Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Blake Lyons, president of the Northwest Territories Association of Communities.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, on a more personal note, I am proud to mention here that earlier this spring, my boy, Warren Gus, completed his four-year apprenticeship course at SAIT and NAIT and is now a licensed journeyman automotive mechanic working in Inuvik.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, convocation ceremonies were held at the University of Saskatchewan on May 31st where my wife and partner of 34 years, Betty Elias, obtained her bachelor of education degree.

---Applause

I know I speak for every one of our family when I say we are really proud of her and look forward to having her home again. Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues, please join me in congratulating and wishing all these people a successful future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of this House the achievements of some students from my riding of Nunakput. As the school year closes in some of my communities, or college programs come to an end for the year, graduation ceremonies were held and in some cases diplomas were awarded.

Mr. Speaker, graduation ceremonies were held at Helen Kalvak School in Holman on June 3rd for Lisa Alikamik and Jeanine Arey as they both completed their Grade 12.

In Paulatuk, graduation ceremonies were held at Angik School on May 22nd for Angus Dillon as he completed his Grade 12.

On May 9th, graduation ceremonies were held at Aurora College in Inuvik for John Lucas Jr. of Sachs Harbour who graduates with a diploma in natural resource technology.

Also, Annie Felix and Evelyn Cockney both completed their third year of the Aurora College teacher education program and can now look forward to entering their final year of training.

Mr. Speaker, as well, special graduation ceremonies were held at Angik School in Paulatuk on May 22nd for three Inuvialuit women who graduated from the early childhood development program, namely Irene Ruben, Mary Green and Molly Ruben. This was a four-year training program sponsored by Aurora and Yukon colleges and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, these Inuvialuit grads are some of the first graduates from this distance learning program. For the past four years, these three women have demonstrated strong Inuvialuit character while completing their distance learning assignments, attending to their individual family needs and working at the Paulatuk Child Development Centre on a daily basis. I wish to extend my congratulations and compliments to both the grads and the organizers for completion of a successful program. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to complete my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the tragic events in Walkerton, Ontario and North Battleford, Saskatchewan, governments across the country have focused on reviewing and improving the systems they have in place to provide safe drinking water to their residents. This government is no different.

While the front line for provision of safe drinking water is the local community government, a number of territorial departments also play a part. Health and Social Services establishes the health standards and monitors the quality of drinking water. Municipal and Community Affairs provides financial resources for reconstruction and operation of community water systems and provides operator training through the School of Community Government.

Public Works and Services provides technical support for the construction and operation of water system infrastructure. Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development contributes to the protection of our water sources. Together, the departments developed and in June 2001, received Cabinet approval for the safe drinking water initiative.

Under this initiative, the departments have completed a review of the roles and responsibilities the various organizations and agencies involved in the NWT drinking water system. They have completed inspections and assessment of all water treatment facilities in all non-tax-based communities with the exception of those where facility upgrades are already underway. They are nearing completion of a good engineering practices manual to guide the design and construction of northern drinking water and sewer systems. They have created a data base of drinking water test results and made those results available online at the Public Works and Services web site.

Municipal and Community Affairs is providing five training and certification courses this year for community water system operators in the communities of Hay River, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. Public Works and Services is providing onsite training and technical support to communities delivering water services. Health and Social Services is monitoring community drinking water quality test results to identify and address potential problems. Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is working with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in updating and developing national water quality guidelines to protect the sources of our drinking water.

Pilot testing of membrane filtration technology has been undertaken to develop cost-effective treatment methods for water plants. Projects are currently in the planning and design stage for Rae-Edzo, Tsiigehtchic, Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope. All these efforts are enforcing a water supply system that is blessed with good quality water sources and a lack of agriculture pressure such as those that contribute to the problems in Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Recent media reports might lead you to believe there are problems with the NWT drinking water. This is not the case. The system is working. However, we cannot take the safety of our drinking water for granted. We all have a role to play, whether it is to protect the community water sources from contamination, providing effective treatment processes, or as local building owners who have a responsibility to clean their water storage tanks.

Significant improvements have been made to the NWT water system over the past few years and it is working effectively to provide safe drinking water to residents. Health and Social Services, MACA, Public Works and Services and RWED are continuing to look at the structure of the NWT drinking water system to identify areas that can be further strengthened. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the excellent work of the emergency personnel from the town of Hay River and the Hay River Reserve during the flood of the Hay River, which occurred in both communities beginning on April 30th.

I visited both communities on May 1st, where I met with evacuated residents and viewed the damage caused by flooding. Seeing the affected areas in the West Channel area on Vale Island and in the Old Village on the reserve, showed me the difficult situation emergency workers faced evacuating the affected residents when it was realized the area would flood.

Mr. Speaker, the town and the Hay River Reserve's emergency response teams are familiar with responding to flood emergencies during the spring breakup period. However, every emergency response requires coordinated and speedy action.

Both emergency teams worked effectively together monitoring the flood, responding to the flood and organizing and carrying out the evacuation. Each community's follow-up with the residents, while they were displaced from their homes, ensured all were provided adequate emergency food and shelter.

Both communities also worked hard to assist the evacuees to recover from the flood by restoring their property to a livable state. I greatly appreciate the hard work and the concern shown by the emergency teams for ensuring the safety and comfort of the evacuees.

Mr. Speaker, emergency response work is difficult and trying. Emergency officials and volunteers must act quickly to ensure an appropriate response is mounted against every threat or situation. The threat that was posed by the flood required fast action on the part of both emergency response teams to keep residents safe.

Mr. Speaker, I have written to Mayor McNeill and to Chief Fabian to personally acknowledge the good work of their community emergency response teams.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 9, 2003, I will move that Bill 25, Municipal Statutes Replacement Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, I can't commit to meeting with the president before the House closes because he's not in the territory. I have committed to meeting with the president, responding to his issues, and report those issues back to the House, but I can't guarantee it's going to be by Friday.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have said already I am committed to meeting with the president. At the present time, I am told that the president is out of the territory, but he will be back in a week or so and we would then set up a meeting and take it from there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm just as concerned as the Member is as to where Sport North is in relation to accepting this board. Up to now, it was indicated to me that, although reluctantly, they did in fact agree to forming this new board. So I'm prepared to approach the president of Sport North, and sit down and see what exactly we can do to resolve this issue; whether or not in fact we're going to end up putting the board in place or some other alternative to the board. I am not sure that we're going to be able to resolve this in the near future, but I'm opening the door to consultations with Sport North. Hopefully, I'll have input from the other sports organizations and the recreation boards as well. Thank you.