Good morning. Orders of the day for Friday, February 14, 1992. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to announce that prices for all hunting licences and tags will increase in July 1993. This price increase will be the first overall adjustment since 1978. During the past two years department officials have conducted an extensive review and compared our prices with other jurisdictions. The findings indicate that in general our fees are lower and certainly do not reflect the uniqueness of some of the species of big game that are hunted in the Northwest Territories.

The new prices will bring our fee schedule in line with other jurisdictions. Furthermore, the new fees will better reflect the value we place on our wildlife resource. By announcing our intention now, the outfitting industry will have 18 months to review their operations plans and modify their marketing brochures. Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling a list of the increases today. Thank you.

Ministers' statements. Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a student's success in school depends on many factors. One of the most important of these factors is good health. Young people cannot concentrate on their studies if their basic health needs are not being met; for instance, if they are not eating nutritious food, or if they have not had enough sleep. There are also more serious threats to the health of our young people, including high-risk behaviours such as substance abuse.

In order to teach children good health practices, the Departments of Education, Health and Social Services jointly developed the NWT school health program, which became mandatory in all schools in 1987.

It is now important to find out what young people in the NWT have learned about health since the program was introduced. I am pleased to announce that Health and Welfare Canada has given the Department of Education a grant of $125,000 to conduct the first phase of such a study. The Department of Health and a group from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario will assist with the study.

Students will be surveyed about their attitudes toward health, their knowledge about health, and their actual behaviour. It will also assess the effect the school health program has had on the students, as well as the impact of various community factors.

The survey will ask people in the communities, as well as school staff, about the implementation of the health program in their school. This information will help determine how effective the program has been and will help staff from both the Department of Education and the Department of Health in planning for revised and new programs.

Mr. Speaker, if we are going to develop strategies that will help students improve their health, we must first assess what they have learned from the school health program and how other factors affect choices regarding their health. This project will be the first step toward gaining this information. Qujannamiik.

Ministers' statements. Ministers' statements. Before I go on to Members,' statements I would like to inform the House that later on this morning I will be giving a brief seminar to the teachers' conference. The teachers from across the Territories are here in Yellowknife, and Mr. Pudluk will assume the chair.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is Valentine's Day, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to assert today, my love for my fellow man, Members on this side, and even Members whom we have chosen to be our Executive Council. However, I have learned, Mr. Speaker, over the last several months, having gone through an election like everyone else, that the major criticism that was made of me is that my natural good nature has come to the fullest far too much over the last year or two. I have not been as tough as I should be; I have not been as demanding; I have not been as vocal; I have not been as critical, and I have not tried to make this government as accountable as it should be.

Therefore, although I will continue to love my fellow man as I was taught as a young boy in Sunday school and other places, Mr. Speaker, I will continue, to the very best of my ability, to represent the people of Yellowknife Centre so that they feel they have somebody in this House who represents their interests, and I will fight to the very, very last drop of my blood on their behalf. Thank you very much.

That is very nice Valentine's gift, Mr. Lewis. Members' statements. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a speeding ticket worth $58 which I received on February 1st while I was going to Hay River to attend a bingo with my family.

---Laughter Mr. Speaker, I was stopped by the motor vehicles officer of highway patrol on the south side of the Mackenzie River ice crossing. He issued a ticket to me for going 45 miles per hour in a 40 mile an hour speed zone. Mr. Speaker, I had exceeded the speed limit, but I was driving with due care and caution. I did not pass any vehicle on the ice crossing, and I made sure that there was adequate room between my truck and the vehicle in front of me, as well as the vehicle behind me. Mr. Speaker, I was wearing my seat belt.

---Applause

I made sure my passengers were wearing their seat belts as well. But I am upset about the fact that we can have as many as five highway-patrol vehicles stationed at Enterprise. While I have never encountered a patrol vehicle during my frequent travels to Fort Providence, Fort Simpson and Yellowknife, the day I was ticketed I noticed highway patrols on the north and south sides of the Mackenzie River ice crossing.

Mr. Speaker, I have a concern regarding certain communities being ticketed more than others. I have looked into the matter and have discovered that since July of 1991, 26 tickets have been issued in Hay River area, 14 have been issued in the Enterprise area, 11 tickets were issued in the Fort Providence area and one was issued in the Fort Rae/Yellowknife area. There do not seem to be any tickets issued by the motor vehicles officers on the Dempster Highway, the Ingraham Trail, the Fort Liard Highway, the Fort Resolution Highway nor the access roads to Apex and Nanisivik.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, I am a strong critic of the judicial system and its supposedly equal application to our society. I find it quite unacceptable that law enforcement is applied in one area but not in other jurisdictions. I will be pursuing the matter further, Mr. Speaker.

