Mr. Edward Helwer (Gimli): Madam Speaker, earlier this month it was announced that the Interlake Regional Health Authority received accreditation from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation. This makes the Interlake Regional Health Authority the first regional health authority in Manitoba to receive recognition from the federal health regulator that national standards are being met. The members of the Interlake Regional Health Authority are a group with innovative ideas who are dedicated to finding ways to ensure that all components of the health care system best serve the people of the Interlake. As part of their dedication, the regional health authority chose to apply for accreditation earlier than most of the other RHAs, while the transition process is to be sure that they were meeting national standards from the very beginning. When the regional health authority system was put in place in 1997, the goal was to achieve better co-ordination of services to improve access and to allow us to make the best use of our health care resources.

With this announcement that the regional health authority has received accreditation, Manitobans can be assured that the RHA system is working. I am sure that it will not be long before all regional health authorities in Manitoba receive the same recognition. So I would commend all the members of the IRHA and the health care staff in the Interlake region on earning this distinction and for their continued dedication to providing quality health care through the Interlake area. Thank you.

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Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, today is April 14, the 300th birthday of Khalsa and the celebration of Sikhs the world over and Sikhs here in Manitoba. I had the honour of attending the flag-raising ceremony today at City Hall, and all of us, of course, have worked with the Sikh community here in Manitoba and have participated in the celebration of Khalsa and more importantly the principles of Khalsa dealing with humanity, forgiveness, hope, love, equity and racial tolerance.

The history of Sikhs in Canada is one that deals with challenges: the safe passage laws that were in place and where our party federally fought against those laws at the turn of the century and through this century. Madam Speaker, even up till the early '50s Sikhs did not have the vote in Canada. In fact, our party fought very hard in the late '40s for the vote in British Columbia, the former CCF Party, to recognize that people, as members of the Commonwealth, should have the vote in our country. We still have a lot of work as a community to deal with the strengths of our community, the diversity of our community, and racism in our community. This, on the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Khalsa, we should rededicate ourselves to the principles of tolerance and the principles of understanding. Thank you very much.

Ms. MaryAnn Mihychuk (St. James): Madam Speaker, many Manitobans are wondering why it is that this government has such an inability or unwillingness to negotiate with aboriginal people. This government is willing to spend over $500 million buying Centra Gas and untold hundreds of millions in buying Winnipeg Hydro, but places little priority on settling issues like the fisheries dispute at Grand Rapids. No one disputes the fact that Grand Rapids Dam seriously damaged the fishing industry. The government admits that the compensation to the town and fishers is due. The majority of fishers in this province are based in northern Manitoba, and the Northern Flood treaties recognize the power projects in the North which gave this province the cheapest electricity in the western world and damaged traditional fishery and hunting areas in northern Manitoba. We are told that in the 1992 settlement with the band, it only covered damages to river fish stocks not the depletion of fish stocks in the lake itself where the vast majority of fishing occurs.

Last year, when the House of Commons fishery committee met at Grand Rapids, the seriousness of the situation was laid out. The minister responsible had been asked to meet with the parties involved and refused. This made the situation at Grand Rapids worse for the residents and is hurting the reputation of Manitoba Hydro across this province. Ignoring the concerns of fishers is not in the interest of anyone. If the minister is not willing to meet with the people of Grand Rapids, then the Premier should step forward and set up a meeting himself.

Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): Madam Speaker, I would just like to extend my congratulations to Frontier College on their 100th anniversary that they held the other night. It was held at the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre where I was very proud to attend.

Frontier College has helped many, many people overcome their inabilities to read and write, and I experienced that first-hand when I was the employment counsellor supervisor for the Limestone Dam. There was a volunteer from the Frontier College who used to volunteer their time in the evenings, and many of the workers that were working on that dam 12 hours a day were faithfully going in the evenings to take the upgrading to help enable them read and write. I personally value that because my mother, who is 81 years old, cannot read or write, and I remember as a young child accompanying her to the grocery stores where she had labels off soup cans to make sure that she got the right soup that she wanted.

When they had the anniversary for Frontier College, it was also to assist the funding for Beat the Street. Beat the Street is a valuable program that does not look at colour, and its doors are open to anyone who wants to upgrade their reading and writing skills. If you walk into their offices and classrooms, you will see people from all walks of life that are finally getting a chance. It is people and organizations like that that we as citizens of Canada owe gratitude, and hopefully we will always support those kinds of programs to make one’s own life and their families lives much better anyway we can. Thank you, Madam Speaker.