Mr. Patterson.

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the honourable Member that I took the initiative to cause the board to meet in July so that they could do the work that they are mandated to do under the present payment directives. I told the board at that time, that it was no secret that all boards of this government are under scrutiny. That there justification raison d'etre costs are going to have to be considered in the climate of restraint that we are now living in. I committed to the board that I would inform them about what steps would be taken next. I want to assure the honourable Member that I have no intention of violating payment directives developed under the Financial Administration Act. If the board is not to be continued then of course the payment directives will be amended so that they will accord with whatever new regime is established. No final decision has been taken on that as I said Mr. Speaker, I welcome advice from the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions on which the honourable Member is represented before making a final determination. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. About ten days ago I asked the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs to table in this House all the applications that had been made, or received, from the communities as a result of floods in the Mackenzie Delta. Apparently, Mr. Speaker, the assessment was not done based on requests or applications, or submissions by homeowners. It was done by the Department of Public Works.

I want to ask the Minister responsible for Public Works whether or not he can indicate to me if the departmental officials consulted, or met with, or in anyway communicated with homeowners in Aklavik to deal with the consequences, and the damages as a result of flooding this spring.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will look into it for the Member and I will get back to him.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to also ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, if he could encourage the officials of Municipal and Community Affairs and the Department of Public Works, to actually go into the community to see for themselves or meet with the people that are concerned about damages to houses, because they are in the midst right now with some very cold weather and this is not cold compared to what it is going to be in February, January, and December of this year.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will direct the Department of Public Works as well as the Housing Corporation to go and meet with those people. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard on the radio this morning about leg hold traps being outlawed in the north, or trappers are not going to use them it starting this fall. Personally I disagree with that decision, and I know the Minister responsible is not here, but maybe I could ask the Government Leader. I do not like to see this policy put into place at all, I think it is going to harm the trappers. It is confusing and expensive to work with these things.

Is there a way we could put this off defer it until we can reassess the situation? Thank you.

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, I would be prepared to speak to the Minister about looking into that situation again. As many Members realize in this Legislative Assembly, and certainly the Hunters' and Trappers' Association, this government of the Northwest Territories has spent a great deal of time trying to express on behalf of the hunters and trappers, that this exercise is not relevant to the Northwest Territories.

However, this is a situation that is taken Canada-wide and with all the efforts that we have put through, through the Fur Institute of Canada, through the aboriginal peoples trappers' associations, we have had this delayed three times.

I will talk to Mr. Allooloo who was supposed to be back today, but was delayed in his travel arrangements, and see if there is anything else that we can do. I know that I can assure all the Members here that we have exercised an awful lot of energy in trying to get the institution of putting in place a banning of leg hold traps. I will talk to Mr. Allooloo to see if there is anything else we can do. Thank you.

Oral question. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Government Leader -- I am not too sure if it should be the Government Leader or the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

-- whether Delury and Associates still have contracts with this government? Thank you.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Since the Minister is not aware to his knowledge whether there is still contracts, sole source contracts for Mr. Delury, would the Minister indicate or confirm for this House whether there are any contracts in place for a later date? Thank you.

Mr. Kakfwi. Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, just to clarify, to my knowledge, Mr. Delury does not have any contracts with this government.

Oral questions, supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

New question, Mr. Speaker. I will formulate other questions on that matter at a later date.