Mr. Speaker, I have a final return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell, on December 8, regarding division secretariat established by Cabinet.

Mr. Speaker, the Division Review Committee has been formed to deal with administrative and organizational matters pertaining to division.

The committee is chaired by the secretary to Cabinet, membership includes: the principal secretary; the deputy ministers of Education, Culture and Employment; Justice, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs; Public Works and Services; Financial Management Board; Municipal and Community Affairs; Finance; Personnel, assistant deputy minister; Renewable Resources; NWT Housing Corporation; regional director, Kitikmeot; and, regional director, Inuvik.

Three subcommittees have been formed to deal with the work-load. One, infrastructure, chairman, deputy minister of Public Works and Services. Two, subcommittee, education/training/human resource planning, chairman, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Three, finance/fiscal/agreements, chairman, deputy minister of Finance. All deputy ministers can attend meetings.

The division review committee's mandate is to develop and make recommendations to Cabinet on operational and administrative matters relating to division, provide technical analysis and gather information on the operations of two new territorial governments, and serve as the primary contact point between Canada, Nunavut Tunngavik and the GNWT at the bureaucratic level.

The secretariat consists of two staff who are being funded from internal resources. Costs have been kept to a minimum with departments providing expertise in specific areas. No decisions have been made on the size, shape or organization of the secretariat until caucus and the Legislative Assembly have determined how they will address division issues.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Lewis, on December 8, regarding promoting prospecting as a career.

Through funding available from various sources, including the economic development agreement with the federal government, Arctic College provides a 30-day prospector training course which addresses claim staking, soil sampling and operating geotechnical equipment. This course has been offered four times in the Keewatin, since 1989. A total of 12 students took the most recent course, offered in Baker Lake. Also, six students took the program in Deline and, currently, six students are taking the program in Rae Edzo.

In addition, the college offers an evening prospecting course for amateurs. A total of 21 students have taken the program in Yellowknife.

The Department of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources also provides support to prospecting. Through EDA funding the department provides a grub stake program. Individuals who have experience in prospecting or mining, or who have taken the prospecting course can apply for assistance through this program. In 1992-93, there was $48,000 available and eight prospectors received financial assistance. In 1993-94, the fund was increased to $88,500 and 16 prospectors received assistance.

Thank you, Mr. Nerysoo. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Gargan on November 25, 1993 with regard to the policy for non-medical escorts.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories provides medical travel benefits to eligible residents who must travel in order to access necessary and appropriate health services. Under Schedule B of the medical travel policy 91.02 (June 9, 1992) a non-medical escort is authorized when the patient requires an escort for interpretation during medical travel.

Mr. Speaker, the incident referred to by the Member from Deh Cho appears to have occurred several years ago. Depending on the date of the occurrence, the obligations under the Official Languages Act and the medical travel policy may have been different at the time.

If the honourable Member wishes to provide me with additional information on the matter, I will look into it further. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Minister Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Return to an oral question asked by Mr. Gargan on December 7, 1993.

During 1992, there were eight departmental and 31 private adoptions, for a total of 39. Of these, only 15 aboriginal children were placed in non-aboriginal homes.

The department adoption program gives preference to aboriginal children being placed with extended family or other aboriginal families. Aboriginal children are placed in non-aboriginal families as a second choice. Mothers who choose to place their children for departmental adoption are offered a variety of services, including counselling by local workers.

In private adoption matters, placement of the child is the sole decision of the birth parent(s) and notice is given to the superintendent of child welfare. The department has no authority to prevent placement by aboriginal people of their children with non-native families. Mothers who choose to place their child through private adoption can receive counselling through the department, if they so desire. Private adoptions are essentially a legal matter and social services' involvement occurs usually only after the child has been in the adoptive placement for six months.

The department's response to the family law review on private adoption will be to provide culturally sensitive counselling in the communities to birth parents. Birth mothers will be provided with information pertaining to their rights and the advantages in keeping their child in the same culture and community. The department will propose legislative changes to protect the rights

of birth parents.

I have another return, Mr. Speaker. Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Lewis on December 8, 1993.

Mr. Speaker, on December 6, 1993, Mr. Lewis asked me if I was aware that the Department of Social Services had hired a Professor Gordon, from Simon Fraser University, to assist in the drafting of the Guardianship Act. He asked if I had met with the professor to discuss the new act. I told Mr. Lewis that I was not aware that Professor Gordon was in town and that I had not met with him.

Mr. Lewis asked that, since Professor Gordon had been involved in the development of a controversial guardianship act in BC, I should review the act, in detail, to ensure that I agree with the underlying principles and philosophy of this new act.

