Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier with respect to GLOs. I appreciate the answers that I have received from the government in terms of the reduction that took place that affected GLOs in the communities. I wonder if the Premier would be able to give me the services that GLOs provide to the departments. Which departments in our government contributed to pay for and accommodate GLOs in the communities in terms of paying their salaries and their benefits? Which departments will contribute to pay for them? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is an option in the bill for a principal to request a one-year extension on the time to obtain principal certification. However, there was no involvement of the superintendent, as supervisor, in the approval process. An amendment was made to the bill to include the superintendent in the approval process for extensions.

Assistant Principals

The public questioned why a school needed to have 10 teachers before it qualified for an assistant principal. The committee agreed, and Bill 25 was amended in committee meetings to allow the decision regarding when an assistant principal is needed, to be made at the local level.

Role Of The Principal

Three amendments were made by the committee regarding the role of the principal. The first specifies that the principal is responsible for ensuring the curriculum is taught. The second clarifies that the principal is responsible for assigning duties to school staff. The third changed the mandatory attendance requirements for principals at district education authority meetings, instead requiring principals to attend the meetings when requested to do so by the authority.

Part III - Cultural Diversity

Language Issues

In all communities, the committee heard a concern about the role of the Minister in determining the language of instruction. Presenters felt strongly that since communities could already choose the language of instruction up to grade 2, the proposed wording would actually take away some of the responsibility currently at the local level. This section was amended in committee meetings to leave the decision regarding language of instruction with the district education authority. A small amendment was also made to this section allowing for more than one language of instruction.

Language Resources

Most presenters addressing the language issue were pleased to see the recognition of all official languages in the bill. However, ability to teach in languages depends on the availability of teaching resources and materials for the language of choice. There was a strong concern that, unless the government makes a commitment of funds to develop in this material, it will never be done and in reality only a few languages will be taught in the schools.

The committee agrees that without adequate resources, most of the languages will either never be used or used only in the lowest grades.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Legislation recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment ensure adequate resources are available to ensure the development of curriculum as required in official languages of the Northwest Territories.

Cultural Variation

Generally, presenters and the committee were pleased to see the strong emphasis on culture throughout the proposed act.

Spirituality And Religion

One of the most controversial sections of the proposed act is the section on spirituality and religion. Under the current act, there is a provision for religious instruction as part of the school program. In the proposed act, this provision was removed in response to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Presenters in every community raised concerns regarding the changes to religious instruction. They felt that Bill 25 takes away from the opportunity to provide doctrine-based religious instruction through the schools. The only option for religious instruction of this type would be through a local program option which took into consideration the beliefs and feelings of those of different faiths.

After considerable debate and discussions about what avenues were open legally, the paragraph of the bill regarding religious programs by the district education authority was amended during committee meetings. Most Members agreed that what was important was the teaching of spirituality and the values that come from a strong sense of spirituality. Therefore, the amendment removes the references to religion and provides the opportunity for a district education authority to provide instruction in spiritual values and beliefs.

Part IV - Governance

Superintendents

Education boards were very concerned over the proposed section of the bill which suggested that the Minister was responsible for the appointment of superintendents. Currently, superintendents and directors are appointed by the boards. In keeping with the idea of more local control, an amendment was made removing the paragraph referring to the Minister appointing a superintendent. This leaves only the references to a superintendent employed for an education division.

Education Bodies - Specific Concerns

Concerns regarding the attendance of education body members at meetings, number of members on a district education authority, terms of office, in camera meetings, alternate members for divisional councils, and filling vacancies were raised during the public hearings. In response, the committee made a number of amendments during committee meetings.

The amendments included:

- flexibility in the number of district education authority members, between five and seven;

- a correction to the election date;

- a clause adding an alternate representative to the divisional council with full responsibility;

- limitations to in camera meetings based on the regulations;

- clarification that divisional education councils are corporations;

- the ability to easily fill vacancies even if there is only one vacancy; and,

- a reduction in the number of meetings an education body member could miss before losing their seat.

Requesting A Different Structure

The proposed act allows communities to petition the Minister for an alternate form of education body. This answers the concern about recognition of local forms of governance already established. There were questions raised about the petition process. While the actual process will be defined in the regulations, the committee did amend the proposed act to require the Minister to respond to a petition within 90 days.

The Responsibilities Of Education Bodies

A key issue for the committee was the responsibilities of the different education bodies. Presenters expressed concern over the flexibility and lack of clarity in how this new system of governance would work. While the emphasis on local involvement in education is applauded, Members felt that the division of powers between the district education authorities and the division education councils is so flexible and lacking in structure that confusion will arise, resulting in the status quo rather than increasing local powers. Members were also concerned about how divisional councils would operate efficiently and economically when they provide a different set of services and support to each of the district education authorities within their mandate. If this system of governance is to be successful, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will have a major task of working with the various education bodies to facilitate a satisfactory sharing of duties which will meet the needs of each community.

