Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take the question as notice because I only took the portfolio in December so I have no knowledge of why they met in August 1992. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member knows that when the municipality was in place, they had, for one reason or another, withdrawn and terminated the contract with the Department of Safety and Public Services to do the liquor inspections in the community. Since that time, the department advertised a request for proposals. It is my understanding that the proposals closed early in November, somewhere around the 10 or the 12. I'm expecting that a new liquor inspector will be hired in Iqaluit hopefully this week. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I acknowledge the efforts that have been made by the department. However, Mr. Speaker, what is being proposed is another contractual arrangement. It has been tried several times before and it has not worked out. Given the number of licensed premises and the high degree of public concern in Iqaluit about the adequacy of the current level of liquor inspections, I would like to ask the Minister is he satisfied that another part-time contractor, doing part-time inspections, will adequately serve the public interest in overseeing the operation of the many licensed premises in Iqaluit? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Well, I suppose part of the solution would be to close down some of the licensed premises, but I wonder what the town of Iqaluit would think about that. I guess nobody's satisfied in the debate on liquor inspections and the way in which we run our operations. You have a diversity of opinion. The fiscal reality is that within the resources I have...We have somewhere around $25,000 to do liquor inspections through a contractual agreement. I'm told that

there was a significant amount of inspection done in certain places in Iqaluit. Some were ignored and some got more attention than others.

I suppose, ideally, if the resources were there, we could put more into place, if that is what the House and department felt was necessary. Right now, I believe that when we put this new contractual agreement into place, hopefully it will appease some of the community. It certainly won't appease or satisfy the whole community, it never does.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister talked about financial resources and I believe he listened attentively to my statement yesterday when I cited the reported sales in one licensed premises for one month alone, of 42,000 cans of beer. For each can, the Government of the Northwest Territories, I presume, obtains revenues through mark-ups on the sale of the beer and also through taxes.

So, Mr. Speaker, I believe that revenues are flowing from the town of Iqaluit and I suspect substantially more than $25,000 a year. I would like to ask the Minister, given the apparent high volume of sales in Iqaluit, the high degree of public concern, and the number of incidents that seem to involve licensed premises, would the Minister be prepared to give consideration -- after this next experiment in contractual arrangements is tried once again -- to presenting a case for a full-time liquor inspector in Iqaluit in the coming fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, we are fully aware of the difficulties that are occurring in the town of Iqaluit and the volume of alcohol that is consumed there. I would like to see them consume less, but that's everybody's individual right. The opening of premises is based upon plebiscite and community support or lack of support. So, I really have no direct control over that. However, we are currently examining the possibility and looking for resources to allocate a full-time liquor inspector for Iqaluit and, ultimately, Baffin Island given the degree, if you want, of problems that are associated with alcohol in that particular area. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Dent.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the honourable Member is probably aware, one of the bases on which we were intending to set up the training program was to ensure that those participants in the NWT workers' training fund and those proposals that were submitted allowed the participants and trainees to qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, with few exceptions. I'll have to be more specific and come back with more detail. However, most projects that have been submitted would allow those people who are participating to complete the 20-week period at which time an individual can qualify for unemployment insurance. That is the case so far. I will have to be more specific in terms of bringing back all the details. I'll be prepared to do that for the honourable Member.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could probably have that information available tomorrow for the honourable Members of this Legislature.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, with regard to questions I've asked over the past years, in the area of the water and sewer subsidy program. One of the communities in my constituency, the village of Fort Simpson, was designated to be included in the program. I've been told in the past that this program is coming along. I'd like to know if this subsidy

program, which includes the village of Fort Simpson, has been approved by Cabinet at this time. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.