Thank you. Good afternoon. Before we start on Ministers' statements, I would like to take a few moments to publicly thank an elder, Christine Balsillie, from Fort Resolution for the hours, time and work she has spent in designing this cape. It is very traditional and I hope it is reflective of the traditions of many of the types of work that many of the aboriginal women do in the Northwest Territories. It would be very nice with regard to indicating to our people of the north the work that native women and all women do. It will be displayed, in the future, in the Legislative Assembly. It is something that all northern people should be proud of. I would like to publicly thank her. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' Statements. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Silas Arngna'naaq will be absent from the House until Wednesday afternoon to attend a fisheries Ministers' meeting in Victoria. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Keewatin Central, Mr. Todd.

Madam Speaker, as Members are aware, I was absent from the House last week to attend the Nunavut economic summit in Rankin Inlet. This conference was organized by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and brought together representatives of all the major economic, political and Inuit organizations in Nunavut.

The purpose of this conference was to begin the process of developing a strategy to deal with the economic issues facing Nunavut prior to and after division. Judging from the tremendous participation in this conference and the interesting discussions during the course of the week, this conference provided an important starting point in the development of such a strategy.

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the organizers of the conference, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., for recognizing the need for this conference and for their hard work in making it a success.

Madam Speaker, I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker at the closing banquet of this conference. I had an opportunity at that time to announce a number of important organizational initiatives that the departments of Economic Development and Tourism and Transportation have recently initiated.

Anyone familiar with the tourism industry in the Northwest Territories is familiar with the frustration in trying to develop a territorial-wide tourism strategy. The simple fact of the matter is that tourism operators in the eastern and western Arctic face very different challenges and have very different needs, both in terms of marketing and business assistance.

In an effort to deal with these differences, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism will soon initiate discussions with the private sector on the establishment of two separate tourism authorities for the western Arctic and Nunavut. These new organizations would be led by the private sector in partnership with government. They would be the primary agents responsible for the development of tourism in the east and west, for the delivery of tourism marketing programs presently being delivered by government and for the development of tourism strategies that better fit their region.

Secondly, Madam Speaker, the department will soon begin negotiations on a new economic development agreement with the federal government. It is our intent to negotiate one formal agreement with two sub-agreements for the western Arctic and Nunavut. These sub-agreements will recognize the different economic priorities of the two regions and serve as a model for the new economic development agreements for the two new territories.

Madam Speaker, as Members are aware, during the past 12 months, we have decentralized much of the decision-making and financial authority for both the departments of Economic Development and Tourism and Transportation from headquarters to the regional level. The next logical step in the process is to further reorganize these departments to ensure that there is one senior manager primarily responsible for the operational and planning decisions of the department in the western Arctic and in Nunavut.

I have instructed the deputy ministers of Economic Development and Tourism and Transportation to bring forward these recommendations prior to the end of the year. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I wish to honour my commitment to keep this Legislature informed about the national agenda in education and our participation in it.

The Ministers of Education from across this country met in Charlottetown a few weeks ago and made a joint declaration concerning the importance of partnership, excellence and accountability in education.

In late May 1994, the Council of Ministers of Education Canada facilitated the first ever national consultation on education where 495 delegates attended. An attempt was made to involve all sectors of Canadian society: students, educators, trustees, government and education agencies, business and labour, as well as 10 organizations representing the interests of groups such as native Canadians, women and the disabled. The conference identified a number of broad areas for activity.

First, the participants agreed that a national report on education should be developed. People said this report should contain information on the state of education and provide a comparison to education in other countries. People across Canada recognize the challenges we all face in reforming and improving the present education system in this country.

Secondly, Madam Speaker, the Ministers of Education agreed to continue with the school achievement indicators program. This program will become part of the national report on education. You will recall that in 1993, a math test was administered across Canada. Last spring, a reading and writing assessment took place, and we plan to administer a science assessment this spring. Detailed information on the reading and writing assessment should be available in December.

We anticipate that based on preliminary results, we will be close to the national average for writing, but lower in reading abilities. These assessments give us an indication of the performance of our system compared to our curriculum expectations and to the performance of students across the country. The results will help us to identify problem areas and plan for improvements in our systems to better serve our students. Members will recall that we are developing a numeracy and literacy strategy designed to help improve our students' performance in these critical areas.