Members' statements. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This being Valentine's Day, I would like to speak about a very impressive woman in Baker Lake. Her name is Susan Toolooktook. Susan Toolooktook departed this morning for Nauhaaq, which is a hill across from our community, called Sugarloaf Mountain. She left this morning at 8:00 o'clock. There were 50 people who gathered on the ice at 7:30 this morning to wish her good luck. This walk is being called Nauhaaq, walk of love. She is doing this to raise money for local families that are poverty stricken. A committee has been formed to collect and oversee donations. A spokesperson for this committee has been chosen, and this is Tom Kudloo.

The weather in Baker Lake for February 14th is expected to be -38 degrees. Susan has brought an HF radio with her and plans to make contact with the community of Baker Lake to keep them informed of her progress. The round trip to Nauhaaq is 50 miles. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Jeannie Marie-Jewell on February 12, 1992. The new pulp and paper regulation package that was published in the Canada Gazette had been put together by Environment Canada following extensive public consultation with provincial and territorial governments, the pulp and paper industry and environment groups.

The Department of Renewable Resources participated in the public consultation meeting held in Yellowknife regarding the amendments and prepared a series of questions relating to the concerns of the Northwest Territories. Our major concern was how the regulations would address the cumulative effects of several mills operating on the same river system. Department officials also participated in a workshop in Ottawa regarding the amendments. This was also followed up by correspondence to the federal Minister of the Environment.

The federal Environment Minister responded to our question by stating that cumulative effects could not specifically be dealt with by "end of pipe" regulations. However, our concerns would be addressed by the Northern Rivers Study, and if problems arise once the regulations are in place, then site-specific regulations could be developed. Environmental effects-monitoring studies required by the pulp mills may also lead to more specific site requirements.

Therefore, after reviewing the draft regulations, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, and based on the comments from the federal Minister, the Government of the Northwest Territories' concerns have been addressed. Those regulations call for no detection of dioxins and furons in pulp mill effluent and a ban on defoamers which form dioxins and furons. Once these regulations are implemented, they will virtually eliminate dioxins and furons in pulp mill effluent. Thank you.

Returns to oral questions. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Education whether he is aware that in Inuvik, not only is the SAMS, Sir Alexander Mackenzie School, now working to rule, but the high school there is now considering working to rule because of dissatisfaction with a ruling that they cannot use 1.5 in-service days. I am told also that this is likely going to spread beyond those schools to other ones. Is the Minister aware that this situation is getting worse?

Minister of Education, Mr. Allooloo.

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the other school. The only information I have at this point is that it is teachers who are teaching at the SAM School who are concerned about the situation.

Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

In light of the fact that we do have a worsening situation -- and I verified this to be the case, Mr. Speaker -- what is the Minister prepared to do in order to cut this off, to prevent it from spreading?

Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have asked my department to pay very close attention to this situation. There is a process in place, as I outlined yesterday, for teachers requesting administration days in addition to the professional days that are available to them. I believe professional days are five days a year. I believe the teachers in Inuvik are requesting an additional 2.5 days to do their administrative work. My deputy minister is working on it to see what we can do. At this point, what I require is a community council supporting the teachers and taking it to the divisional board. It is up to the divisional board, if they approve it, to take the request to me. I am told that my office has the authority to grant the wishes if they are supported by both organizations. Thank you.

Second supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My information is that the teachers have not been told that they cannot have it, but they have to use the process. They cannot get the 2.5 days unless the community and the divisional board are supporting them. The education of the kids is very important, and the community should be involved. The Member should know that; he has been in the educational system long enough to know that it is very important for the communities to be involved in the educational system at the community level. I feel very strongly that community members who are sending their kids to school have to be involved in this process. I feel that government cannot unilaterally change the system without community support. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I might pursue the matter that has been raised by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre with the Minister of Education. Could the Minister assure me that he will use his good offices to try to bring some resolution of this particular issue that has been raised at Sir Alexander Mackenzie School and Samuel Hearne School, before it becomes a major problem for students, not only in Inuvik, but for students from the communities?

Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you. Yes.

Oral questions. Mr. Todd.

