Mr. Gerry McAlpine (Sturgeon Creek): Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today in the House and inform all members about a constituent who is celebrating a birthday this month. Mrs. Ethel Maude Smith is a Christmas Eve baby, a celebration in itself. However, the true celebration is the fact that Mrs. Smith turns 108 years old this year.

Born and raised south of Minnedosa, Mrs. Smith married a railroad engineer at age 21. Widowed in 1947, she moved to the city of Winnipeg to be closer to her two daughters. In 1985, she moved into Oakview Place where she still currently resides.

In her long life, Mrs. Smith has been an active community member in the Eastern Star and the St. Mark's Anglican Church. She particularly enjoys singing hymns. During her retirement years, she enjoyed travelling through the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Canada. As well, she enjoys gardening and needlework.

Madam Speaker, Mrs. Smith and I have one interest in common, our mutual enjoyment of hockey. Nurses tell me that she can often be found watching the latest hockey game on television.

On behalf of all members of this House, I want to extend my best wishes to Mrs. Smith on the occasion of her 108th birthday, and I sincerely hope that she is blessed with good health and happiness in the years to come. As the average life expectancy among Canadians increases, we need only to look to Mrs. Smith to know that a high quality of life is available to all of us in our senior years. Thank you.

Mr. Eric Robinson (Rupertsland): Madam Speaker, I rise today to express our sorrow and also to extend our sincere sympathies to the Little Grand Rapids First Nation--and I do that on behalf of the official opposition--and also to the families of the people that were killed in that unfortunate accident at Little Grand Rapids yesterday.

I believe that many people in this House are aware of the condition of some of our northern airstrips and some of the dangers that are associated in travelling in northern Manitoba. As Councillor Nelson Keeper, who has done a tremendous job in the last 24 hours in keeping people aware of the situation at Little Grand Rapids--this cannot be described as anything less than a most unfortunate and devastating situation.

The airstrips we are talking about were built 20 to 25 years ago for medivacs primarily, and since then populations have expanded in northern communities and this has not been taken into consideration. It is not uncommon for airstrips to be shut down for periods of time as well in the springtime and the falltime because of weather conditions. Certainly I think that, if anything else, Madam Speaker, unfortunately this is a wake-up call for both levels of government and the First Nations leadership that the transportation systems in northern communities have to be examined, and certainly a task force to examine the northern transportation systems in Manitoba is not out of the question.

On behalf of the official opposition, we extend our sincere sympathies to the families and to the Little Grand Rapids reserve. We certainly support them morally, if anything, at this time. Thank you.

Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): Madam Speaker, I too would like to, together with my honourable colleague opposite, extend our condolences to those who have lost family and friends at Little Grand Rapids, also those who were injured, their families, friends and also fellow employees. Certainly, at this time of year--at any time it is devastating--but at this time of year as we are approaching Christmas, as families and friends get together, we certainly also feel their pain with them.

On behalf of the government here, I would like to express our condolences, and our prayers go with the families that have been affected. Thank you.

Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Madam Speaker, I rise today to honour and congratulate Ian Ross, the Manitoba playwright who in November was awarded the Governor General's prize for drama. He was particularly cited for his play "Farewell" which was first performed at Prairie Theatre Exchange in January '96.

I had the privilege to attend the performance, and I can assure this House that Ian Ross's play is a challenging examination of reservation life, and by extension, a damning indictment of government policies. Historical and contemporary, federal and provincial, basically most government plans are weighed in the balance and found wanting.

The power of Ross's drama grows from his uncanny skill in developing character and revealing the heart. In his world, all characters--the odd and eccentric, the haunted and even the pedestrian--are humanized and adopted by audiences. He recognizes that the local is the only universal and writes about the life he knows--his people and the ground under his feet. Ian Ross has the rare ability to create drama which not only teaches and delights but accomplishes these purposes with humour and grace in order to win the minds and hearts of his audience. He is not a finger-wagging dramatist; a warm chuckle is more his style.

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Members of the House probably know Mr. Ross as "Joe from Winnipeg." Joe makes weekly appearances on CBC Radio. He is a typical Ross creation. The naive and innocent ordinary guy, whose common sense and plain observation, whose forthright comments on city oddities give us all reason to pause and examine our lives.

Ian Ross joins a spate of aboriginal dramatists, for example, Yvette Nolan and Monica Marks [phonetic]. They appear to follow in the steps of Tomson Highway. Their presence is a sure sign that aboriginal dramatists have carved a place for themselves and are here to stay. NDP members think this is a good thing.

In closing, I ask all members of the Legislature to join me in congratulating Ian Ross on his Governor General's Award. Manitobans, I know, are proud of him.

Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): Madam Speaker, this Chamber is quite used to hearing northern MLAs speak out on the poor condition and lack of maintenance of northern roads, but there are other voices.

On October 20 and 21, a constituent of mine and two other passengers were driving from Lynn Lake to Thompson for medical reasons. The 316-kilometre road was treacherous and icy. The four-wheel drive vehicle slipped off the road several times, and the vehicle was damaged. The trip back took six and a half hours. The Highways road report never mentioned icy road conditions. Here are excerpts of a letter my constituent addressed to the Minister responsible for Autopac and which was also published in the Northern Star on December 2 under the heading "Is there life after PR 391?"

Because of the nature of the tests the three of us were scheduled for, and because it takes months to get an appointment in Thompson, we had no choice but to travel on the day our appointments were scheduled. Now that the Manitoba government regionalized health care in northern Manitoba, and Thompson, Manitoba, is the central location, even more residents will find it necessary to travel the treacherous road between Thompson and Lynn Lake.

When will our government start taking their responsibilities seriously, and why are small communities throughout the North so badly neglected? Are we not part of Manitoba, Mr. Minister? There is life beyond the perimeter of Winnipeg. If the south deserves paved, double-laned highways, why are we neglected to the point whereby the Highways department chooses not to maintain the highway between Thompson and Lynn Lake during treacherous conditions? We all pay the same taxes, and we all pay taxes on the petro we burn.

After reading my concerns, Mr. Minister, I urge that you investigate as to why our roads are not maintained during periods of rain, sleet, snow, and also under what authority is your department going to penalize me because I had to travel for medical reasons and the Highways department neglected to ensure that a warning be in place for the public not to travel and to have the necessary equipment in place to ensure the safety of travellers? Yours truly, Sherron Loewen, Lynn Lake.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.