Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Kakfwi.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Todd.

My question is to the Minister responsible for Health. Can the Minister tell me, or tell this House, when we could expect the comprehensive audit of Health to be tabled?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, my department has concluded its consultations with the Auditor General on the comprehensive audit, so it is now between the Auditor General, and the Legislature. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

I do not believe that answered the question. Can the Minister tell me when he intends to table, or when we can get access to the comprehensive audit on Health?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I just wanted the honourable Member to know that, although there have been discussions with the Department of Health about the draft comprehensive audit, those discussions are concluded. So it is not my department that is preventing the conclusion of this audit, and its presentation to this Assembly.

To answer the Member's question, I am not responsible for the Auditor General of Canada, and therefore I do not know when he is going to complete that work. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of the 1992 Housing Survey was $914,000.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Koe, supplementary.

I thank the Minister for having the answer so readily available. I guess the thing that perturbs me in that report, there is a section called Key Survey Findings, and there are two parts to this. I cannot put my finger on any key recommendations, other than I feel that we have spent $914,000 for surveyors to tell us that there is a shortage of houses, and some of the houses in the north need repair and are inadequate.

My question is why we spend all this money? Are there more reports, are the more details forthcoming, from all the data that was collected from the surveys that were done?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are all aware of the need for housing, and there are some houses that need repair. This survey is the most comprehensive survey, carried out by any jurisdiction in Canada, and it could not be at a more opportune time.

We now have our housing needs documented. We know how many houses we need, and how many people are inadequately housed. This is the type of information we need to take to the government of Canada, to show our unique situation in the territories.

The survey document, as you may not know, is now going to go into phase four. What I have always said from day one, in this Assembly, before starting this process is, it is very important to include the community in any decisions that we make, and to give some credibility to any survey we make as well.

Out of the $914,000 the Housing Corporation spent, $700,000 of that money was spend on surveyors, the 450 individuals that were hired, in the communities, to conduct the survey. Phase four, the survey document itself, goes back to the community for community consultation, so that we can get some direction from the community leaders, and recommendations on how to solve their housing problems in their community. That is the whole idea of the survey, to document the need, as well as give a document for discussion purposes in the community.

Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister saying then, that the results of the survey, are the actual surveys themselves? Are these documents tabulated, and when are they going back to the various community associations for their review, and to do further analysis of these?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next phase of this process, is to go back to the community consultation process, take this document and present it back to the communities to get their input on how they would see their need being met, and what mixture of housing programs would meet their needs.

Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for Minister of Health. My question is in regard to the decision making process of the department, relating to the board of inquiry under the Medical Profession Act. I would like to indicate, Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention to refer to the substance of any matter before that board.

Mr. Speaker, on September 9, I asked a question to the Minister, in regard to the process, and the Minister assured this House that the board of inquiry, under the Medical Profession Act, was an independent procedure, and I am quoting a part of Hansard, which I would describe as peer review, the same way that doctors, pharmacists, and other professionals, discipline themselves. It is not something that is steered by the government, the Minister, or the department.

Mr. Speaker, documents have recently been served, upon individuals, by legal counsel for the Department of Justice, requiring that they attend this board of inquiry. I checked to see if Dr. Covert was in fact in Hay River, and I was advised that he is presently unavailable on holidays until September 28.

Can the Minister advise the House, who directed legal counsel to serve these documents?

Thank you.