Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I will make my comments brief. I cannot support a bill like this. Anything that has to do with changing anything except between a man and woman, I can't agree with. I won't

compromise my principles, I don't...I understand that this bill is probably going to need to pass, otherwise there will be challenges, but in all good conscience I can't support anything like this. If it means not being in here, in the House when they are voting, then I will leave. That is all the general comments I have for now, Madam Chairperson. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has said that he was looking at his options and he was

going to be preparing a report. Would I be able to get a copy of this report? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I said that I heard the number of 20 positions before and in my statement I kind of accounted for six of them. Where are the other 14? Are they here in Yellowknife?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that. I don't think it was additional resources we were looking for. We're just asking if the Minister would consider transferring some of the positions. That way we're not using any additional resources, we'll just use what we already have. Will he look at that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many times I've given good statements without asking any questions. I'm not going to let that happen today.

---Applause

I'd like to direct my questions to the Minister of RWED. Last week when I asked him a question he said he wasn't entertaining the thought of moving any positions up to Inuvik. I'd like to ask him if he has shut the door completely.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will be speaking once again on my concern with this government's lack of dedicated oil and gas staff in the regions, with the major oil and gas reserves and exploration activity. On Monday, in response to a question by my colleague Mr. Ramsay, the Minister of RWED said that he agreed that there are probably over 20 positions government-wide dedicated to the oil and gas industry. I am looking forward to seeing the actual numbers from the Minister some time soon.

Where are these 20 or more positions, Mr. Speaker? Certainly not in the Beaufort-Delta which has 85 percent of the gas reserves, not to mention the oil reserves. According to the National Energy Board, we have six trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and another 55 trillion cubic feet of potential reserves. We have a whole two GNWT positions dedicated to oil and gas.

The positions are not in the Sahtu, which has 85 percent of the oil reserves, substantial gas reserves and already has a pipeline going south. That is worth two positions. Not in Nahendeh either, which has a large share of the gas reserves and sits right in the middle of the proposed pipeline route. I believe they have two positions, only one of which is filled.

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about six positions out of at least 20 government-wide and three regions that probably have 99.9 percent of the reserves. Why, Mr. Speaker, does this government have only six positions in the areas most affected by oil and gas development?

The Minister of RWED has stated that he is not entertaining the thought of moving any oil and gas positions to the Beaufort-Delta. I hope he has not completely shut the door on the idea. I understand the decisions being made to have the Mackenzie Valley pipeline office in Hay River, but there are other positions out there. He still hasn't convinced me that the petroleum-related positions from the minerals oil and gas division shouldn't be moved to Inuvik. We would be happy to take the director too, if that is a concern? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With today being International Women's Day, I would like to recognize all women across the NWT for the contributions they make to their communities. Many times, some volunteers are needed. Women are the first to sign up. Without them, many programs would not be up and running. We have to recognize mothers who try to raise their children to make good choices in life; daughters who grow up too fast and are getting married; and grandmothers who, in many cases, end up raising their grandchildren and are the backbone in many families. Women who are in the public service should also be recognized and can serve as role models for all young women. Women like Sharon Firth with her Olympic experience, and Bertha Allen, an Inuvialuit elder, both will be recipients of the Aboriginal Achievement Awards. Ruth Wright, who is a constituent of mine, was just given a Wise Woman Award today and should also be recognized. We have two Members in the Assembly, Mrs. Jane Groenewegen and Ms. Sandy Lee, who are both Members of this Assembly...

---Applause

...and represent their constituents with such passion that many in Cabinet would rather face a man that is six-foot-eight and 300 pounds.

---Laughter

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we must not forget the wives of the NWT. Many of us here have wives who must look after the home in our absence. Sometimes they must feel like they have another child with the way we act.

---Laughter

I would like to extend our appreciation to all of the women of the NWT for all that they do to make our lives better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

I have a hard time justifying a $41 million courthouse in Yellowknife. Granted, Yellowknife may need a new courthouse, but $41 million seems quite expensive. A leader back at home that I had a meeting with was saying that with a $40 million jail and a $41 million courthouse; they are setting us up to fail.

You don't hear much from me regarding preventative maintenance. I was always a firm believer that preventative maintenance starts at home. We seem to be saying, well we have to educate the children, we have to educate the children, and I think we have it backwards. I think we have to educate the adults. The children seem to know more than the adults.

Other than that, that is just a few general comments that I had on the Department of Justice. I don't think there was a question in there, but if the Minister wants to respond to that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just would like to make a few general comments on the Department of Justice. I said in my Member's statement the other day that a lot of emphasis is put on the offenders, and I stand by that statement. I don't think that it was a very popular statement with certain people, but I received an e-mail from a lady who agreed with what I had to say and I will quote from it.

She said, "Many people feel that the title of criminal justice system is just that; a system that caters to the criminals in our society instead of placing the focus on where it belongs, which is on the victims of crime."

I e-mailed her back and said that I appreciated her comments. I am still trying to figure out the rationale for closing the remand centre. I didn't agree with it in committee and I stand by it; I still don't agree with it now. I think that transporting prisoners is time-consuming and expensive. I heard a comment regarding the overbuilding of facilities in Yellowknife and trying to justify it by closing services outside of Yellowknife.

I was glad to see that Justice decided to keep the court registries in Inuvik and Hay River open. In Inuvik, we were going to lose a couple of real active people in our community who were planning on moving down here because registries was going to close, but I am glad to see...I heard the Minister make the comment about finding qualified applicants and I think now that people know that this registry is going to stay open, we may have better luck in finding applicants; I am sure we will.

I have a hard time justifying a $41 million courthouse in Yellowknife. I hear that...

---Interjection