I am afraid to ask. My question, Mr. Speaker, is to the Minister of Health, and I do not want him to take offence with it. My question is about the "NWT Way," in terms of health care. In this "NWT Way" model for health care, the model includes a proposal that would require the Keewatin Region to send its patients to Yellowknife rather than to Churchill or Winnipeg. Mr. Speaker, the residents of my constituency have a long-standing association with the health care facilities in Churchill and in Winnipeg, which has proved very satisfactory over the last 10, 15, 20 years. We do not wish to lose, at this time, that association; and we do not want to send our sick people to Yellowknife. Will the Minister of Health now alleviate the concerns of the region by indicating to the House that he plans to reject the proposal where Keewatin patients travel to Yellowknife for health care?

Thank you. Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

Is the Minister not concerned that critically ill patients from the Keewatin will be placed at risk with respect to medevac charters, because in some cases in the region it will take twice as long to come to Yellowknife than it can to go to Churchill? Is he concerned about that?

Thank you. Mr. Whitford.

Thank you, Mr. Whitford. Mr. Todd, supplementary.

Will the Minister stand before the House now and at least partially admit, if nothing else, that one of the reasons for this change in referral process for the patients to come to Yellowknife is because we are trying to justify the utilization of the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital?

Thank you. Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Government Leader advise this House as to where Mr. Patterson is today? Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Patterson has travelled to Vancouver to attend the last of the constitutional talks.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Thebacha, supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can we ask the Government Leader, what is the purpose of Mr. Patterson's attendance at these constitutional talks, recognizing that the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs is at the same conference? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Patterson has a responsibility for legal matters as the Minister of Justice. As we are deliberating on these constitutional issues, the matter of the legalities and the justice part of discussion on constitutional issues are paramount. As Mr. Patterson has not attended any of the other meetings, we felt that it was to his benefit to attend the final one that was taking place in BC. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Supplementary, the Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing that Mr. Patterson has a department full of legal counsel individuals that can give assistance to the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister at this conference, and recognizing that the session is in place, was it not possible for Mr. Patterson to send either his deputy minister or any of the legal counsel individuals that he has in his department as opposed to his going to give legal advice? Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that all of us would like to see that the constitutional issue is handled as a purely clinical matter; however, even though you are deliberating the legal part and the legalities of how we evolve as a country and as a territory within Canada, there are a lot of political considerations that are being put forward now. There is the issue of whether the country is going to stay together, and how many of the issues are going to be revolving around the aboriginal rights issues. A lot of the issues that are being discussed are very political and, unfortunately, many times when the political aspirations of people are to be integrated into the overall planning of Canada, there are a lot of borderlines. I believe it is very important for people to know how these political aspirations are being put forward. Oftentimes it is difficult to know, unless you are involved with the discussions. I believe the justice system has an ongoing requirement to track that in terms of what people are saying, how they are saying it and how it is having a total mix on the eventual outcome of those deliberations.

Mr. Speaker, we did consider the working of this House. We took into consideration that the ongoing support of just the legal advisor could be very well accommodating; however, in terms of the overall deliberations that are going on, I believe it is advantageous for Mr. Patterson to be at the meeting at this time since he has the legal responsibility for our system. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Item 5, oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Education. The Minister of Finance indicated in his statement that we are in a time of fiscal restraint. I would like to ask the Minister of Education whether or not it is necessary for the teachers of the Northwest Territories to be spending large amounts of public moneys to have a three-day conference here in Yellowknife. I realize this has been a practice in the past, but do we need to spend that kind of money to have teachers travelling to attend conferences?

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Mr. Allooloo.

Mr. Speaker, my information is that the department is contributing a minimal amount of money to this conference. The teachers themselves are contributing to attend this conference. The major contributor is Yellowknife School District No. 1. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Amittuq. Supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister how much it is costing this government in wages, salaries, accommodation and travel. Which communities are involved? I know the teachers in Providence are here, too; so presumably there are a large number of communities involved.

I believe there are two questions there. Member for Amittuq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have those figures at this moment. I would have to take the question as notice.

The Member for Amittuq is taking the question as notice. Oral questions, Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on questions asked by the Member for Slave River to the Government Leader. In light of the fact that in order to qualify to be a participant in the final conference, you have to have attended at least one other, either Halifax, Montreal, Toronto or Calgary, how was the Minister of Justice able to participate in the final conference in Vancouver?

