Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories, during this session alone we have been talking about capacity in our communities, about voluntarism and what it takes to volunteer in the community, about the education level, as my colleague, Mr. Bell, spoke about. All this requires a good educational foundation. We speak about the standards, the difference in the level of standards from small communities versus larger centres. Those will not be addressed if the teachers are not comfortable in their homes in the communities, and the students are not comfortable with the teachers because there is no mutual respect. I would like to ask the Minister how high a priority does this government put on the wellbeing of the future generations and the education of the future generations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when can we expect those priorities and options from the deputy ministers' task team, so that as Regular Members we may have input on the possible solutions arising from those options? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is right again. It is not his responsibility to provide housing. However, it is his responsibility to provide quality educational programs and services in every community in the Northwest Territories. Lack of housing is hindering the Minister's ability to deliver quality educational programs and services. So I would like to ask him, what is he trying to do to resolve the issue of teachers' housing this summer so that the communities that are facing the deepest problems are going to be dealt with, so that they have homes for the teachers so that maybe the teachers will stay more than one year, reducing the cost to this government of recruitment and retention and travel and give our students the ability to get to know their teachers a little bit so there is mutual respect developing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment some questions continuing from my colleague's questions, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister what the department has done to alleviate the housing issue for teachers to date, since we got elected? This is a priority for this government, the youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about gatherings. We are entering the summer months, a real quality time of the year for Northerners and maybe the weather will be a little bit nicer to us this summer, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to start to talk about gatherings in my consistency first. On the 25th to the 27th the Akaitcho government is having their annual general assembly in Lutselk'e, and the Metis Nation is gathering in Fort Smith the first week of July. As always, every summer the people from Lutselk'e, Fort Resolution and the Yellowknives Dene Band will be taking their boats and flying their people to Fort Reliance, or Desnechay (sic) they call it Chipewyan, for a spiritual gathering, a week of celebrations, connecting with their spirituality, reconnecting with family and friends.

Again, Mr. Speaker, there will be gatherings right across the Territories in every community to celebrate Aboriginal Day on the 21st of this month. I am, as is the Premier, very proud to be involved in the Assembly that recognized the importance of that day for aboriginal people in this territory and right across the country, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Dene National Assembly will happen the first week of July and I would like to join the Premier in thanking Mr. Erasmus for his 16 years of dedication to the issues of the Dene and the people of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the Premier mentioned a lot of important positions, but I am sure Mr. Erasmus will join me in thinking about all the elders he has worked with over the years, and there were many elders. Like Mr. Wright from Fort Norman or Tulita who contributed to the knowledge of the Dene people and has taken us in the last 30 years from a hunter-gatherer society to the information age. It took the Russian society 300 years, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congratulate Mr. Erasmus and thank him on behalf of my constituents for his 16 years of dedication. I am sure Mr. Erasmus and his family will be doing well in the future.

I would also like to thank Rick Edjericon for four years as chief of the Yellowknives and wish him luck in his bid to replace Mr. Erasmus. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mahsi cho, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, my constituents and I are in support of the Deh Cho Bridge. This act is also something I support. It enables the government to negotiate with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation.

I have a concern, though, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the concern I have is the method which we will use to pay for the bridge. That decision is not final, but I would like to make my opinion known today so that it could be part of the consideration and possibly negotiations.

The idea right now is to toll trucks that cross the bridge. These are the trucks that deliver goods and supplies to the city of Yellowknife, which it also supplies to the communities of Gameti, Wekweti, Wha Ti and Lutselk'e. I think, Mr. Chairman, that whoever crosses that bridge should pay the toll. Industry should not be targeted. BHP alone will have to pay an extra $1 million a year if the method of tolling is just on heavy trucks. I don't think that's fair to BHP; I don't think that's fair to Diavik or any other industry that relies on resupply using the bridge. They are already a big contributor to our northern economy, they're the economic backbone of the Northwest Territories right now. If BHP pays an extra $1 million a year, that means the federal government gets $1 million less in royalties. That means the land claims groups will get less in benefits, because they get a percentage of all royalties that come out of the Northwest Territories and I don't think that's fair to the land claims groups.

I've been talking to many people in the Northwest Territories, and people are willing to pay to cross the bridge. It's not anything new, it's being done all over the country, all over the world, Mr. Chairman.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I do support the bridge. Another reason why I say that everybody should pay... In the communities that I mentioned, the majority of people don't own vehicles because there are no roads into those communities, and why should they pay out of their pockets the extra costs they might incur in their stores, in the Co-op in Lutselk'e, the stores in Wha Ti? Why should those people have to pay more for their supplies and service because of the method of how we collect the tolls? The idea now, Mr. Chairman, is in 35 years' time the bridge will be transferred to the GNWT for ownership. That's a territorial bridge, owned by the people of the Northwest Territories and why should that bridge be paid for only by people living north of the river, or the people who depend on the city of Yellowknife for resupply? It's just not fair.

So for the consideration of my colleagues in the House, the Minister responsible and for the people negotiating the Deh Cho Bridge -- the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation -- that should be something that is seriously considered. People don't mind paying a few bucks to cross a bridge. It's nothing new. Maybe, Mr. Chairman, you could reduce the time that we are anticipating for the ownership of the bridge to go into the GNWT's hands. But the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation would pay their investments back.

So, Mr. Chairman, today and tomorrow I will be lobbying for this. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister to follow up with the direction he gave his staff, maybe by starting with a reply or sending a letter to the community leadership about what he intends to do and how he intends to implement the plans he has developed with the community. I think the community is waiting for a response and waiting for a follow-up, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the issue of housing, the Minister had made certain commitments to Members of my community on housing issues and allocation of housing. Can the Minister give me a briefing in the House today of where that is right now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let's just deal with the housing authority for this particular question. When can the Minister appoint members to the housing authority, so that the business of housing can continue? Right now, it's dormant and still is dormant according to the chief of the community. When can I expect to see the housing authority working? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.