Further, Madam Speaker, the declaration the Ministers of Education agreed and stated that "we jointly want to have the highest quality education based on shared and relevant goals, and to demonstrate accountability for achieving them." We realized that in order to achieve this goal and to make this part of our national report on education, we needed a solid base of information. As a result, a joint CMEC/Statistics Canada project was announced to develop better measurements of the performance of the education systems across the country. Specific suggestions regarding the content and format of a pan-Canadian education indicators program will be brought to the Ministers for consideration in the spring of 1995. Identified indicator areas would include academic achievement, accessibility, student flows, school to work transitions, citizenship and public satisfaction.

The third area Ministers agreed to was the need to further both research and planning in the area of distance education and open learning. The Ministers agreed to work on developing a basis for coordination and collaboration in this area. All Ministers see this as a way to increase access to education in a cost-effective manner. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this weekend, residents of my constituency, friends and relatives from all across the territories have become increasingly alarmed about 10 hunters from Iqaluit who were apparently returning from a walrus hunt last week at the end of Frobisher Bay. They sent an urgent distress call from their 12-metre longliner, about 100 miles from Iqaluit. The call was received by a nearby outpost camp at Tongait, about 11:00 pm last Saturday night. The call came in the midst of very strong winds, snow and rain. The hunters reported that their vessel was without power, drifting and taking in water.

Because of the difficulty transmitting radio messages this time of year, the news of the distress call could not be relayed to Iqaluit from the outpost camp until early Sunday morning. As soon as the message was received, a massive search effort began. Thanks to the presence of Canadian Armed Forces aircraft in Iqaluit for a military exercise, the rescue coordination centre in Halifax was able to mount a very thorough air search as soon as the news was received. An armed forces Aurora aircraft with the best air-to-surface radio was searching continuously all night, until relieved by another search aircraft early this morning. A Hercules and two twin otter aircraft have also been involved.

About 1:00 this morning, a large local vessel with 10 local men aboard left to assist with the search in the area, and very early this morning a fast Department of Fisheries and Oceans patrol vessel left to support on the water.

The latest news is that wreckage believed to be from a vessel has been seen from the air in the area where the boat is believed to have gone missing; about five miles south of Gabriel Island, and in the vicinity of Chase Island. The vessels at sea are now moving to that place and the air search will concentrate on the coast and islands in that area.

I'm grateful to have been kept fully informed by the Honourable Rebecca Mike and her officials in emergency measures. At this moment, the search goes on. We can only hope that the hunters have managed to somehow make it ashore, however, the situation is grave. All we can do now is pray for a miracle. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In more than 40 years, Madam Speaker, apart from parking tickets, I have had only one traffic violation, and that was in your home town, Madam Speaker.

In 1972 I moved to Fort Smith from the eastern Arctic, and I hadn't driven for several years. I suppose I had forgotten all the rules; at least some of them. Although I had stopped before a school bus drop-off zone, I proceeded before the bus was in motion again; therefore, I had broken the law.

On Friday around 3:00 pm, Madam Speaker, I attended the ceremonies honouring many members of the RCMP in our great hall, and then I drove home around 4:00 pm. I proceeded up Franklin Avenue very carefully, since we received our first snowfall on Thursday night. I had occasion to use my brakes several times since people changed lanes and it made me think about the quick adjustments we have to make in our driving habits when winter finally arrives.

Turning right on Matonabee Street, where I have lived for the past 18 years, I suddenly realized that the vehicle parked on the opposite side of the road beyond the intersection was a school bus. In front of the bus was a mother and child waiting to cross the road. This mother, who I know, had already protested about the failure of motorists to honour the stop sign on the school bus. I admit to finding it difficult to apply my brakes in time to allow the lady to cross the road, although I did stop. Even when we know every speed zone and every traffic zone in our neighbourhood, bells should automatically ring when we see a large, yellow bus. It should be considered a moveable traffic sign.

