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

It has been almost four weeks now since the issue was raised. People are still living in the unit. The nurses have a report stating that this is a serious matter. Because of the lack of housing in this community, people have to live in houses such as this. I urge the Minister to act quickly to look at this. I have no question on the matter.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have instructed my department to rectify the problem. I hope it is done. I will get back to the Member this week. Thank you.

Thank you. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize in the gallery, six visitors from Italy: two members of the Fur Council of Italy, a journalist and a film crew. The tour is being coordinated by the Fur Institute of Canada and the Department of Renewable Resources. They are here to collect material to produce an Italian film in an exhibit promoting trapping in the wild fur industry of northern Canada.

---Applause

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Government Leader. We have gone through a process on Friday and today to select three new Ministers. Watching across the hall from here, I see Rebecca and John doing very little. I wanted to ask them some questions. I do not know which questions to ask them. When will we know what kind of questions to ask these new Ministers? Thank you.

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, lately some Members have been pressing me on when the portfolios would be awarded. As I have said, I wanted to have this concluded to see who the additional Member was so that all the strengths could be taken into consideration when awarding portfolios. I intend to do that tonight even if it takes me all night. Thank you.

---Applause.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have worked with the other Members who have resigned, such as Tony Whitford and Dennis Patterson. We had some initiatives going. I know some of the Members are acting Ministers. I want to make sure that these initiatives do not get left by the wayside. I wanted to ask the Government Leader to make sure that this does not happen. Thank you.

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, the honourable Members Todd and Mike have requested that they be briefed to make sure that they are fully aware of the initiatives undertaken by the person who had the former responsibility. I intend to do this to make sure that we do not lose the momentum. I know it seems disruptive but to make sure that life goes on, there will be that full briefing. I hope we will not miss any of those initiatives. As you know, each of the former Members had executive assistants and they have been asked to list the issues that have to be taken care of. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. During the Committee of the Whole on Monday, the Minister stated that decentralization is part of an economic plan for the N.W.T. I would like to know if there is an overall economic plan for the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I was to say that I could bring a written economic plan into this House, then I would be stating pie in the sky. The situation changes so rapidly. Is there an economic strategy? Yes, Mr. Speaker, our economic strategy is, by whatever means possible put people back to work. You can see that in this Cabinet it is being done, and by the responsibility of other departments, other than Economic Development and Tourism, to get involved in that.

Mr. Morin's departments are a good example of where he has gone out and negotiated contracts and made sure that northerners are put to work. In the area of housing we are breaking out packages so that people who manufacture goods in the Northwest Territories will have a chance to bid on those products and have them built in the Northwest Territories. We have an underlying strategy for more manufacturing in the Northwest Territories. We are encouraging large companies which may be in the oil and gas business or the mining business, to work with us and work with communities so that we can make sure that communities get a fair deal from these companies, that northerners are employed and northern businesses are engaged to support those companies.

We are working very hard in the arts and crafts industry. To that end we are looking at marketing. Across the Northwest Territories there is a great resurgence in fisheries, not only in Great Slave Lake but also in Rankin Inlet. There is interest in the Kitikmeot and, of course, in Pangnirtung where we are having quite a bit of success.

To say that there is a written strategy would be pie in the sky. We are trying to build on our strengths. We are trying to build on the strengths of the people in the Northwest Territories. It applies to all departments. The Department of Education has recognized that it must educate the young people of the Northwest Territories. If we are going to create jobs we must make sure that those people are educated well enough to do it.

Decentralization fits in, Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, in building strong regional centres. We believe that strong regional centres in the end will build strong regions and create a transportation system across the Northwest Territories that would allow commerce to flow. These are the goals that we have. There are a lot more, Mr. Speaker, but generally economic issues are discussed around the Cabinet table, and all departments are encouraged to make use of the funds or the activities within their departments to promote business and job creation in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, decentralization of the government is only a part of making strong regional centres. There are some centres in the Northwest Territories that are looking at very bright futures because of natural resources that occur within their jurisdiction. When we are trying to build on the strengths of communities or regions then we take those things into consideration as well. We believe that the mining industry will drive the Kitikmeot eventually. It is not very far down the road, Mr. Speaker. The same applies to the Dogrib area; there is a requirement for power in Yellowknife and there may be a requirement for power for those mining companies that are going to be working in the Dogrib areas. That is part of the economic plan. We can build on community strength. In the Dogrib area they have enough water capacity to generate electricity. That is the area in which we have chosen to work with the Dogrib Nation and they have agreed. It looks like they will have a bright future owning, operating and selling to us the power from those hydro dams. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Do you have a question, Mr. Zoe? Mr. Zoe.