Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, the short answer is yes. The explanation is that it was designed to meet the particular concern that we knew would be raised because the water levels were low. We had a dry season and my understanding is that the water supply was being conserved over the summer to make sure that in the high-use times, hydro would be available, rather than relying extensively on diesel. Diesel was used at the low-use times, which is in the summertime. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, the planning for the growing population of Yellowknife was reflected in the capital plan that was put forward by the Power Corporation, so the necessary units that were required have been installed and are available. Not only has the Power Corporation conserved water, but there is also an extra engine -- I cannot recall what the engine is called, but I think it starts with a "w" -- and is presently in place to take up the extra demand. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I believe the gentleman that the Power Corporation has hired has been doing a number of public discussions on radio over the year. As well, the latest initiative is in one of the local stores -- I know which one it is, but I don't know whether that would be promoting a particular store -- and there is a display and information available. So this is an ongoing process of trying to deal with the public on how they can be part of the measure of conservation. It is an ongoing program that the Power Corporation has in place. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. About a year ago, the Minister received encouragement from Caucus to proceed with work on a Mortgage Investment Corporation. We all know that one of the major challenges we are going to face over the next few years will be investments. Where are we going to get the money from? I would like to ask, since he got the blessing of the House and was able to get some money to do the work, could he give us an update on that project?

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

Thank you, Madam Speaker. As the honourable Member stated, we did have some meetings with people in Toronto who have the experience in putting these mortgage investment corporations together. I am bringing to Cabinet, this month, I believe, a recommendation asking for the resources and revenues necessary to take it to the second stage. The first stage was to identify if they felt the financial markets would be receptive to a Mortgage Investment Corporation. If they felt there would be sufficient requirement for residential and commercial mortgage. They also wanted to do some research to see if there would be both public and private backing of the MIC. It appears, at least from the initial report given to me by Mr. Grossman and Mr. Kostenko -- who are the two people we have recruited to help us in this process -- they feel reasonably confident that we can move forward in putting a Mortgage Investment Corporation in place.

So we are going to Cabinet later this month and I am optimistic that we will get approval. When we do, we will move forward and put the MIC in place. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

This is the last year of this 12th Assembly. We have one more session after this one. Since we have a very full agenda, does he hope to get legislation prepared, so that this investment corporation could become a reality if all the work is positive?

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

I do recognize that the agenda is significant, but this MIC didn't move along at a pace I thought it would. There were a few complications, so it has taken a little longer. This is an expensive exercise to move to the second phase, so we were a little more prudent to ensure we had a chance for success. I don't think we'll get the legislation into the House, but I think we will bring it far enough along that it will be able to be incorporated into the new Legislative Assembly. The work will progress at that level at this time.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Natilikmiot, Mr. Ningark.

Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Department of Public Works as well as the Housing Corporation have worked with many communities to ensure that local people are involved in the tendering process. In Gjoa Haven, we have the Building and Learning Strategy in place. We are working with a committee from the community to ensure people are trained on our capital projects. I'm always willing and able to work with Members of this Assembly, as well as community members, to ensure that they benefit from capital projects in their communities, and I will continue to do that. Thank you.