Presenters wondered why the existing names, divisional board and community education council, could not be retained. The committee understands the department's explanation that this is a completely different system of governance that requires new names. However, a question remains about whether the education bodies could choose to retain their current titles regardless of the formal terminology in the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I will now defer to the Member for Inuvik, Mr. Fred Koe.

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for not citing the Minister the question was directed to. I would like to ask the question, perhaps, of the Minister of Finance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the government adjusting their program in terms of government liaison officers throughout the Northwest Territories, were they a special case aside from those normal government employees? They appear to have been treated differently than regular employees living in Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I listened with interest to the response that was given to me by the Premier. I would like to thank the Premier for giving me an answer on the government liaison officers. The government has a workforce adjustment program as a policy, I believe. If a government employee's position is eliminated because of program adjustments, they cannot apply to the workforce adjustment program. Is that true?

Mr. Speaker, it the communities are interested in extending their airports to allow bigger aircraft to land in their community so that the economy could be better for the community ... If the community would like to own a runway so that they could extend it since the government will not or cannot afford to extend the runway for a jet airstrip, would the government at least entertain a proposal from the community for the ownership?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, is the government open to negotiating the ownership of the small airports which they own in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recommendation 3 is that the Department of Finance, through the Minister, provide copies of the GNWT Cash Flow Projection Schedule to Members of the Legislative Assembly on a monthly basis.

Administration Of Municipal Loans/Loan Lending Practices

Many capital and land development projects in municipalities are financed by loans provided by the government through the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. The Department of Finance administers these loans which, for a number of reasons, may end up not being repaid, as was recently the case in one municipality.

The Auditor General has identified the following concerns:

-When borrowing for most long-term capital projects, municipalities must obtain approval of their taxpayers. However, where the loan is to be repaid from the proceeds of sales of developed land, the municipality can request a waiver of taxpayer approval. In this event, the loan can be repaid only from the sale proceeds and not from general tax revenues or special funds created for other purposes. If, as happened in Iqaluit, the municipality is unable to sell the land, then the government is on the hook for the amount of the loan.

-The Auditor General commented that, particularly in times of fiscal restring, it doesn't make sense for the government to assume risk without resource. He suggests that if the government wants to be in the business of lending money, it should:

- establish sound business practices

- analyze projects for viability

- assess all risks.

The Auditor General notes that the government has loaned millions of dollars to tax-based municipalities for capital projects. Given economic realities, it may be time to look at alternatives. For tax-based municipalities, he suggests that private sector financing may be an option, and could include refinancing existing loans. This would have the advantage of freeing up significant amounts of cash for the government to address other needs, and also improve commercial lending experience in the north.

In discussions with the committee, the Department of Finance indicated that they will continue to explore alternatives for meeting municipal borrowing needs. The deputy minister of Finance informed the committee that the government is in the process of re-examining its position on borrowing and then lending its surplus. For now, meaning the present fiscal year, this practice still appears to provide a net benefit to the government because the interest earned by the government from municipal loans does not reduce the grant from Canada. Therefore, municipal loans are attractive as a government investment. The results of the review will be presented as options for Cabinet to consider.

The standing committee understands the dynamics of the situation, but cautions the government that, if the costs of the municipal lending program exceed the net benefits, the government should endeavour to institute fall-back measures to minimize the impact on our financial position.

The Auditor General also recommended that the criteria for waiving ratepayer approval be reviewed and changes should be made to allow greater flexibility in collecting delinquent loans from a municipality's general and special funds. On this issue the deputy minister of Municipal and Community Affairs noted that it was not an option, as it is contrary to the spirit and intent of the municipal legislation.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has indicated that they established the Debenture Review Committee in 1993 to review municipal loan applications. The committee will assess the viability of land development projects and make recommendations to the deputy minister and the Minister regarding waiving of ratepayer approval. The department "supports more rigorous scrutiny of long-term borrowing where ratepayer's approval is waived."

The Department of Finance also informed the committee that the number of municipal loans is decreasing. Ratepayers are turning down requests for funding and where their approval is waived, the new Debenture Review Committee is asking serious questions of municipalities regarding self-liquidating developments.

The Department of Finance, in cooperation with Municipal and Community Affairs and Justice, has also recently completed a new Financial Administration Manual Directive for municipal loan agreements. It was sent to the Financial Management Board in March 1995.

The committee noted that the tightening of controls and the installation of the Debenture Review Committee seems to be an improvement. However, the standing committee is concerned that the government must take every precaution, and analyze every risk, to ensure that there is a net benefit in the municipal lending process. The committee also encourages the government to take every possible step to lessen the impact of long-term loan agreements on the government's financial position.

Mr. Speaker, I will now ask our colleague and chairperson of the committee, Mr. Henry Zoe, to conclude the report. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the employee had made a proposal to the Department of Public Works, with the full support of the regional staff of DPW, in terms of fulfilling her position that she could be used by the government in that particular area. Apparently, it requires headquarters' approval. Mr. Speaker, I wonder why her proposal, that was supported by the regional staff, hasn't been approved yet by headquarters. Thank you.