Minister Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, the board of management met in August under the direction of, I believe, Mr. Patterson, or one of the... it wasn't me, it was a previous Minister, to approve the new applications. Just about all the communities are now funded through the contributions from alcohol and drug programs. One of the reasons why this board met, was the direction they got back in April 1992, when their funding was being cut, to meet once more to approve the applications and that they would also meet with the department officials to give the directives on the criteria, how the communities could be funded from the contributions and grants from alcohol and drug programs.

It was felt then, according to the information that I have, Mr. Speaker, if you can give me a few minutes to... the Financial Management Board, April 1992, directed the department to consult with the ABC committee on deletion of the board of management. A letter was prepared for the Minister's signature in the spring of 1992, but was never sent as Mr. Whitford wanted to talk personally with the chairperson of the board before this was resolved. Mr. Whitford resigned as Minister. Mr. Patterson, as the next Minister, apparently had discussions with the chairperson of the ABC committee about the future of the board. No correspondence exists on this, although meeting notes from the acting deputy minister indicate that Mr. Patterson was considering reinstating the board to fulfil the policy function. Mr. Patterson resigned before the matter was resolved but he apparently had an informal agreement with Mr. Koe that the board should be eliminated.

Although the money for the board was eliminated from the department's budget in April 1992, the grants and contributions directive still required the board of management to review applications for new funding. In 1992, all continuing contribution arrangements were continued on the basis of 1991 approvals. The board of management were notified to that effect, during a teleconference meeting of April 29, 1992. A board meeting was held on August 12, 1992 to review new requests for funding, as the department had no authority under the existing directive to approve new funding without board review.

In February of 1993, the Member for Thebacha asked the Minister of Social Services -- which is me, the third Minister -- to bring appointments up to date and to bring the board together to review 1993-94 funding requests. I agreed then. Finally, on March 30, 1993, a new grant and contribution directive was approved by the Financial Management Board, allowing the department to approve all alcohol and drug contributions. Up to November 1, the Member for Thebacha asked again about the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management.

Minister Mike. You already answered the question. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for a very illuminating, full answer, although it might be easier if she just gave us a copy of her briefing book. I appreciate her acknowledging that I had made efforts to continue the operation of the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. I understand that the Minister and her Cabinet colleagues have decided that this board should be finally dissolved. In making that decision to dissolve the board, was it the Minister's view that the board of management's only, or main, function was approving projects? Is that the board that was dissolved, which was one that was simply a board to approve projects? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister Mike.

Mr. Speaker, they also made a number of recommendations besides just approving projects. If I am correct, I believe it is the rule, because the O & M budget, as you are aware, was not mine. Being new, there was no funding for the Board to continue. When this House approved the budget, they were officially dissolved by approving the budget. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with her that, once the criteria are in place, approving projects and contributions is a relatively easy task that probably can be handled by a capable bureaucracy. Would the Minister agree that one of the values of an Alcohol and Drug Board of Management representative, of the regions of the territories, would be to provide the government with advice on the policies that should be in place and the priorities in distributing alcohol and drug money and supporting programs throughout the Northwest Territories? Would that be a useful contribution that such a citizens' board might make? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am still trying to tackle some of the mess that I was left with. This is part of it. I already said that I would take it as notice, when I was asked if I would consider reinstating the board to the functional level again. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has referred to the mess that she inherited when she took over as the Minister of Social Services, the mess that she was left with. Which previous Minister was she referring to when she said that things in Social Services were left in a mess? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn't say that the department was in a mess. I said that this is one of the messes I was left with. When I had the Department of Health, there were many issues that I had to deal with, as well as this department. I could table the entire chronology, if the Member wants to know. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It is with regard to the Dene Cultural Institute. I believe meetings were held with the Dene Cultural Institute, over the summer months in which a commitment was made to draft a proposal for submission for the Financial Management Board to review. I believe that Mr. Conrad Pilon is working with the Dene Cultural Institute to complete this proposal. I understand, in phoning Ms. Barnaby, that the proposal has been completed and has been completed for over two weeks now. How soon does the Minister anticipate that he would be bringing it up at the FMS meeting?

Thank you. Minister Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Probably, as soon as we have a Financial Management Board meeting. I have not had an opportunity to sign the documentation, but I do know that it is complete and, at the first opportunity, we will be addressing the matter with the Financial Management Board.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Safety and Public Services. I made a statement on Monday, December 6, as well as a statement from Mr. Ng on the same date, with regard to concerns in the area of vital statistics. I am sure that the Minister has had the opportunity to get a briefing from his capable staff. I would like to ask whether the Minister will take direction from either of these statements and try to resolve some of the difficulties that the Inuit are having with their birth certificates. Thank you.

Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, we are aware of the problems that Mr. Arngna'naaq has alluded to, particularly as they pertain to elders. We are prepared to work closely with the Department of Justice to correct them. However, I think it is incumbent upon me to say out loud that this could be a very costly exercise. We must be aware of that. When we sit down with the Department of Justice to look at possible methods of trying to correct the situation, we will have to bear in mind the fiscal cost that went into doing exactly that. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware how costly it will be to the government. I had taken that into consideration. However, in considering the benefit for them being lost by the elders, the federal benefits that they are due. The young people are also having difficulty getting their birth certificates, which they have to have in order to get a social insurance number. Again, these young people are not able to find jobs that they should be able to apply for. I would like to find out how soon it will be before the Minister can look at this? Thank you.