Mr. Patterson.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the honourable Member's comments correctly put the alleged statement in its proper context, but in any event it was made in my capacity as MLA for Iqaluit. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Arvaluk.

I think, Mr. Arvaluk, that is not within the responsibility of the Minister, but perhaps the Government Leader and another Minister would like to respond as to the government's position on this particular issue. Government Leader, Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows in this House, each and every one of us relies on each other for support, and from time to time in this House, because we are a consensus government, it rests upon people who are put in the cabinet to be a little more careful in how they state their opinions, because it is misread as representing the government's position. The Dene in the Northwest Territories have a prime interest and a position that they would like to uphold as residents of the Northwest Territories, and they should be treated equally and with due respect. However, we will be discussing this topic in cabinet so we can be more cognizant of our viewpoints put forward as MLAs. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am concerned about the work of the proposed mining safety bill committee. My question to the responsible Minister is: Would he indicate to the House, since the addition of a non-unionized person to this committee seems to be controversial, what process he went through to choose this particular person from the non-unionized mine workers?

Minister of Safety and Public Services, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I invited nominations from Lupin, Polaris and Nanisivik mine safety committees for a worker to represent workers in those remote, unorganized mines. I got a number of names of people who were active in the safety field. I then computed those with the nominations I had received from the chamber of mines and from the Union of Northern Workers to serve on this committee, and I tried to come up with a balanced committee, having regard to the various geographical locations of mines in the NWT.

So I recommended names to cabinet from a short list with the principle of balance in mind, and I got quite a number of nominees from the main mines in the NWT, management and labour. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the Minister, then, did contact committees who were organized to look at safety matters, could the Minister indicate to the House why the two unions representing organized mine workers found this unacceptable?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I speak for the Alliance of Mine Workers who were demonstrating in the streets of Yellowknife yesterday at my peril, I guess; it is perhaps not my place to say why they objected to the process, but I did say earlier in this House that they objected to a non-union worker, whether that worker is part of an organized committee or not in a mine, being represented on this mining safety bill committee on the grounds that such a worker could be influenced by management and on the grounds that such a worker did not have a mandate. That was the main reason for objection that they gave to me.

Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Will the Minister confirm to this House that these nominations did get a mandate in the sense that they were nominated by safety committees of the mines that he contacted?

Mr. Patterson.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, that is correct.

Last supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Does the Minister intend to convene this committee soon and get on with the work?

Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can confirm that the chairman of the mining safety bill committee is here in town now. He is contacting the member, and I expect the first meeting of this committee to take place within the next four or five days.

Oral questions. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. Last year I was quite happy when the former Minister, Mr. Wray, allocated a position for an employment officer for Fort Providence. Maybe you could thank Gordon for me. However, since that time I have not met the employment officer; I do not even know if he is there. What kinds of arrangements have been made with the community with regard to this employment officer that is supposed to be working in Fort Providence?