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is right that you had to have attended one previous meeting, to be allowed within the regular assembly. There was some indication that there would be some rules waived to allow the Minister of Justice to attend. I am not sure whether that was done or not. However, in discussion with Mr. Kakfwi, the Minister responsible for Aboriginal Rights and Constitutional Development, he indicated that the process allowed a great deal of opportunity for lobbying and discussion outside the actual assembly, and he felt that there were opportunities there to get to know other people's views, because there were almost as many people outside as inside, in a lot of cases, in particular with certain subject matters.

So with that presentation to myself, I felt that their argument was adequate for me to say that if that was the case and there was an opportunity for that lobbying and getting to know other people and perhaps people who were doing the major part of the work that were not in the assembly itself, and then during breaks of the assembly, that this type of interaction was going to be of benefit to us. But at this point in time I do not know whether those rules would have been waived to allow him in, although Mr. Patterson felt fairly sure that they would be. But I would be prepared to come back and find out if that did happen.

Supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same Minister. There are some ordinary Members who are part of our constitutional committee, and we participated in some of these meetings already. I went to Calgary and I went to Toronto. Mr. Bernhardt went to Halifax, and we were not involved, although we were part of our constitutional committee. We were observers because, we were told, you could only have two people that would participate. Since in Vancouver, then, we have Mr. Kakfwi, Mr. Patterson and also Mr. Funston, could the Minister tell me who are the participants and who are the observers among these three people?

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I would say that the two people who are there, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Constitutional and Aboriginal Rights, are the participants. I know Mr. Bernhardt was to go to the conference; however, he became ill. My understanding was that he would be attending. But even if he did attend, Mr. Patterson requested that he have the ability to go as well, just to have an opportunity to discuss and talk to people at large. So at this point in time, when people went down there, I would say that Mr. Patterson and Mr. Kakfwi are the official delegates or observers of this conference. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Centre.

This is the ultimate joke then, Mr. Speaker. The only person who has contributed to every one of these constitutional meetings, beginning in Halifax, Montreal, Calgary and Toronto, has been Mr. Funston. He has been a major, lead participant because he has built up a reputation as a constitutional expert. So since he is the only one who has participated -- he knows in great detail what has gone on in every particular part of the country at every one of the conferences -- we now, then, have the only person who has continuity no longer being a participant in the final meeting in Vancouver. Somebody who has had nothing to do with any of them now becomes the leading person.

I would like to ask the Government Leader then, why is it that Mr. Patterson, who has absolutely no clue what went on in all the other ones, is now the official person to replace Mr. Funston, who is the expert?

Thank you. I would like to remind the Members here that if you want to make a long preamble on the original question, I do not mind. But please make a short preamble on the supplementary questions. Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I would never presume that any individual sitting in this House, whether it was a Minister or whether an ordinary Member, is totally ignorant of the process and has not kept themselves up to date on the whole constitutional issue. Whether you are attending a conference or not, we all listen, we all read, we all have our updates and we are all painfully aware of the problems and the issues that are being faced by many Canadians. We also keep ourselves up to date because many of the people, particularly the aboriginal people of this Legislative Assembly, are watching and being very aware and concerned about how this country is evolving.

So there will be not one person in this Legislative Assembly that I would say could not go to a constitutional conference and very easily be updated on the very recent events, which are only a tag-on to what has been happening for many, many years in this country at very different levels.

I believe that Mr. Patterson has always been very interested in constitutional issues, and he has been updated on a day-to-day basis on what has been going on. I do not believe that Mr. Funston, who is our ongoing technical person, will be playing less of a role than he has in the past. However, we have duly elected people. Whether you are inside or outside, the effect that you have in representing your country is the work you do in relating to other people and making your cause known.

I sincerely believe that Mr. Patterson, the Minister of Justice, whether he is inside the meeting or outside the meeting, will use his every ability like anyone else who would have gone down to that conference to talk to other people, to relate to other people who are in that process. I am sure that there are many other people who are doing the same thing, because there is a limitation to the number of people who can sit inside the ropes.

I can assure the honourable Member that the Minister of Justice has diligently and consistently kept himself up to date on all the efforts that other members have made on the whole process that is going on in this country. I have every confidence, wherever he is sitting, wherever he is standing, that he is going to do the best job that he can, as anyone else would do. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Item 5, oral questions. Member for Keewatin Central.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not want to be seen as picking on my colleague, the Minister of Health, but I would like to try to get some answers on some initiatives that the Keewatin Regional Health Board has been trying to put in place in an effort to save this government money.

The Keewatin Regional Health Board recommended an operational review of the Churchill transient centre, with consideration to investigating the possibility of saving money by contracting out the services. I wonder if the Minister would give his approval that this operational review take place.

