Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee, of course, is concerned and I was just wondering what has actually been done. Is there any evidence that the government is acting so that this situation will not happen again? Could the Minister of FMBS answer that for me, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just with respect to some of the noted deficiencies, as we’re reviewing Bill 9, with regard to providing grants to organizations that have not received a proper accounting from the year before, I’m just wondering, Mr. Chairman, if the Minister can comment on the existing guidelines to providing funds to organizations when they haven’t really been accounting for previous usage. What are the guidelines in use today? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, we wish to consider the sessional statement, as well as Bill 9, Bill 10, and Minister’s Statement 49-15(3), Fiscal Update.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be just as interested to partake in those discussions, as well. In fact, there is thinking out there that our current guidelines will be below the standard of other jurisdictions. Is the Minister willing to sit down with Members on this side of the House? When will he be discussing changes to guidelines? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I would like to take the Minister up on that invitation as I am unaware of that guideline. Speaking of guidelines, does the Minister have any plans to review the current guidelines with respect to this issue?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I do believe that I stand firm that it certainly is one of the communities or probably the only community that still doesn’t have this facility. I would like to ask the Minister, will he provide the same recreational opportunities to the students of Nahanni Butte that others have in the Northwest Territories, and will the Minister commit to undertake a feasibility or engineering study to cost out this project in this fiscal year?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister promise to the youth in Nahanni Butte that they will be provided with the same recreational opportunities that all other youth of the Northwest Territories enjoy before all the students currently attending school in the Nahanni Butte have graduated? Mr. Speaker, we have a whole generation that will graduate before even getting a gymnasium. They can’t even play volleyball and indoor soccer. I would like the Minister to look at getting us a gymnasium. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today on the issue of recreation and recreational facilities, specifically in the community of Nahanni Butte. It is a well-known fact that a good, comprehensive education requires not only academic or vocational instruction, but recreational opportunities as well. More than that, the provision of recreational opportunities is a necessary part of helping people make healthy lifestyle choices. I am pleased to see that the government recognizes this fact. In the 2004 strategic plan, which the Minister of Education earlier referred to...

I move we report progress.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Certainly I’m really pleased to see some of the updates and some of the achievements of our visions that we had when we began the Assembly, that we developed in January and February; in particular with regard to the challenging needs of our health and social services needs of all the communities and our whole territory. There was also some progress on addressing our formula financing needs. In particular, I think one of the best things that we’ve achieved so far to date, of course, is balancing our budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year. That was quite an...