Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to make some clarifications to the remarks the honourable Member has made. Firstly, to correct the record, a decision has already been made to move the Science Institute and the staff to the regions. That decision has been made. The whole matter of re-assessing the relationship of the Science Institute and Arctic College in terms of research, program delivery and reorganized administration is the result of a suggestion and recommendation of myself since I became the Minister. There has been some concern expressed by the chairman of the Science Institute board about the matter of disseminating and decentralizing the Science Institute as it now exists. If the organization is disseminated, what would be the results in terms of administration? Obviously, we would have to look at administrative services, either in one location, three locations or two locations. That was not clear in the decision.
Secondly, the matter of a study of whether they were performing the duties, that was to be part of the review. If the honourable Member is not aware, I asked Arctic College, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs and the Science Institute to sit down on a working committee to come up with a solution. Since the board has met, some two weeks ago, they have indicated that they do not want to work to re-assess the working of the Science Institute, the relationship they could have with Arctic College or the future relationship that they would have in the Northwest Territories to other organizations. The Science Institute board and the staff are the ones who have refused to sit down to assess the workings of their own organization and the relationship they might have to any other organization in the future.
That is, in fact, the way the whole thing is borne out. I have still asked Arctic College and the department to pursue what might be options.