Thank you, Member for

Keewatin Central. Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Health. I believe that the honourable Member is aware of the concerns with regard to the administration and management of the Inuvik Regional Hospital. I want to know if the honourable Member is conducting a review or has asked for an internal investigation about the matters and the concerns that have been raised.

Thank you, Member for Mackenzie Delta. Mr. Whitford.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Supplementary, the Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, supplementary to the Minister of Health. Is the Minister of Health involving the staff when he is conducting the review of the concerns that have been raised about the administration and management of the Inuvik Regional Hospital?

Thank you, Member for Mackenzie Delta. Member for Yellowknife South.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake. Member for Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake. Member for Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake. Member for Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Item 5, oral questions. Member for Baffin Central.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I listened yesterday to the Minister of Health assuring the House that his department would not begin implementing recommendations in the Strength at Two Levels document until adequate consultation has taken place.

Mr. Speaker, on January 13, 1992, there was a position advertised in News North for a manager of medical travel who will work in Yellowknife to centralize the administration of medical travel throughout the Northwest Territories. This position is one of the new developments proposed in the Beatty report. In fact, this is one of the specific recommendations on page 151 of the Strength at Two Levels document.

Mr. Speaker, it appears that the Minister and his department may have started to implement the recommendation of the Beatty report already. I would like to ask the Minister of Health the following question: Why has the Minister started to staff positions recommended in the Beatty report prior to the consultation process that has been promised?

Thank you, Member for Baffin Central. Madam Premier, would you like to respond to that question?

Mr. Speaker, as you know, we have a freeze on all new hires. Any requests for new positions to be advertised have to come to me for rationalization. Whether or not that recommendation has been put forward in the Strength at Two Levels report, it is a very badly needed position because the whole medical travel issue has been an ongoing and troubling situation for us. We have to come to some end as to how it is to be handled. It does not matter whether it is in Baffin, Keewatin, Kitikmeot or the Inuvik Regions, the travel policy that we have is being interpreted in different ways whether it is for the patient or for the escort. We really have to do something about that. I felt it was very necessary to begin to rationalize how we are using the medical travel responsibility.

It is skyrocketing. We have all kinds of policies, and I feel that rather than making an overall judgment on who is doing what in various regions, we should decide on how to better deal with the escalating costs of medical travel.

I believe you said "centralized" I think that by using that word it may determine that we are trying to centralize medical travel for any purpose. But the whole idea is to look at travel, the medical travel, the travelling of escorts and how we are using it. The idea is to find out how and what is being abused. At the same time, while there are many accusations out there as well as reports from different people, we have to be fair to people by taking a very aggressive stand on how medical travel is being used. It is an overall problem that we have, whether people go to Churchill or Winnipeg, whether they come here from Kitikmeot or go to Edmonton -- these are the problems we are having which need to be addressed.

We have had many questions raised about people going out just for one visit for five minutes; going, coming back and being referred out again for a visit that was not necessary. These are the types of things we are trying to address with that position. It is an overall position to look at how medical travel is being used, not necessarily trying to look at redirecting traffic at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Supplementary, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister now agree to delay all hiring activities related to the manager of medical travel position until the consultation process on the Beatty report has been completed?

Thank you, Member for Baffin Central. Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, definitely not.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Item 5, oral questions. Member for Keewatin Central.

I do not want to make Mr. Morin feel he is alone over there, so I thought I would ask him a question. It has been brought to my attention that the government is reassessing its policy for renewing leases on offices and houses in level I and level II communities. The renewal of these leases in these communities is on a one to three-year basis. Can the Minister inform me if the current policy is that, or have there been some changes?

Member for Tu Nedhe.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it is.

Supplementary, Member for Keewatin Central.

It is my understanding that the government is not putting a policy in place since it is trying to get out of staff housing and is planning to turn this responsibility over to either the individuals or groups that may be interested in purchasing staff housing. However, the problem lies in the benefit of long-term leases for at least 10 years. If this policy is put in place, it will be impossible for any financing of the staff housing turnover if they are not long-term leases. Would the Minister give his commitment to revisit this policy and ensure that some consideration is given to long-term leasing so that we can finance these things?

Thank you, Member for Keewatin Central. Member for Tu Nedhe.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will be looking at the policies. We will consider the financing that people need to build staff housing. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe. Item 5, oral questions. Member for North Slave.

Thank you, Member for North Slave. Member for Hay River.