Mr. Speaker, I must confess, I have not a clue what the Member is talking about, and I will have to take the question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you, then for taking the question as notice. Oral questions. Member for the Kitikmeot.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister responsible for Government Services and Public Works. For the past several months, I have been attempting to acquire a copy of certain leases which the government has entered into with private property holders in my constituency. Senior officials in the Department of Public Works have repeatedly stated that the government has not been inclined to permit the release of these leases to Members of the Legislative Assembly, or that their policy on this matter is under review. I find this response absolutely unacceptable. The public, and its representatives in this House, should have every right to know how the government is spending its money when it enters into leasing arrangements. Mr. Speaker, my question is, will the Minister responsible for Government Service and Public Works advise the House whether he has established a policy which prohibits the release of leasing information to the public, or members of this House?

Thank you. Mr. Morin?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been made aware through the Standing Committee on Finance that they are interested in that information, and I think the Members of that committee have been given that information. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you. Mr. Patterson.

First of all Mr. Speaker, I did meet, very informally, on my way to celebrate the opening of the Northern Lights Senior's Citizens Personal Care Facility, those persons who expressed their concern about a doctor in Fort Smith. There were some people in the crowd who suggested a public inquiry. I did use the word premature, Mr. Speaker, when I responded to those persons, but I did not say it was premature without holding a public meeting. I said that I thought that it was premature. Mr. Speaker, the legislation approved by this Legislative Assembly, the Medical Profession Act, is specifically designed to deal with situations like this where there are concerns about medical practise. The act is tailor made to deal with concerns about medical practise in a fair, thorough and objective way. I might add, the Member is incorrect if she assumes that the inquiry called for under the Medical Profession Act would only be held in camera. Mr. Speaker, since we have specific legislation approved by this Legislature to deal with medical practise issues in an objective, thorough way, by medical professionals, I think that is the appropriate process to deal with these concerns, not the Public Inquiries Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I want to correct one of the comments the Minister stated. I do not appreciate insinuations directed to me that I had placed incorrect information in this House. When the demonstrators met with the Minister I was not available, however, immediately the Minister, himself, indicated to me that he felt it was premature to request a public inquiry until a public meeting was held. Those were his exact words to me, not to the demonstrators. Mr. Speaker, since he has indicated that he does not want to consider a public inquiry, I would like the Minister to tell me, in this House, a yes or no answer, will he consider holding a public inquiry irregardless of the board of inquiry that he established last week, into the whole issue of the Fort Smith Health Centre.

Thank you. Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, such a matter, I expect, would have to be approved by cabinet. These are, in our experience to date in the Northwest Territories, very expensive undertakings. I would expect that such a matter would be discussed by cabinet. To answer the Member's question, at the moment, having just appointed a board of inquiry under the Medical Profession Act to deal with the issue of medical practise the Member refers to, would not consider recommending another inquiry or a public inquiry to cabinet. No. Thank you.

Thank you. Before I go back to the Member for Thebacha, I would like to recognize His Worship, the Mayor of Rae-Edzo, Mr. Dan Marion, in the gallery.

---Applause

Thank you. Supplementary, Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Minister of Health about the procedures used by the medical board of inquiry, established under the Medical Professions Act. I would respectfully draw your attention that my question will not be referring to the substance of any matter that is before such a body. I will ask him a question which should certainly be within the realm of his knowledge, since he just set up this board of inquiry, about the procedures that are required under the act. Mr. Speaker, section 26 of the act provides that a board of inquiry under the Medical Act, must with all due dispatch, conduct a hearing to investigate matters referring to it. Can the Minister advise this House, Mr. Speaker, whether his department has bothered to develop standards for how long this process is?

Thank you. Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, the board of inquiry is an independent procedure 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, the answer to the Member's question is "no." The department has not provided direction or standards about the time frame of the board of inquiry. That will be up to the president of the board of inquiry, Dr. Earle Covert. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary from Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the major concerns is the fact this board of inquiry can decide whether to keep all this information confidential. That is the public's concern. I would like to ask the Minister, in respect to the procedures, what is the definition, in his opinion, of all due dispatch? Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to draw the Member's attention to section 28 of the Medical Profession Act, which gives the board the power to take evidence in such manner as the board of inquiry considers proper. In other words, Mr. Speaker, it is not correct to assume that this will be what the Member described as an in camera or a closed door proceeding. That is not necessarily true at all. Mr. Speaker, because these matters affect the public interest and the public safety in that, obviously, the competence of a physician is a matter for public concern, I think the act of this Legislature on this subject suggests the matter should be dealt with as quickly as possible. I think in plain language that is what due dispatch means, as quickly as possible. There is a provision in the act for a period of two weeks notice to all interested parties, which obviously would mean a delay of some two weeks before the proceeding could be undertaken. There is a requirement to appoint members of the board of inquiry, in addition to Dr. Covert, which would take some time. I think due dispatch means as soon as possible. I can tell the Member that I was concerned about this matter myself, and I believe the inquiry could be expected to commence approximately by the end of this month, the end of September, if all goes well. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral Questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A question for the Government Leader in her capacity as the Minister responsible for the N.W.T. Power Corporation. My favourite subject. During the June sitting, the Government Leader informed the House she commissioned Mr. Fred Abbott to undertake a feasibility on the merits of privatization of the N.W.T. Power Corporation. She indicated, at that time, that this study be completed for the fall session. My question is could the government confirm that this report has indeed been completed.