People expect MLAs to set an example and to educate and make the public aware of many issues. So, tonight, Madam Speaker, on a related issue, when our streets will be full of eager, young trick or treating children, I urge Members and other members of the public to be extra careful and extra cautious. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for High Arctic, Mr. Pudluk.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am going to make a very, very short statement of appreciation. I'm sure my colleague, the Member for Amittuq, will share this with me. I would like to thank the honourable Minister, Don Morin, for keeping his commitment to me last session, March 25, 1994; for approving local status under BIP for us in Pond Inlet. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kitikmeot, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, during the last session, I raised a concern of inadequate fire alerting systems within many of our communities as a result of aging, deteriorating systems which are proving to be difficult

and expensive to repair, and as a result of the rapid growth of our communities.

During my questioning of the government on this issue, it was discovered that, while MACA provides the capital and O and M funding for firefighting and alerting equipment, Safety and Public Services has the responsibility to inspect and monitor the equipment to make sure that it is effective. I note that last spring, after I raised the issue of problems of fire alerting systems, a Safety and Public Services representative undertook inspections of fire alerting systems in my constituency. Although I'm not certain of the results of those inspections, I appreciate the fact that there was interest shown by the government.

Madam Speaker, the most recent problem identified in my constituency, in both Coppermine and Cambridge Bay, respecting the firefighting system, is the aging of the fire trucks, particularly the difficulty and length of time required to order and receive parts for the fire trucks. On different occasions over the past summer, the fire trucks in both communities were unusable for weeks as a result of waiting for parts. Needless to say, this is a very dangerous situation of having the most critical piece of firefighting equipment unavailable to the community should a fire break out.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, it is appropriate today that the Minister of Justice gave credit to the RCMP. I was at the awards ceremony last week and I think all of us have to recognize that we have a tremendous police force here in the Northwest Territories. But, unless we get that police force adequate resources, they won't be able to do their job.

Today, I want to talk about policing in the capital city. We are very fortunate in the capital city to have an excellent police force. The RCMP, with their limited resources, do a tremendous job. Staff Sergeant Grundy and the officers in the Yellowknife detachment are doing a lot with inadequate resources. But, the reality is, crime is increasing steadily. In Yellowknife, violent crimes are increasing at an alarming rate, drug crimes are up, and property damage is increasing. Even at the best of times, with the limited manpower here in Yellowknife, there are only five or six officers on duty.

I will give you an example. With holidays and sick time today, for instance, in the city of Yellowknife, there are only three officers protecting a city of 17,000. My understanding is that the detachment is understaffed by six to 10 people, which I find unacceptable. I brought this situation up to the Minister in the past. The Minister assured me at that time that something would be done. I gave the example of Donny Brooks in front of the Gold Range Cafe. At times 100 or 200 people are outside that bar, fights break out, and three or four officers can do nothing. They have to sit and watch it unfold.

The situation now is that shoplifting, bicycle thefts and minor traffic accidents have to be ignored by the RCMP because they don't have the resources to deal with those sorts of investigations. It would be impossible today to deal with a major incident in the city of Yellowknife. There are no resources to conduct ongoing investigations.

So, the situation here in Yellowknife is becoming more and more of an issue. I appreciate the fact that the Minister is looking at innovative solutions to policing across the territories.

Madam Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to continue. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I also fully support any policing initiatives in small communities. It is important. But, the Minister has a responsibility to all communities. And, the situation that stands today is totally and absolutely unacceptable. I feel, and the people of my constituency and the people of this town feel, that the government has a responsibility to ensure that 17,000 people feel secure in their own community. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Baffin South, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will also touch on the issue of policing. Madam Speaker, police officers assist us in many ways, not just in accidents and unfortunate situations. They are resource people for a lot of things in the communities. I haven't seen too many accidents in the communities, but we used to have two police officers in our community, and we don't have any at all at this time.

We used to have people replacing RCMP officers, although we didn't expect to have a lot happen in the community. I haven't seen too many problems, besides this summer, with not having police officers. We don't expect to have heavy caseloads for officers; but, we still have the right to have police officers in our communities just to feel safe. When police officers go on holidays, it must be ensured that there is someone replacing them while they are away, because accidents can happen anytime and residents need to feel secure. The topic of RCMP replacements while RCMP officers are on holidays should be considered more. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Zoe on October 24, 1994, regarding TB outbreak in Rae-Edzo.

