Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to express my very real concern and frustration with the manner in which the Minister of Health and her officials responded to questions about the Health budget yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, it should be very clear that the Department of Health is indeed in trouble. That is what the Auditor General's report showed, that is what the reports of standing and special committees of this House have showed, and that is what honourable Members have been hearing from committee witnesses and constituents all across the Northwest Territories. Yet, Mr. Speaker, the responses received by the House to this critical budget have continued to be either evasive, incomplete or both.

I am very concerned, Mr. Speaker, about the fact that the development of MOUs between health boards and the Department of Health appears to have been delayed. I am concerned about the way a functional review which was included in the definitive objectives for 1990-91 have not been completed, and about the fact that the current Health budget contains neither objectives nor funding for this important initiative. I am concerned that the relatively simple question, "Do you have a list of internal research projects?" should prove almost impossible for the Minister and her officials to answer. She wants us to wait 120 days for it. I am concerned, Mr. Speaker, that during the review of the 1992-93 budget the Standing Committee on Finance told the department to include a series of statistics to show whether our efforts are making a difference. If you ask them today, you will see that the department did not provide those statistics. I do not even know if the Department of Health bothered to try.

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Public Account's report indicate that some positive changes may be taking place within the Department of Health. However, the manner in which the department has presented its budget shows there is still a long way to go. I find the review of the Health budget to be a very frustrating experience. However, Mr. Speaker, I hope and I trust that the Minister will take all the steps necessary to improve the necessary capabilities of her department. Thank you.

---Applause