I give notice, Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, March 18, 1999, I will move that Bill 8, Interim Appropriation Act, 1999-2000, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, March 18, 1999, I will move that Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice on Thursday, March 18, I will move that Bill 1, Division Measures Act, 1999, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We indicated to the UNW that it was imperative they move quickly to allow the membership to vote on the agreement as we laid it out. We have done that and I am optimistic and hopeful that we can get that concluded by the end of March. We certainly want to get that resolved. I am fairly confident we will. I know we are having meetings about it in each of the areas, the ridings, if you want to call it that, to try to get the membership to vote. It is something like a six week process. Today, is the 15th or 16th; hopefully, we will get that done in the next week or so. I certainly hope so.

On the pay equity, of course, it changes daily because we are being flooded with letters coming in. To date, we have as of yesterday, we have 2,600 out of a total of 4,400. Recognize that some of these employees are no longer with us and some of them are with us. Right now, that is what we are sitting with to a total value of about $15.5 million. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There really are two issues, or three. One is the collective agreement, one is the settlement agreement with respect to pay equity and the other issue which was raised by a number of Members was, what are you doing about the non-unionized employees on the pay equity side?

On the non-unionized employees, Cabinet colleagues support me, and we are going to provide them with the same benefits as the other members with respect to pay equity, that is going to get done and is being done as we speak. On the collective agreement, they are out right now asking the membership to vote on it, and I hope, and I am confident that our employees will sign off that collective agreement, because it puts significant new dollars in their hands. In particular, there are some areas where we have had some problems, community nurses, et cetera, along with, of course, everybody else.

On the pay equity sensitive issue, as most of you know now, we did send out and were given legal advice on our right to send out a letter to individual employees, indicating to them what the pay equity would be in accordance with our calculations and our belief that the Hay Plan Evaluation System was a fair gender neutral one. We have had considerable success in the returns to date. We have somewhere in the region of about 64 percent of people have signed off on the pay equity and have returned it, and we are trying to issue the cheques as quickly as we can.

We have extended the deadline, if you want, for returning the pay equity agreements until the end of March, and I am optimistic that we will get somewhere between 70 percent or more of our employees signing off on the pay equity issue. Hopefully, at the end of the day, by doing this, we will have concluded a very tough and difficult issue for a number of our employees and to some extent, reduced the long-term liability that two new governments may have if there are any future liability issues that unfold in the coming years, because it will literally take years for us to try and resolve this issue with the Tribunal with the Commission.

Given that we are probably about two weeks away from a new government, I am not quite sure when you will be sworn in, but I do not think that it would be relevant. You will have full legislative and spending authorities in keeping with the budget that we set with the Interim Commissioner, Mr. Jack Anawak, at the time.

As I say, I am confident and optimistic that we will make a positive recommendation to proceed with this project and that Mr. O'Brien and others will then have to carry the case to the new government and make sure that we get it up and running this year. It certainly is my intent to try to get a decision and recommendation made as quickly as possible so that project can get under way and get the piles on the ground and get the project moving forward on the first sealift of this year, which is in early July. We can only make a recommendation and I am confident we will be able to do that within the next two weeks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The tender of the RFP closed on that project three or four weeks ago. I believe that evaluating the two proponents that were brought forward, I am optimistic that we will be able to make a recommendation to the new government to proceed with this project, and of course will be subject to them whether they, in fact, agree to continue or not. Certainly, I am optimistic that within the next week to ten days we will be able to get a recommendation brought forward to proceed with the project in Arviat and get this health centre that has been outstanding for some time now completed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, may I just add my congratulations along with my honourable colleague, Mr. Ningark, King of Natilikmeot, to the new MLAs-elect and the Nunavut government, and add my congratulations to, of course, the Premier-elect, Mr. Okalik. I particularly would like to congratulate, if I may, Jack Anawak and Mannie Thompson, who are going to represent my riding in the future. I have every confidence both these people will be able to represent it as well, if not better, than I did in the past. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you colleagues.

I MOVE, seconded by the Honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre that notwithstanding Rule 4, that when this House adjourns on Friday, December 11, 1998, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, March 16, 1999.

AND FURTHER, that any time prior to March 16, 1999, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Thank you.