Madam Speaker, since 1988, the Mackenzie Regional Health Service has dedicated a nurse to TB control in Rae-Edzo. An additional term nurse was hired for Rae-Edzo in January 1994 to assist in contact tracing, direct therapy and the development of a TB control database.

The regional medical health officer for the Mackenzie Regional Health Service has been assigned to direct an enhanced program of TB control, which includes prescribing of TB control drugs. Madam Speaker, I have a further return.

Madam Speaker, speech therapy services for school-aged children are funded by the Department of Health and Social Services. This is outlined in the publicly distributed Health and Social Services brochure, Your Health Care Benefits, published in 1989.

- Out-of-territory speech therapy is funded as an insured service when there is a medical referral to the nearest approved hospital.

- There are no western Arctic children currently receiving speech therapy services outside of the Northwest Territories. However, this can change as needs arise.

- Any school-aged children who are referred and meet the criteria of the guidelines have their assessments funded.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Keewatin Centre, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Allooloo on October 21st, with respect for the time frame for funding proposals for credit unions.

The department has been actively seeking potential sources of funding which might be used to start a credit union.

As I have stated before, we have received a proposal requesting $1 million in contribution funding from Arctic Cooperatives Ltd. It is our intention to table this funding request at the EDA Management Committee. Because this is under a new EDA funding program, it will be first reviewed at the Policy Committee level to determine its eligibility. We anticipate the Policy Committee will be meeting in late November. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. On today's radio newscast, we heard that the two Northwest Territories representatives on the Arctic Winter Games International Committee had resigned. In fact, the spokesperson for the International Committee, our friend, Mr. Gerry Thicke, blames this government as offering these two persons as scapegoats following a committee's decision to award the 1998 Arctic Winter Games to Yellowknife. Have the two Northwest Territories representatives on the Arctic Winter Games International Committee resigned?

Thank you. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am in receipt of a resignation letter from Mr. Cooper. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mr. Thicke, on the radio, indicated that both Mr. Cooper and Mr. Legaree had resigned. Has Mr. Legaree resigned?

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My department informs me that over the weekend, when the meeting took place in Eagle River, Mr. Ian Legaree, in protest, handed in his resignation to the committee. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Did these two representatives offer any reasons as to why they were resigning?

Thank you. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am not in receipt of a letter of resignation from Mr. Ian Legaree. However, I have a letter of resignation from Mr. Cooper dated October 26th, that his resignation would be effective October 31st. He outlines how many years he has been involved in the Arctic Winter Games and lets me know he has been privileged to be representing the Northwest Territories. He feels that it is advisable, for personal reasons, to tender his resignation and does so effective October 31st. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Also in the newscast, Mr. Thicke stated that these two representatives were forced to resign and blames the territorial government for forcing these two individuals to resign. Did you or your department ask for the resignations of Mr. Cooper or Mr. Legaree?

Thank you. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Not to my knowledge.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Justice. Madam Speaker, on a number of occasions, I have brought to the attention of the Minister of Justice the shortage of policing resources in the city of Yellowknife. The Minister of Justice has assured me he would evaluate the situation. What has the Minister done over the past few months to address the serious shortage of policing resources in the city of Yellowknife?

Thank you. Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I find the response quite unacceptable; it's exactly the same response I got seven months ago and nothing has happened in the interim. My supplementary question to the Minister is, could the Minister tell me exactly what is the shortfall in police officers in Yellowknife presently? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you. I asked the Minister a simple question and it was a very interesting biblical answer I received from the Minister. My understanding is that there's been a study on policing needs in Yellowknife. Could the Minister please inform this House exactly what is the shortfall of police officers in the city of Yellowknife as of today? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

My final supplementary, Madam Speaker. My understanding is that the shortfall in the city of Yellowknife is between six and 10 police officers. I have gotten the same response back from the Minister on a number of occasions: there's the big picture, there's the global picture. The reality is that obviously policing needs have to be dependent on statistics, population, crime rates. There are some very verifiable statistics on which one bases decisions; it's not all based on politics. So my question to the Minister is, the situation in Yellowknife is critical, the situation in Yellowknife stands on its own, will the Minister look at the situation in the city of Yellowknife with a view to addressing this particular situation? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We heard a very interesting statement from the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism today, Madam Speaker. I would like to ask the Government Leader, since many of the announcements that we have heard today came from Mr. Todd about how economic development should proceed, what latitude do Ministers have in making public announcements about organization and policy of government while the House is sitting, where normally such statements are made?

