Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am certainly prepared to do so. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of W.C.B. I had a report of the concerns of the residents of the Northwest Territories for the Workers' Compensation Board. They did not know the differences with the different boards. They did not know the residents of Yellowknife and outside Yellowknife accordingly the committee recommended that the board should develop a strategy for meeting outside Yellowknife on several occasions over the course of the year. Can the Minister advise the House how many times the board has, in fact, met outside Yellowknife since June, 1992? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Patterson.

The board has not met outside Yellowknife once since June, 1992, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Supplementary, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the board has not been bothering to meet regularly outside Yellowknife as the standing committee outlined, will the Minister indicate whether the recommended strategy for future regional meetings is complete and available for tabling in this House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that through the good offices of the Chairman of the caucus of this Legislature a meeting has been arranged for Wednesday of this week with the Chair of the Workers' Compensation Board to brief Members on the rate increases and other matters of concern. I would suggest this matter appropriately be raised with the new Chair of the board. I do not know if the board has developed a policy for meeting outside the capital. I will encourage them to do so, but I do not know the answer to that question and it is the sort of thing that could very well be properly brought up in the briefing I have arranged for two days from now. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Workers' Compensation Board. The Minister knows that in 1989 an independent review committee recommended the Minister should be empowered to take a more active role in monitoring and management of the Workers' Compensation Board. This position was again supported when the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions carried out its comprehensive review. The position was further supported by a motion in this House on June 29, 1992, yet it seems as though the Minister has had less to do with the management of the board rather than more. Will the Minister indicate to the House what he has done to develop policy guidelines of the increased ministerial role recommended by the 1989 review committee as well as by the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, the matter referred to by the Member is a matter which requires legislative change. I think it is very clear that the present legislation constitutes the Workers' Compensation Board as a very independent corporate body which has "exclusive jurisdiction" to quote the act in a number of areas. So, until the legislation is changed, Mr. Speaker, I do not think anything could be done about the authority of the Minister to take a more active role in the day to day activities of the board. However, I do want to assure the honourable Member, that I have had more to do with the Workers' Compensation Board than any other Minister in recent years. I would inform the Member that my contacts with the Chairperson of the Workers' Compensation Board in recent months have been frequent and often daily and I am working very closely with the board through the Chair. Legislative or no legislative change, that is now happening. I will look forward to recommendations of the legislative review on how that matter can be dealt with in a more permanent way through possible legislative change. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Given the statements, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister make a firm commitment to bring about the legislative and policy changes that will finally allow him to exercise and assert influence that this organization so badly needs?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, as the honourable Member knows in our system of government that power does not alone rest with the Minister. What I am committed to doing is presenting to the Standing Committee on Legislation, a legislative action plan which would deal with that issue among other issues. I think the process next would call for hearings, submissions from the public, and input from Members of this Assembly to determine the final shape of the legislative package. However, Mr. Speaker, I will commit to recognizing that this is a very important and sensitive issue which must be addressed, and I am well aware of the Members views and the standing committees views that there should be a more active role permitted legislatively by the Minister. This will be addressed in the legislative action plan, but where that will go from here, I cannot guarantee. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Clearly the Workers' Compensation Board is carrying out its mandate according to its seemingly narrow priorities, with seemingly little consideration for the way its decisions are impacting workers and employers in the communities across the north. The average 12 per cent hike in assessment rates and failure of the board to bother developing a workable definition for hunters and trappers coverage are examples. It seems the Minister is reluctant to take the direct role in the management and decision-making of this agency. Will the Minister consider a process through which Members of this Assembly are more directly involved in providing guidance to the Workers' Compensation Board?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, of course two days from now the Members of the Assembly will have an opportunity, directly, to hold the Chair of the board accountable, for their actions at a caucus meeting. As far as an ongoing process to involve M.L.A.s in the operation of the board, I think the route that has so far traditionally been followed in our Legislature is that M.L.A.s have input into the operation of government departments, and boards and agencies, by holding the Minister responsible for that board and agency accountable for the operations of that board and agency. I think this is the route to go. I cannot see a way in which the Legislature could have a direct relationship with the board. I think our system calls for the accountability to be exercised through the accountability of a Minister to this House. I am a bit puzzled by the Members question. I think the route is for Members to have a Minister accountable to them and for the Minister to have the tools to hold the board accountable. That latter device, the ability for the Minister to hold the board accountable is something that is obviously going to have to be reviewed in the case of the W.C.B. because right now the tools are very limited. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Patterson.