Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have had very little discussion with my deputy on this, only in between

the meetings we have had on the more pressing issues. After this session is concluded, then I plan to go home for awhile. So, the earliest time I can see where I will sit down with my deputy ministers will be sometime in May. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess the concept is not going to be discussed until May and then it has to go through Cabinet for consideration. Then you have to look at legislative changes. So, you cannot look at any of these types of things until at the very earliest, the fall, if you walked it through the system. I am sure next year would be a safe forecasted time. In the meantime, the Fort Smith health centre board has been working under the direction of a public administrator, Mr. Ellis. Has the Minister considered allowing Mr. Ellis to continue running that particular facility?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have agreed privately, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. You and I are supposed to be sending out questionnaires to the public in Fort Smith so we get proper direction from that community on whether they want an elected board. Although at the public meeting there was a strong indication that was what they wanted to do. Since there were only 70 to 100 people at the meeting, there was some reluctancy to speak out in public, and we suggested you would be sending out questionnaires. I would much prefer to wait for that before I can act on anything else. Thank you.

I did take it upon myself to do that for my constituents to determine what they wanted with respect to considering the elected or appointed process for board appointments. However, that is an issue set aside. Once you get the results and know whether changes to legislation are going to be considered, you still have a lengthy period of time that the hospital board is still under a public administrator, so I am wondering if consideration could be made towards an interim board. If the community felt strongly towards an election of board trustees before the legislation was changed and the concept was adopted where an interim commitment would be to automatically appoint persons who went through the community concept of the election process, would they be considered for appointments? I feel somewhat uncomfortable thinking that we have to wait for the results of the survey. I do not believe we have to wait to see what our next step is going to be. I know for a fact the community town council and the native bands are uncomfortable knowing that the Department of Health is developing a community plan for our health services and it is being developed by a public administrator who is a civil servant. In fact, the town council did not even want to participate in that particular community plan, and has said until they get a board in place they will not participate. I would like to ask the Minister if she would look at addressing an interim board until we can decide whether they are going to consider changes to legislation for the concept of an elected board? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This act does not have any provision for me to place an interim board. That is the first thing I ran into. The second thing is the act does not provide for elected members. So we have two choices, either carry out the survey that you were going to do with the help from my department, or I go ahead and make appointments to the health board. Those are the two choices I can give you, but I would much prefer that the surveys are carried out first. I realize there are some people who are not comfortable with the public administrator. However, the health plan for Fort Smith is an initial blueprint, it is not going to be a final document. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I recognize that the act does not allow for consideration of an interim board or an elected board. However, the act does allow for board appointments, for example, for one year at a time. Recognizing that there is a request from that community to consider an elected board, and I will know better in details as a result of the survey which I intend to do in April and May, would the Minister consider the concept of appointing a board for that particular health centre, even if it is a one year appointment, as opposed to a public administrator operating that health centre? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I can.

Agreed.

---Agreed

Administration

Agreed.

---Agreed

Supplementary Health Programs

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the Minister please advise us as to the status of the research into providing Metis people with full health coverage?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will let Dr. Kinloch respond to that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the department has been collaborating with the Metis Nation to undertake an enumeration of Metis in the Northwest Territories. A survey document has been designed with the assistance of the bureau of statistics and it is the intention that the survey will be conducted beginning shortly in the communities of the Northwest Territories. The aim will be to provide sufficient information on which a judgement can be made as to the actual numbers of Metis in the territories according to several definitions. This would lead to the development of a costing of the extension of benefits to Metis of the Northwest Territories, as the basis on which Cabinet might make a decision.