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I don't have the announcement right here so, Madam Speaker, I will take the question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, the Member is quite correct in saying that the speech therapists we presently have are tremendously over-burdened with their workload and not all students requiring speech therapy are able to be seen. I am attempting to address how we're going to solve that problem. But, I want the Member to know that we're quite aware that, among many other things, this area has been determined as a problematic impediment to children with learning disabilities.

Madam Speaker, I would like to confirm to the Member that we are doing everything we can to resolve that particular situation, with the acknowledgement that we know we are understaffed in that area. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I wish I could be more positive on exactly when we could do that, but the Member is very aware that it is not only the speech therapy area that we're trying to address. Madam Speaker, I will try to do it as quickly as possible, given the fact that the need is not only in Yellowknife and this region; it is spread out across the Northwest Territories. Just trying to reach those communities has been very difficult, even with the travel schedule. Madam Speaker, I will try my best to look at the resources we have during the next couple of months to see where resources can be deployed and where we can set priorities on areas of major concern.

Madam Speaker, I was just reading a report on new findings of the problems that students have in learning if they have a speech impediment. I believe that, with the new statistics that were out, whether they are in the Northwest Territories or across Canada, the numbers are much greater than previously thought. Madam Speaker, this is an area we will try to address as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kitikmeot, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is to Madam Premier. The Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Todd, has advised us that he is restructuring two of the departments he is responsible for in preparing for the future division of the Northwest Territories. I would like to ask Madam Premier, are there any plans in any other departments similar to what the Minister of Economic Development is planning? Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I believe that, for whatever we try to do in the Northwest Territories, we are trying to readjust our thinking to accommodate the new time line we have for 1999, and to plan in that direction no matter what we do, whether it is a readjustment of resources or decentralization. As we are moving ahead, we are trying to work, keeping in consideration that fact that Nunavut will be here in 1999.

Even in the thinking of government, we are trying to make decisions along those lines. I think that can be done from a central agency or by putting out people in the field. We are trying to make sure we are ahead of the game but, at the same time, not taking away from the fact that the federal government has clearly indicated that they would financially support the upgrading of requirements for two territories. At the same time, life has to go on, and we try to program our thinking with the realization that a decision has been made and our thought patterns have to reflect those decisions. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I recognize that Madam Premier is saying that there are processes in the department now for addressing issues in relation to division. But, I would like her to be more specific. I asked if there are plans currently under way in other departments for dividing up their responsibilities, in preparation for division. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, in attempting to address this issue, I don't want to leave the impression that a magical division of powers is necessary at all times. There is an attitude of addressing issues as they come up. We have to begin to think about the time of division. Now, whether it is moving people around with the resources we have, or having a different way of doing things, we, as a government, are committed to trying to think in a forward fashion.

There is going to be division in 1999 and the fact is, we have to continue to support programs and services and cause the least amount of disruption possible. At this point in time, the process is to try to accommodate the fact that changes have to be made and accommodation has to be made to the differences in the level of program services and direction between two territories. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Economic Development. Recently, the Prime Minister announced a $50 million program to enhance tourism across the country. My question to the Minister of Economic Development, what will be the concrete benefit to the Northwest Territories of that announcement which was made with much fanfare across the country? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Todd.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I concur with the honourable Member; it was a good decision made by the Liberal government. The discussions are under way right now. The Prime Minister has appointed -- I don't remember the gentleman's name right now off the top of my head, but he will be in the Yukon, I believe, sometime in the next couple of weeks. My office is communicating with his office to come to Yellowknife to discuss where we may participate in this highly new, creative, innovative and exciting proposal.

So there will be discussions with respect to our involvement. At this time, we haven't sat down with the organizers. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I think we're all overwhelmed by the magnitude of this particular program; $50 million in 1994 is an extraordinary amount of money. However, my understanding is that the federal government is looking at coordinating the tourism approaches of the federal government with the provinces. I wonder what discussions have taken place or are anticipated between our government and the federal government in order to coordinate our approaches to tourism.

Thank you. Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Todd.

