Oral questions. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. Before we go into the capital estimates, I would like to ask a question to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. Cape Dorset has applied for renovations to be made to the elders' facility. Can the Minister tell me if he has received the application regarding this elders' facility in Cape Dorset? Apparently there was an error in this application. I would like the Minister to respond to this as soon as he can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member is asking about a senior citizens' facility. All I am aware of, right now is that there are a total of 14 units going into Cape Dorset and a total of five units going into Lake Harbour. Thank you.

Oral questions. Oral questions. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Education. Last week, Mr. Speaker, I gave him a copy of a letter written to me by a member of the Akaitcho Hall board. Mr. Speaker, there are a large number of students from all over the North who come to Akaitcho Hall, and Akaitcho Hall has an advisory board. However, there was a movement by this advisory board to create a management board, and it was done with regard to a board development officer from the Department of Education. That position has since been resolved and there has not been any kind of movement with regard to a direction the advisory board is going would be met. I would like to ask the Minister if there is support for this advisory board to accomplish this management board status.

Minister of Education, Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to take the question as notice. Thank you.

The question has been taken as notice. Oral questions. Mr. Zoe.

Minister of MACA, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, those proposed funding policies which have been under discussion for a couple of years, under the auspices of the NWT Association of Municipalities, are before cabinet at this moment. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Patterson.

Soon, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Patterson.

The Member is correct, it could be tomorrow. Thank you.

---Laughter

Oral questions. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this morning one of my elder colleagues said, "When government says 'soon' it might mean 10 years." So we changed the word to "immediately" and he said, "That might mean five years."

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, earlier I quoted the former Minister of Transportation on the need to develop a transportation access beyond our frontiers. I would also like to remind the House of what the honourable Member for Hay River said about building highways to our resources. According to Hansard of October 29, 1990, he referred to the new NWT transportation strategy and stated that: "I think that once you take the inventory of what is in the NWT and what the potentials are, and then you start working around with where your best roads would lie or best transportation corridors would lie, I think that makes good economic and good developmental sense."

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. Would the Minister agree with me that one of the main barriers to developing economic potential of the Mackenzie Valley is the inadequate and incomplete transportation corridor throughout the region? Mahsi.

Minister responsible for Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Pollard.