by the committee during the review that the current act states the Minister shall provide special needs programs to students who require them, but the draft act says that such support services shall be provided in accordance with the direction of the Minister where practicable.

The committee was concerned that, regardless of the fiscal position of the government, the parents of special needs students must be assured that their children will have access to the special services that are required.

Response: The department indicated that in the absence of the precise legal wording of an education bill, it would be premature to debate this issue. Officials felt that if Members were not satisfied that the present wording did not adequately express the intent to provide special needs services, it may be more appropriate to address the issue after the bill has been introduced in the Legislative Assembly.

Home Schooling

Issue: During the review the committee engaged in discussions on the relative merits and drawbacks of the home schooling program and there was a general concern that high standards of education be maintained through monitoring and evaluation.

Response: The department responded by referring to provisions in the draft act which require the district education authority and divisional education council to "evaluate and provide support to home schooling programs in accordance with the regulations." In addition to regulations on home schooling, the draft act includes provisions which require the superintendent to "review, approve, reject, monitor and terminate programs to be used for home schooling" and the principal to "perform the prescribed duties relating to the support and monitoring of home schooling programs."

The department further stated that:

"Through regulations, we intend to establish procedures which will require the programs used for home schooling to be comparable to those used in the public schools of the Northwest Territories, and require the progress of students in home schooling programs to be regularly evaluated to ensure that the program is meeting their educational needs."

Issue: In home schooling discussions, there was also a concern that the proposed provision for reimbursing parents for home schooling program costs was too open to interpretation and could conceivably lead to requests from home schooling parents for unauthorized financial support.

Response: The draft act states that home schooling education program costs must be approved by the district education authority. Department officials stressed that the draft act:

"allows district authorities to determine which program costs they will approve, and which they will not, even for a home schooling program that has received their approval. The home schooling regulations will also clarify the kinds of program costs a district authority can expect to pay, such as correspondence course fees, texts and other learning materials."

Private Schools

Issue: During discussions respecting private schools, it was noted by the committee that the draft legislation was not clear that private schools were those providing programs for students to whom compulsory attendance applies, specifically children aged six to 16.

It was suggested by the committee that the definition of private schools be reworded to clarify that schools which must register as private schools are those offering programs for students (aged six to 16) to whom "compulsory attendance" applies.

Response: The department agreed with this recommendation and has undertaken to facilitate the required changes.

Issue: The committee also noted that the legislation should include a penalty for private schools that remain open in violation of a suspension or cancellation of their registration.

Response: The department has committed to address this concern by adding a section which would make it a duty of a private school providing educational programming to compulsory-aged students to register with the Minister. Another section will be added to allow for the charging of a fine to those private schools that operate without being registered or that continue to operate after their registration has been cancelled or suspended.

I would now like to ask, Mr. Speaker, if my colleague from Baffin South, Mr. Kenoayoak Pudlat, would continue with the reading of this report. Thank you.

I made a terrible omission, Mr. Speaker, because a very significant person in this group is their instructor, Ms. Pam Fawcett, who is not a student but is an important member of the team. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the 1950s, Mr. Speaker, I lived in London, England, and taught many classes of students who were trying to learn English. Today we have in our audience a group of students from the YWCA's English as a second language program. What I'd like to do is give their names and maybe when I give their names, they can stand, and at the end, perhaps, Members will welcome them in the usual way: Raemee Lee from China; Qianru Wen from China; Di Zhu from China; Hahn Tebyanian from Vietnam; Suryani Luh from Indonesia; Draga Stelkic from Serbia; Shoko Suzuki from Japan; Viviana Llanten-Diaz from Chile, and Anna Li Juan from China. Welcome to our Assembly.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to point out to our visitors that many Members in this Assembly learned English as a second language and have done very well. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For more than seven years, the major criticism of this Assembly is its lack of accountability. We have a fixed term of four years, with no mandate from the public other than election promises to work hard on certain issues and to be a good representative of the people. As individuals, we are free to vote in any way we please as we have no party discipline to direct us.

The major public concern I heard expressed, however, is that we're very good at making speeches, full of good intentions but we are reluctant to enforce on ourselves any standard of accountability or discipline. We make many laws that regulate the activities of other people but make few laws to enforce discipline on ourselves. Three years ago when I first began reading material on the issue of recalling elected Members, I had an open mind, Mr. Speaker. Over a period of three years, however, it has become more clear to me that the Legislature needed to do something more than make fine declarations against violence and adopt guidelines for the conduct and behaviour of Members.

Where political parties exist, very clear discipline is exercised over Members and there are consequences for breaking the rules. Since we're elected as individuals by our constituents, our accountability is very clearly to the electorate. If recall is appropriate anywhere in the world, Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate in the Northwest Territories, where we follow a consensus form of government and are not bound by party discipline. If it weren't for the fact that we follow a parliamentary system of government with a set of rules and

conventions, there would be a very undisciplined rabble in this Assembly, Mr. Speaker, I can assure Members.

At least for our behaviour in this Chamber, we have rules to follow and there are penalties for breaking them. As we all know, they are your responsibility, Mr. Speaker. Now that we've adopted so many principles to guide us in our work outside this chamber, we need some mechanism to make Members accountable. Today, I shall give first reading to Bill 31, Recall Act, and I urge Members to read the bill with an open mind since the bill will be in your books after I give it first reading today. I will have no fear in serving in this Legislature if this bill were in force. Thank you.

-Applause

Since the Minister has agreed that people should have a great responsibility for their own health, what is she doing about trying to get people to solve their own problems and not expect the Department of Health to solve them?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has pointed out that health is very much a personal responsibility and I agree with her, but I would like to ask her then, since she agrees that people tend to want to let others solve their health problems, what is she doing about unnecessary dependence on the health system by people who really should be looking after themselves? What is she doing about unnecessary visits to doctors and so on, because she's admitted that we have an overdependence?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, we all know how important it is to have a healthy population if we're going to get anywhere. We already know about the hidden killer, about AIDS, and the fear that people have about the impact that could have in the long run. This is an election year and people want to get a good picture of what the major issues we have to tackle are in this department. What are the major health concerns that the department has with regard to our population in specific areas, whether it is heart, liver or kidneys? What are the specific things that are the biggest threats to the health of our population?