Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister responsible for the W.C.B. During public hearings held by the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions it was revealed that whereas W.C.B. used to have a contract with a single law firm in Yellowknife, this year it contracted with three firms to meet the same legal requirement. Could the Minister indicate whether this decision has been based on legal assessment of board needs, or is it simply an attempt by the W.C.B. administration to build a case for in-house legal counsel in further year's budgets? Thank you.

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, the tender for the provision of legal services to the Workers' Compensation Board was a decision made by the board itself and not the administration. I am certainly not privy to the reasons why the matter was handled in that way. I can tell the Legislature that I have had discussions with the new Chairperson of the board about this matter. He informs me, and I agree, that the present situation is unsatisfactory, that there are sizeable amounts being spent on legal advice by the Workers' Compensation Board, and that the option of obtaining the capability in-house certainly seems a viable option in light of the sizeable amounts which have been spent with various firms in getting legal opinions. I think this is an option which the board is looking at and probably should look at. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The territorial Audit Bureau might be in a position to review contracting procedures with government agencies. Will the Minister consider asking the Government Leader to include this matter in the bureau's internal audit plan for 1993-94?

Mr. Patterson.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, thank you.

Oral Questions. Supplementary, Mr. Pudluk.

Mr. Speaker, my final supplementary. At a time when assessment rates are skyrocketing and the Y.M.I.R. is barely sufficient to meet the basic needs of injured workers, is the Minister willing to take responsibility for assuring the House and the public at large that the most economic, efficient and effective administrative procedures are being used by the W.C.B. to meet their requirement for legal services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, both myself and the present Chair of the Workers' Compensation Board are, frankly, not convinced that the sizeable monies spent now on a yearly basis for legal advice are producing good value for money. I therefore have no difficulty in responding, yes, to the honourable Member that I am certainly willing to take responsibility for seeing that a review of the present situation is undertaken. It is a matter which has already been brought to the attention of the Chair and it is a matter in which we can obviously improve on. I have no hesitation in answering, yes, to that question. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Todd.

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I wish that I had the power to allow the rates to be approved or not approved, as the Member may know that power for better or for worse lies exclusively with the Workers' Compensation Board. I can assure the House, Mr. Speaker, that I have been involved to the extent possible through the Chairperson of the board in scrutinizing and ensuring the maximum possible scrutiny of the process used to set the 1993 rates. I have been involved as actively as possible in ensuring that the rates are as low as possible given the accident frequency and severity in the Northwest Territories in recent years. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

The Minister should be aware that while this years increases have been capped at 25 per cent, that the rates for northern building construction industry has increased by 141 per cent since 1988. The painting, decorating and flooring firms have experienced a 250 per cent increase since 1988. How can the Minister honestly expect business people in the north to be able to stay in business when pressures like this are added to this government agency? Can he explain it to me, please?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the hardship on certain classes of employers in the Northwest Territories economy. I can tell the honourable Member that I have written the Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Board recommending, and I think this was a recommendation of the A.B.C. committee review, if I recall correctly, that the definition of employer sub-classes be reviewed with a view to ensuring that there was as much equity as possible in place in defining employer sub-classes. I have also written to the board and suggested that a penalty assessment and a merit rebate process should be implemented to reward work places where there have been safe practices and a reduced accident record, and penalize those who have caused problems. Mr. Speaker, since I was apprised of the rate increases, and on the advice of the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions I have seen to it that the Workers' Compensation Board undertake a second opinion from another independent actuary to determine whether the rate setting process and the resultant rates are necessary for the coming year. I expect the results of that review by the end of the month. I would like to assure the honourable Member, Mr. Speaker, that I too share his great concern about the impact on northern businesses. I fully understand that this additional blow will be something which will make the line for survival even more difficult in these times. I suppose in hindsight now it might have been wiser in previous years not to have capped rate increases because rate increases were capped in the last couple of years and the consequences are now being visited on us when the recession is even deeper. Mr. Speaker, those are some measures which I have asked the board to undertake and we will soon have the benefit of a second actuarial opinion as to whether those rates were calculated in the most effective way possible with a view to the employers' interests. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board. I have been absolutely dismayed by the announcement that the W.C.B. employer's assessment will be increased by an average of 12 per cent, effective January 1. The board has stated publicly, and I quote the full page advertisement that appears in the November 4 edition of the Yellowknifer, "the major reason for this increase is the higher cost of accidents and subsequent treatment costs."

Mr. Speaker, that may be part of the reason, but I think it is also necessary to look within the administrative framework of the board itself to understand the full basis of the rate hike. For instance, can the Minister advise the House whether the board has carried out the potential impact of fraudulent claims on the overall financial status of the Workers' Compensation Board?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am informed that the board has decided to establish an internal audit process to address this issue and also to address the issue of the many employers who fail to report their activities in the Northwest Territories which also costs the board significant revenue. So the board has made a decision to develop a process to deal with those matters, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.