Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department is improving its ability to gather information about its actual case loads and demands for services, but I would not pretend to say it is perfect. As a rough estimate on the social assistance program alone, I think it can be safely stated that 50 per cent of our territorial population, one or more times during the year, would have contact with the Department of Social Services seeking financial assistance.

For other program areas, of course the statistics vary and there is a hidden statistic that is very difficult to get at and that is the work that our staff do in the field in trying to prevent many social problems from becoming a major crisis with an individual or a family unit. We do not capture that kind of statistic, so it is very difficult to provide you with an accurate answer to the first part of your question.

Moving on to the second part of your question with respect to regional utilization of our services, we have not done a very good analysis of that at the present time, although it is something that concerns us and has contributed to our attempt to provide services in these communities. Certainly, not all of our communities have resident social workers at the present time and you then end up with a fly-in fly-out service, a short-term person staying there or part-time work. I cannot give you a very accurate representation or analysis of that.

To what degree does this then impact upon work in other departments? When you make reference to the fact that the Department of Social Services receives approximately ten per cent of the territorial government budget you are correct, but that does not represent this government's commitment to social programs in their broader sense. For example, with the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and the programs for housing, in some provinces you might find much of those expenditures identified in a Department of Social Services budget for housing and under social assistance, whereas our government has taken a different approach for some various and good reasons for funding programs through cost-sharing arrangements. There is a great deal of work going on with other departments.

Certainly, when we look at the fact that there is a great thrust to improve the employment situations of our northern residents, we are working together with the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs and the Department of Renewable Resources to try to ensure the programs they are developing will incorporate into them an element of trying to remove people from social assistance.

I am not sure if I can provide you with more about that, or if I have answered your question at least in part.