Well, there are always ongoing discussions with respect to our relationship with the federal government; whether it's tourism in the EDA program or just co-management of some of our marketing strategies. This is a very specific initiative announced by the federal government. It was only recently announced in the Globe and Mail; I believe a week or so ago. As I indicated earlier, we intend to sit down with the gentleman who has been appointed by the Prime Minister to see where we're going to participate in this important initiative. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Finance. I have just received a press release from the Government of Canada announcing the signing of the formula financing implementation agreement for 1994-95. It states, in the voice of Mr. Irwin, the federal Minister responsible, that "formula financing has been instrumental in the evolution of responsible and accountable government in the north, and it will continue to provide stable funding to the territorial government."

The response doesn't say how long this stable funding will continue, Madam Speaker, but I suspect that it refers to the fiscal year 1994-95 which only has five months left in it. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance, since we all hope that stable funding continues, when will we know the funding levels from the Government of Canada to the Northwest Territories for the coming fiscal year, 1995-96? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good afternoon. Madam Speaker, there were some telephone conversations last week back and forth with Ottawa, both with ourselves and Yukon. I think each of us was stressing the fact that there needs to be some certainty as to how much money will be in the new formula for the next fiscal year as we are preparing budgets for next year. I think we now have got the point across to the federal government that there needs to be some certainty for us. So I would anticipate that sometime in the next three months we should get some certainty from Ottawa if we cannot get it faster than that, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I believe that the Minister of Finance and his officials are well advanced in preparing the operations and maintenance estimates for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the new fiscal year. In fact, I believe that the Standing Committee on Finance is scheduled to review those main estimates in January of 1995. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance, on what assumptions as far as the federal deficit grant is concerned has he and his officials prepared the O and M budget for 1995-96 for the GNWT? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, we have not yet concluded the O and M budget for next year, which I know the Standing Committee on Finance is anxious to see before Christmas. The assumptions that are always used when putting together budgets are trying to ascertain what the economy of Canada will be next year, trying to look at what the population increases or decreases might be. So it's just the normal kind of premise. Even though we will not have a signed agreement effective April 1st, we're using what we would normally use in the existing formula to project revenues for next year, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

I understand, Madam Speaker, that the budget will be prepared assuming the very best; that present funding levels will continue to be stable, as Mr. Irwin stated in his recent press release. I guess I would like to ask the Minister of Finance, if he expects to find out firm details within three months, could we receive news about the levels of funding to the Northwest Territories in the federal Minister of Finance's budget, to be brought down sometime in February, 1995? Is that when we might hear for sure where we stand? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, I would not anticipate that we would hear at that particular time. I would think that we would hear prior to being in the budget session next winter. So I would say it may happen before Christmas, but certainly I would see it happening before the session. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Justice, related to work done by RCMP. The RCMP are under contract to this government to enforce laws, and it's my understanding that they're empowered to enforce all federal legislation. We now have various land claims in the north and they're all enacted by federal legislation, therefore it should follow that RCMP should be empowered to enforce land claims legislation. So my question to the Minister is, can the Minister confirm whether this is the case or not?

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. I'm aware of the arbitration mechanisms in some of the claims. In the agreements, there are different categories of lands. A lot of it, depending on the category, is now private land. There are provisions within the claims for access; to access these private lands and use these lands. So, if someone trespasses on private land, who can the landowner call? Can they call the RCMP and ask them to enforce the trespassing provisions within the agreements?

Thank you. Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

I understood the honourable Minister was taking the question as notice. Once Members take a question as notice, there is no need to given an explanation. Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I note in Mr. Todd's Minister's statement today about the Nunavut economic summit that he made a few very important announcements. One has to do with the establishment of two tourist boards, as well as the establishment of what really looks like two separate departments of Economic Development and Tourism and, possibly, the establishment of two offices to administer the economic development agreement.

Since these announcements represent pretty major changes in the way we administer government in the Northwest Territories, and since we have a special committee, a strong committee, for the division of assets, liabilities and so on, I would like to ask the Minister -- since he's a Member of that committee -- has he discussed these major changes with that committee?

Thank you. Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Todd.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. First of all, I don't see them as major changes. I think they are part and parcel of an orderly transfer of what is going to happen in 1999 and, no, at this time, I haven't discussed this with the committee.

Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.