Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe that all people are always equal. But I also believe and I fully understand that we do have a claims process and aboriginal claims settled with certain people, and we have commitments to meet as a government. We have to work with those people to ensure that what they negotiated in their claim we fulfil as a government. Thank you.

Thank you. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have three questions for both candidates. I would like to ask both candidates, firstly, how important they think mining is to the economy of the Northwest Territories.

Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe mining is important to the economy in the Northwest Territories. I believe that we should not move ahead with mining without having the proper environmental checks and the proper environmental assessments, but I also believe that we should not make it too cumbersome so that it takes 1O years, for example, to establish a mine. That means that the mining companies themselves should have their information together on how it's going to affect the land. You have to have a place in that process for the communities being involved in environmental hearings, which is in place and which is good. I believe that the benefits should go to northerners and that we should work with the mining companies to get our people trained so that they do benefit from those jobs. Thank you.

Your second question, Mr. Barnabas.

I would like to disregard my two other questions as they were already answered. Thank you.

Mr. Krutko, followed by Mr. Evaloarjuk. Mr. Krutko.

Yes, you've used up four questions...

---Laughter

According to my...Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've always supported claims and treaty land entitlement. I believe that we have to start off with the main thing and that is a strong community government so people can make the decisions at the community level and be responsible at the community level for those decisions they make. In some processes, people want and have talked about a strong regional government. If that's the way people want to go, we have to talk with them and we have to try to work that into the process. But we do need a strong central government as well. The key is, once again, we have to figure out a way and we have to figure it out with our communities and our community leaders how to get the dollars from here to the community in the most effective way, and not waste it on levels and levels and levels of bureaucracy. But I believe that you can do it. As long as people are willing to work together you can accomplish it. Thank you.

Thank you. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Next is Mr. Enuaraq, followed by Mr. Dent and Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have three questions for the candidates for the Premier. First of all, some residents and some families in my constituency are suffering from severe social problems such as suicide, family violence and alcohol and drug abuse. In many cases, this is a direct result of the attacks on our renewable resources economy, especially the harvest of seal skins by animal rights activists. I would first like to ask each candidate for Premier whether social assistance will be a priority in the administration.

Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Social problems in the North are running rampant. We have a lot of social problems in the North. We don't have the luxury of southern politicians where the decisions that they make they don't have to see the effects or feel the effects; we do. We have to go back to our communities to bury our dead, we have to pick our people up off the street. So let me assure you that I see it, I feel it and I see it daily when I go on the streets of Yellowknife as well as in my community. The social problems have to be addressed and we have to work hard together to address them. But the key is the community has to come up with the solutions and we have to give them the tools to do it. The community will come up with those solutions, they will come up with some real good ideas because my communities have, and we have to assist them. It's key that the aboriginal people help the aboriginal people to solve their own problems, that's key. They're not going to be solving those problems in institutions in the South, they're going to solve those problems right at the community level. Thank you.