Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, we have been dealing through -- you must forgive me, I forget the gentleman's name. He is a Japanese Canadian from Toronto who resides in Canada, and he is very familiar with Canada. What we have been doing is responding to their request from us for assistance in this particular regard. As I say, when these two gentlemen were here they were taken to all of the outlets in Yellowknife, and to the museum, to see what exactly was available to them.

I might add, Mr. Speaker, it is traditional for the Japanese to exchange gifts when they come here. It is ironic that the gift that I gave to Mr. Niimi was a birchbark basket made in Liard. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Nerysoo.

Mr. Speaker, again, if I could ask the honourable Member, if he has sought the advice of whether or not there could be a major Dene exhibit of arts and crafts in Japan.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I hate to keep saying this, but I am responding to the Japanese who came to us and said, 'We are particularly interested in this product.' We have taken them around and shown them what else is available in the Northwest Territories. We talked about muskox, we talked about arctic char, we talked about whitefish. We talked about everything that is available in the Northwest Territories and that is as much as I can do. Did I specifically say, "Could we bring an exhibition of Dene art to Japan?" No, sir, I did not.

Supplementary, Mr. Nerysoo.

Maybe it is an indication, Mr. Speaker, of how much this Minister really cares about Dene art. I want to ask the honourable Member again: Has he even indicated to the director of arts and crafts in the department, that one of the responsibilities that he could consider is, in fact, considering whether or not Dene arts or crafts could be exhibited in -even in the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, late last year the department and I sat down and we went over all the things that we were doing to market products in the Northwest Territories. We tried to come up with a strategy where there would be the line of least resistance, as far as sales were concerned. I have reported to this House that when the Japanese showed extreme interest in Inuit art, that is the market that we have been trying to fulfill for them. When it came down to what we were going to try and sell at Expo, then we went over that and decided it would be a range of arts and handicrafts from the Northwest Territories, including Dene arts and handicrafts. In the store in Toronto, that store will be featuring Dene arts and handicrafts. I would repeat, again: Have I approached the Embassy in Japan about displaying Dene arts and handicrafts? I have not, sir.

Oral questions. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Finance with regard to the funding arrangements to municipalities, as opposed to the boards of education. One of the things that was in the Beatty report, Mr. Speaker, stated that most experts around the world agree a quality improvement would result from simplification, and streamlining often leads to large cost reductions. It also says that some people have trouble accepting this, especially in the Northwest Territories.

My question is, Mr. Speaker, in his response the Minister of Finance indicated that doing it on a monthly basis saves money. I just cannot accept that either; that is what I am saying. The point is that if you have 12 pay cheques you need someone to make those 12 cheques, as opposed to making four cheques. You use more paper, and you use more time to do the cheques, if we do 12 as opposed to four. I do not know what the Minister means when he says that doing it on a 12-month basis is a lot cheaper than doing it on a quarterly basis. I would think that doing it on a quarterly basis saves more money, but I stand to be corrected. I would like to ask the Minister exactly how, in his opinion, delivering 12 pay cheques, as opposed to four, is saving money.

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, perhaps I did not make myself clear enough. The reason is, Mr. Speaker, that we have to borrow, at the present time, that money to give to the hamlets, or to the municipalities. We have to borrow money for three months, for that payment to them, and pay it out in one month, whereas our funding is coming monthly. So the cost is in the borrowing cost, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have had our government for five months, and I know that people have been very busy. Could the Government Leader indicate to this House what she has accomplished over this five months, in terms of programs and policies? Because I have not seen any evidence, it is just like looking at a blank wall. Could she give us some indication of anything that we should know about in the House, in terms of new policies in the book, new directives, and new programs? What has she done over the last five months?

Madam Government Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I will come back with a response tomorrow, as the question that has been posed to me is to look at policies and several other issues that I feel I would be just stumbling over today. Thank you.

The Government Leader is taking the question as notice. Oral questions. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The trip to Japan is very interesting for me. The reason why I am saying that is because, as my colleague here has said, the government has been in for five months, and this will be the first time for me, as an MLA, as a Member of this House, that someone like the Hon. Titus Allooloo will travel to a foreign country on our behalf, to represent us. This is the first time for me.

I have been thinking about that, and I think what I would like him to say for me over there is that we have a concern with Japanese companies polluting our river, the Daishowa in Alberta. He is going to be in Japan where the company is owned. I wonder if it is possible for the Minister to make a statement on my behalf, explaining the situation to them on my behalf. Thank you.

Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I understand what the Member is saying, but there are ways and means and there are channels through which this kind of thing should be addressed, and from having had some dealings in the past and quite recently with the Japanese, Mr. Speaker, they are a very reserved kind of people. They are a people of great faith in face, and I would say that they would be not prepared for that kind of response from a Minister of this government, for the reason that he will be there for a particular reason, which is to do a job on behalf of this government and on behalf of Economic Development and Tourism in regard to this art.

I understand what the Member is saying, and I would respectfully suggest that perhaps it would not be the right time or place to make that approach. Perhaps that should be done through the Minister of Renewable Resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.