Mr. Speaker, that is one of the issues that we want to look at. I will have to examine the legislation as well. As I say, the provision of having an optician on staff will be taken into consideration. It will be a factor in our decision, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is to the Minister of Housing. I would like to thank the Minister for his report on his visit to Ottawa on the housing crisis. Further to the Minister's statement -- given that the federal portion of cost-sharing for new housing in next year's budget is not in the budget for 1994-95 now before this House, and given the urgency of making commitments to tender and get materials on the winter road in the western Arctic, particularly -- did the federal Minister of Housing say when he would provide his response on the cutbacks on social housing to the Minister for Housing for the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I made sure that the federal Minister of Housing was well aware of our issue of winter road delivery, as well as preparing for the sea lift and the unique circumstances that we have in the Northwest Territories of delivering our material into the communities. I requested the Minister of Housing to respond to us one way or the other by the end of December. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Do I take it then, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Morin will have a yes or no answer for us on whether the new federal government will make up the social housing shortfall, by the time we consider the budget for the Housing Corporation for 1994-95, before the end of this session? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I was explaining our situation to the Minister in Ottawa, I knew it would be unrealistic for him to get back within the next week to ten days. I figured it would be realistic for him to get back to us before the end of December and I had requested an answer by the end of December. So we would not have that information when the budget is in this House. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister of Housing understands that an important aspect of this problem is the issue of the federal fiduciary obligation to aboriginal people, to provide funding for "native housing" in the Northwest Territories. I'd like to ask the Minister -- he's met with the Minister of Housing, the Minister responsible for CMHC -- what strategy is in place to deal with the federal Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs to pursue the federal fiduciary obligations to native people, which I believe would be primarily the responsibility of the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have already met with Minister Irwin, the Minister responsible for Indian Affairs, when he was in Yellowknife. We fully briefed him on the housing situation in the Northwest Territories. We told him, and we showed him that in southern Canada, the funding for on-reserve housing for aboriginal people has not changed over the past few years. In the Northwest Territories, it's been continuing to fall off to the point where finally, we don't have any money for next year. The Minister responded, when he met with us in Cabinet, that he would go to bat for the Northwest Territories in the attempt to get reinstatement of federal funding of whatever kind to assist us.

Thank you. Last supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the same factors of urgency that I mentioned earlier, I'd like to ask the Minister of Housing, did he request, of the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, a firm yes or no answer on making up the short fall within a firm deadline this year? Thank you.

Minister Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is the cutbacks by the previous government that put us into this situation. The main Minister that I'm dealing with on this issue is Minister David Dingwall. I had requested for him to get back to us by the end of December. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Lewis.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister of Health, a new question, but still on the subject of eyes. I'd like to ask the Minister -- because I know he's very interested in economic matters -- what's the purpose of the government interfering in the market place by requiring contracts be given to one, two or a limited number of companies, rather than let the consumer decide where he or she would like to get their eye glasses?

Thank you, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not interference. It's the provision of services to different regions across the Northwest Territories, by the eye team that is operated by Stanton Yellowknife Hospital. As you know, Mr. Speaker, there are a number of technicians there who make visits out to communities, that make visits out to regions and actually test the eyes, and refract the eyes, of patients. Once they've refracted those eyes and the prescription is written, then the person takes that prescription to a contractor who usually accompanies the eye specialist as they are moving around the Northwest Territories. So in order to provide that service and encourage those people to go to those communities, we do it by way of contract. Now, Mr.

Speaker, I must admit that Yellowknife is a little different matter because people are able to go to several outlets in the city to get prescription glasses made. There's a bit of an anomaly where the service is provided in Yellowknife and it's readily available, but in other communities it's not available and teams have to travel to those particular communities.

The last time that we let the contracts, Mr. Speaker, we called for the provision of services in a particular region of the Northwest Territories. We also said in that call for proposals or contracts, that that service must be delivered also in Yellowknife. When we eventually let the contracts, we did say that if there were eligible people in Yellowknife who walked into a particular facility, the contractor -- where they had facilities in this particular city -- would have to provide the same kinds of services. Yellowknife is a little bit of a grey area at the present time, Mr. Speaker, and that's what I intend to try and resolve when we let the next round of contracts.

In effect, Yellowknife may be a community whereby it's open to private sector and yet we still let contracts out to ensure that those eye specialists go to other regions and other communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the Minister, is he aware that there are people from the Northwest Territories who, since we have a very mobile population, can go to the West Edmonton Mall. There are many people from Yellowknife who go to the West Edmonton Mall. They can go into a store where they make eye glasses and that individual in Edmonton can bill the Department of Health directly and yet that same courtesy is not available to local companies. Is he aware of that?

Thank you, Mr. Pollard.