I want to correct the record since the exchange of questions and answers on this issue left the impression that a consultant had been hired for this work which I as Minister, did not know about. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the department has not hired Professor Gordon to do any work on its behalf and the drafting of the new Guardianship Act was done entirely in-house. I hope this clarifies the issue.

I have another return, Mr. Speaker. Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Dent on December 6, 1993.

Mr. Speaker, the report prepared by Muskox Program Development Ltd. is in the final stages of completion and will be delivered to the Department of Social Services this week. The report will outline strategic planning options and recommendations for addressing alcohol and other drug abuse and addictions. These will be integrated into an overall departmental strategy to be completed in the fall of 1994.

Thank you, Ms. Mike. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked on December 6, 1993 concerning fire and liability insurance carried on government units.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT insures all of the staff housing units that it owns under an all property blanket insurance policy against all risks of physical loss or damage. This includes fire up to a limit of $50 million for any one loss. The coverage is subject to a deductible of $100,000 per claim.

Mr. Speaker, contents of staff housing that are owned by the GNWT are also insured by this policy. Contents owned by the staff occupying these units are not insured by the GNWT and are the responsibility of individual owners.

The blanket insurance policy covers all GNWT-owned property, but does not include single-family and duplex units owned by the Housing Corporation. These are self-insured by the corporation because it has been determined to be more cost-effective.

Both the GNWT and the Housing Corporation carry third party liability insurance against claims arising from its operations and from claims related to staff housing. This insurance is up to a limit of $25 million against any one claim and is subject to a $5,000 deductible for any one loss. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pollard. Item 4, returns to oral questions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on December 8, 1993.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Mrs. Marie-Jewell, MLA for Thebacha, asked me to consider reinstating the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. There have been a long series of questions on this matter and I know that it is a serious issue for the Member.

However, it is also a serious issue for me, as the Minister responsible for the program. I think it is time to clarify my position on the board's existence in an honest and straightforward manner, so all Members will understand my position.

I think the board did good work since its establishment, however, in answering the Member's questions on this issue, I have to consider the overall financial and policy framework of the department. Social Services is entering an intensive planning period from now until the fall of 1994. We will require a great deal of advice from Members, interest groups and Members of the public. At this point, reinstating a board to provide specific advice on matters related to alcohol and drug abuse, would detract from the overall planning and consultation effort. That is one reason why I am reluctant to consider reinstating the board.

However, Mr. Speaker, the most compelling reason is financial. This board costs $50,000 per year to operate. In our current financial situation, that is a lot of money. The Special Committee on Health and Social Services has identified a wide variety of initiatives, which will require a substantial budget increase from my department. As an example, Members have been questioning me throughout this session about why I have not increased the wages of alcohol and drug workers. The capital review of the department's budget identified serious concerns about the lack of money for elders' facilities. The department does not have sufficient salary dollars to provide relief and support to the community workers.

These and other pressing financial demands mean that I have to be diligent to make sure every dollar we spend is well-used for the benefit of all northerners. With these concerns in mind, Mr. Speaker, it would not be responsible for any Minister to take money away from a program delivery to fund an advisory body. Therefore, I am not prepared to reinstate the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. On the other hand, I am prepared to listen to the views of Members on this issue, it if is the will of this House, that this board should be reinstated, despite these considerations, I will make every effort to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Mike. Item 4, returns to oral questions. That concludes this item. Item 5, oral questions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the full response from the Minister of Social Services on the questions that I raised about the writing of a new Guardianship Trustee Act.

Mr. Speaker, we've been working on an act now for many, many years. The last one, as I said, was in 1988. So, I would like to ask the Minister, since there have been major revisions to acts in both Manitoba and British Columbia, and since she has indicated that the work that we're doing is entirely in-house, has she, in fact, consulted with these other jurisdictions that have revised their Guardianship Acts?

Minister Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to take the Member's question as notice. Thank you.

The question has been taken as notice. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister responsible for Social Services. The Minister indicated that the Department of Social Services has incurred additional expenditures with the result of the increase in food allowances in the area of social assistance. I have been wondering -- and I would like to get an answer from the Minister -- are the communities of Pelly Bay, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Holman Island paying this additional expenditure to fund the other communities across the territories, so that the recipient would get some extra funding under the program? Thank you.

Minister Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The additional dollars I mentioned in my Minister's statement are the new dollars, in addition to the previous money. The decreases have been set, based on the food cost surveys that were carried out in 1991, by the bureau of statistics.

Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a hard time understanding the rationale behind the reduction in food allowances for those communities. Perhaps the cost of living has gone down in those communities in the last 18 months. Thank you.