Oral questions. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Government Leader, now that she is in the House, what exactly is the status of the famous Beatty report? Is this a document that has been adopted by our government?

Madam Government Leader, Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, the Strength at Two Levels report is a working report.

Supplementary. Mr. Lewis.

That is refreshing, Mr. Speaker, to hear that it is not a shelved report. I would like to ask the Government Leader, since work is involved, then, and three ordinary Members have, in fact, been chosen by a motion of this House to do this work, when do they get involved? The three people I am talking about are Mr. Antoine, Mr. Koe and Mr. Arvaluk. When do they get involved, if this is a working report?

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, I had indicated that I would be tabling an implementation plan, and as the honourable Member is aware, once that implementation plan is tabled, as Government of the Northwest Territories' cabinet Ministers, we have not actually sat down and begun implementing the working report per se, although we are trying to put together a plan where we can move into place some of the recommendations that are put forward. As the honourable Member is aware and I have stated before, many of the recommendations in the Strength at Two Levels report are very appropriate and some we should be taking in terms of streamlining this government. Mr. Speaker, I intend to table the implementation plan as soon as possible. Hopefully it will be available for tomorrow. Thank you.

Supplementary. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Usually before you implement something you translate it into a policy that would be approved by the cabinet, so I would like to ask, even though we have not got to the implementation stage yet, has any part of this report now been adopted by government as government policy in any written form?

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, no, not in any policy. What we are doing is putting together a process so that we can work together to find ways and means to take in the best part of Strength at Two Levels to be incorporated. We have not developed a policy to actually put anything in place, but we are developing the process to do so.

Oral questions. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of MACA. Resolute Bay became a hamlet in 1987. There was a resolution passed that the hamlet have housing available for its staff. In October 1991, the Department of Personnel informed the hamlet office that they had to upgrade and renovate the house that will be available for the hamlet office. However, the Department of MACA informed the hamlet that this has not gone through. It was declined. For that reason they will be hiring a mechanic and this mechanic will need housing. I am not sure why this agreement was declined. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I understand the situation the Member has described and the need to resolve this matter in light of the hamlet's desire to hire a mechanic, and I will look into it and get back to him as soon as I can. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Arvaluk.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I became the Minister of Housing, one of the things which I noticed right away was the high cost of running the NWT Housing Corporation Board of Directors. It is a duplication of services. We have 11 Members in this House from the Eastern Arctic who can represent their areas quite well. I do not believe we need a board to have that input into the policy.

There are a lot of other avenues as well. There is a needs survey that is going to be done this year, which is done every three years. That needs survey is what drives your housing programs. Your communities are going to be responsible for doing it, and they are going to have input into doing it. They are going to be assisted by the NWT Housing Corporation. The communities will do the needs survey, and in that needs survey they will basically tell the Housing Corporation what types of houses they want; what types of designs they want; and how many bedrooms they need and when they need them. Everything is supposed to be delivered in a fair way to all of the communities in the Northwest Territories, whether you are in the East or the West. Everything is judged on need.

I can assure the Member that the smaller communities will get their housing, because the needs survey will indicate that they are in need of so many houses, whether it is 100 or 10, and they will get their fair share.

The amendment to legislation to protect the small communities will be done through the needs survey, because all of the communities will be treated equally. The Housing Corporation Board of Directors, right now, costs us $1.3 million, I believe, and it is a duplication of services. You have your housing authorities; housing associations that provide input at their level, up to our level; the MLAs; and the citizen who can pick up a phone and call the Minister's office. The MLAs can all call the Minister's office or walk across the street and visit the Minister and have their concerns expressed that way. I believe it is a duplication of service, and I would prefer to have the $1.3 million in my budget to deliver housing programs rather than continue to fund the board. Thank you.

Question period has expired. Item 6, written questions. Mr. Antoine.

I have a written question for the Minister of Education. Would the Minister please outline all procedures regularly used by the Akaitcho Hall management and supervisors respecting:

a) the approval and follow-up supervision of students' requests for special leave or other extended absence from the residence;

b) the training and evaluation of dormitory supervisors at Akaitcho Hall;

c) informing parents when students are unexpectedly absent from the residence or are experiencing difficulties;

d) contacting other authorities when students are unexpectedly absent from the residence. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Written questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciated the comprehensive return which the Minister of Renewable Resources provided to my written question about the status of the NWT/Alberta interim water quality accord.

I have a further written question for the Minister of Renewable Resources. Will the Minister provide a list of the government officials from both the Government of the NWT and the Province of Alberta who attended the meeting on February 12, 1991, to establish the arrangements for negotiating the NWT/Alberta interim water quality accord?