Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my understanding the majority of airstrips across the territories are capable of Hawker 748s, which are used in the Baffin, the Kitikmeot and the Keewatin, and in some cases jets. The Lake Harbour situation is somewhat unique, and it has been unique for a long time because the mountains have been there for a long time. There are somewhere close to seven airports right now that perhaps require the kind of upgrading which Mr. Whitford has alluded to. It is my understanding there is an agreement between the federal government and the territorial government in the joint cost-sharing of these airports. It is our intent to move forward to try to upgrade them in accordance with the federal-territorial joint agreement in the next three, four, or five years. I believe this is reflected in the capital budget. The Lake Harbour situation is a unique situation and we are going to try to address that in the coming months.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of all of the questions which have been asked this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, the one which still leaves me with grave concerns is about the exposure of people to faulty x-ray equipment in the hospital in Inuvik. I have a question for the Government Leader. Who in our government is responsible for making sure that people work in a safe environment? Safety and security of our people is a major concern. Who is responsible for making sure people

who work in a place, and the people who get service in a place are, in fact, not exposed to undue risk?

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, occupational health and safety is an area which would have the responsibility for the safety factor. No doubt the Inuvik Health Board would have been consulting with the occupational health and safety unit to determine how they can use the unit and to what degree is it safe. My understanding from the question is that there has been a determination that this unit can be used in a certain way. That would be the responsibility of Mr. Todd under his ministerial responsibility.

Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the department responsible for safety and health, have they done any calculations on the number of people who are exposed to this potential risk in that hospital?

Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as notice and deal with the appropriate Minister with a full report tomorrow.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, we were asked to write to the federal government and express our concern at the loss of these funds. We have done that. It does not seem that the federal government is willing to reinstate the program. We were advised that the money that was used for that program went to pathways, or part of it went to pathways. At the present time, short of putting more political pressure on the federal government, Mr. Speaker, we are sympathetic to the industry because of their loss of revenues, but are unable to do anything because of our own financial situation, Mr. Speaker. I am prepared to sit down and talk with the industry, but I believe the funding is in excess of $1 million and that is hard to scratch up these days. We will continue to express our concern to the federal government and by all means sit down and talk to the people in the tourism training group, but we cannot come up with $1 million to do that training ourselves. It is another example of federal off-loading and hope that we are going to fill the void. Unfortunately, we are unable to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the department provide any direct funding to the tourism training group?

Mr. Pollard.

Not to my knowledge, Mr. Speaker, but I will have to check on that. Maybe we can address it in committee of the whole this afternoon when dealing with Economic Development and Tourism's budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am directing this question to the Minister of Education. Although I appreciate his answers, the question was not completed. Some of the concerns of the communities are going to be addressed by the school board. Have they made any decisions as to how much of an effect they are going to have on school boards? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Nerysoo.

I am not absolutely clear on the question. Perhaps in the supplementary the honourable Member can reiterate. I would just indicate to the honourable Member that we are still working with the school boards to develop a strategic plan, in conjunction with delivering programs and services to their communities. We are also developing a long-term strategic plan. We are trying to take into consideration the changes and needs of the students and parents in the communities with regard to education services.

Item 5, oral questions. Item 6, written questions. Mr. Koe.