Thank you. The honourable Member for Hay River. Mr. Pollard.

I am aware of that danger, but I think that the issue, sooner or later, has to come to a head. I am aware that we may be able to win in this particular instance, and if the federal government were a niggardly government, they might say, we now stand to recoup that money from another area of the government. I am aware of that potential down side to this, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Before you go to your supplementary, Mr. Patterson, I just want you to be conscientious of your line of questioning. You are attempting to draw out an opinion from the Minister, and also be aware of the possible issue being in a court of law. I will allow you a supplementary, but please be conscientious of those two points.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I appreciate your advice. Madam Speaker, my question has to do with the policy of the Government of the Northwest Territories and its fiscal relations with Ottawa. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance, with regard to Mr. Ballantyne's Member's statement today, would it not be preferable as a policy of the Government of the Northwest Territories -- rather than pursuing a lawsuit here, a negotiation there, a petition to a department here -- to have an overall package of financial issues to present to the Government of Canada -- one of them being the health billings dispute -- and present a comprehensive proposal for overly long-term fiscal relations between our governments, rather than pursuing issues in a fragmented manner, which seems to be the case at present?

Thank you. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, that has been done and was done with the previous governments. It concerned the housing issue, the northern accord, the perversity in the formula financing agreement, the hospital billings agreement, the physicians' services agreement, and a number of issues, not the least of which was the federal government not paying some tax-based municipalities grant-in-lieu on property that was set aside for aboriginal use. There was a package presented to the previous government and they chose not to deal with it as a package. That same package exists at the present time. It has been modified somewhat. All Members of Cabinet are aware of the items that are in that package. It is a matter now of waiting for the new federal government to get up to speed on a number of these issues and then sitting down with the federal Finance Minister, whose desk I believe it will arrive on, and see if they are willing to deal with these items as a package. One of the large steps towards doing that was when Mr. Irwin agreed to negotiate, through our lawyers, the health billings dispute. That has taken us towards resolving all of these issues in one fell-swoop. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am pleased to see there is such a comprehensive strategy in place. Given the commitment and throne speech to tackle the deficit as a priority, and given that we will next be contemplating the O and M budget -- which will be overshadowed by these major fiscal problems that we are all aware of -- I would like to ask the Minister of Finance, what plans does he have to consult with Members of this House, particularly the Standing Committee on Finance, to inform us of the elements of this comprehensive fiscal package that has been presented to Ottawa? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Pollard, Minister of Finance.

Madam Speaker, I think, as Members know, there are some issues we have to deal with ourselves. One of the ways I propose to do that is by tabling, this afternoon, a discussion paper on fiscal matters in the Northwest Territories. There is a second element and that is, there are several Ministers who are responsible for the

Northwest Territories. There is the Finance Minister because he pulls a lot of weight when it comes to our financial agreement with Canada. The Minister of Indian Affairs is also heavily involved. In some cases, it might be the Minister of Health who is involved.

Once we've got a clearer idea from the Government of Canada that they are prepared to look at all these things as a package, then, certainly, I would take the package to the Standing Committee on Finance and advise them of what I thought should be on the table as part of the package. At our earliest convenience, we would advise the House. I want to stress, Madam Speaker, that I don't want to negotiate with the federal government in this House. But, we will be as open as possible with the Standing Committee on Finance and with this House on our positions on particular matters. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pollard. Item 5, oral questions. Honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. It is about the community transfer initiatives. I would like to ask the Minister, how can you guarantee protection of aboriginal rights and continued federal fiduciary obligations, should communities request transfer of programs under the community transfer initiatives? Mahsi.

Thank you. Honourable Member for Sahtu, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. In my Member's statement today I talked about the relationship between the Crown and the Dene people. The relationship that has developed, without the total consent of treaty Indians, is that this government has taken over a lot of the programs and services from the federal responsibility. Some of these programs and services are in the process of being transferred to the community level, through the community transfer initiative. I guess the question here is, has the Minister and his department ever come out with a position on how to deal with the fiduciary obligations, to treaty Indians, of the federal government and how that is going to be reflected in the community transfer initiatives? Mahsi.

Honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

The time for oral questions has lapsed. Prior to going to written questions, we will take a short break. There will be a short presentation in the Great Hall from the Member for Kivallivik, the Minister of MACA, to one of the constituents from Baker Lake. He's requesting the indulgence of Members to kindly join him. Thank you. We will have a short break.

---SHORT RECESS

I'll call this House back to order. Item 6, written questions. Item 7, petitions. The honourable Member for Keewatin Central, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to present a Petition 1-12(5). I gained signatures from 151 residents in Rankin Inlet. This petition is questioning the bus service for the communities, due to the harshness of the climate and the long distance that children have to walk to school. Madam Speaker, this summer, the children of Rankin will have to walk over two kilometres to get to school. Anyone else familiar with Rankin Inlet knows that such a walk could be very difficult. I know that the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs has established guidelines and criteria that allow boards of education and community education councils to contract for bus services. The people of Rankin Inlet are looking forward to the introduction of this funding so that the children of Rankin Inlet can be provided with decent transportation to school. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Todd. Item 7, petitions. Item 8, reports of standing and special committees. Item 9, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Nunakput.

Thank you. Item 9, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Morin.