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

Thank you, Madam Speaker. At this time, we've been working very closely with some of the manufacturing companies in Hay River and Yellowknife. It's certainly the goal of this government and certainly the Minister of Public Works and myself that we want to increase the northern content and involvement, particularly in our construction business. If there's any way that we can enhance that activity, we're prepared to do it. So we would sit down with the honourable Member, particularly in his area where

logging is taking place. With the current attractive price of lumber, et cetera, there are some significant opportunities for us. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's been quite a long time since manufacturing was asked for in the north. We've been buying all our supplies for the north from the south, and we have a lot of raw material in the north to provide for the types of materials that the government is currently purchasing to build in the north. In my constituency, people are now becoming interested in developing our resources there. The Minister mentioned that they're working very hard with manufacturing in Hay River and Yellowknife, and it seems to me that only the bigger centres seem to have this opportunity. I know that in Fort Simpson, the band wanted to get into starting small with building roof trusses, but they were outbid by a bigger and better company from a bigger centre.

How are the manufacturing agreements reached with these companies that the government is currently working with in the larger centres? Is it on a proposal call, or is it on a bid, or does the manufacturing company come forward with a good proposal? How does that work? Thank you.

Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It happens in a variety of ways. There is the private sector where, I believe, the sewage tanks, for example, are manufactured here in Yellowknife. They are used in our public housing and our access houses across the territories. If they come into the Department of Economic Development, we work with them to develop a business plan, and to provide them with some economic incentives to do that.

With respect to Mr. Antoine's riding, if there is something specific that a particular group or individual wants to get involved in, we'd be only too happy to sit down with them and try to coordinate a business plan that incorporates some of the Minister of Public Works' initiatives and policies and enhances the economic opportunities for the people in that area. Thank you.

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 responsible for the Power Corporation regarding a return to an oral question. Madam Speaker, I'm quite pleased that the Power Corporation acknowledges that the high water levels during the last five years contributed to the corporation's ability to minimize rate increases to all of its customers. So everybody in the north benefitted from the high water. The Minister goes on to say that the corporation informed me that there is a rationale for recovering the $4.8 million from all the customers in the Northwest Territories, which again makes sense. I wonder if the Minister would provide that rationale to this House.

Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, yes, I'll provide that.

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

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health. There have been lots of reviews and lots of assessments on services provided by physicians in the Northwest Territories. There are issues where there are private medical clinics providing a service to a community, versus services provided by staff physicians hired by the health board. My question to the Minister is, what is the policy of the Department of Health as to when you hire or contract a physician? Is there a policy in place covering that?

Minister of Health and Social Services, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, as the Member is aware, throughout the Northwest Territories there are health boards established, other than just in the southern Mackenzie where some communities do not have a health board, but do have services provided through an established facility such as Stanton, Hay River or Fort Smith.

The health boards themselves go through a continuation of analysis of health priorities that they have to set according to an established needs assessment. They need to look at what type of resources are required to take care of the very specific needs that they have. It would be looked at on an economic basis according to the service area that you are responsible for. So what makes common sense and the best way of delivering the specific services that are required would be based on the needs as well as cost-effectiveness. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

In the north, there have been ongoing concerns about the tenure of physicians in communities. For example, in Inuvik there has been a medical clinic and they have been

providing physicians for a few years. Before that, many years ago, the doctors or physicians used to be hired by the health board or the hospital at that time, and, in many cases, they didn't stay very long. It was very difficult to build up a doctor/patient relationship because every time you went to the clinic, there was a new doctor there. My concern is what is being done to prevent this sort of thing and to entice physicians to stay in the north longer?

Minister of Health and Social Services, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, the department attempts to work with the health boards to see what is the best venue that would provide the programs and services for the health needs of the individual regions and communities.

As for the retention of physicians, particularly for the Inuvik region, on a number of occasions they have asked us to help them get special commendation, so they could bring in doctors from overseas and then to sponsor physicians from the appropriate region compatible to Canada in terms of the requirements. There have been a number of people established at the Inuvik clinic, who have been supported by this government. We see if these physicians are more inclined to live in the remoter regions of Canada. The problem with a lot of physicians educated in Canada is they prefer the more modern, urban communities where they have all the amenities of life they have become accustomed to. It doesn't matter whether it is a physician or a nurse practitioner for the health centres or a teacher or any group of people we recruit from southern Canada. They are accustomed to certain things and many of them don't have a long-term commitment to the north, although when they do come here, it is an experience for them. I believe in the long term, our special emphasis on education, training and employment would see us having our own nurses, doctors and teachers who are used to the environment of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. It is hard to argue with the statements the Minister makes because I think that is the way to go. In the interim, we still have to use trained physicians from wherever we can get them. The issue is to keep them in the north to service the people in the communities. Communities are now expecting certain levels of service. Are the wage and benefit packages which the health boards are now using similar to those used by private clinics?

Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services, Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, the terms and conditions of what the Government of the Northwest Territories can pay on a fee schedule to doctors are established throughout the Northwest Territories. These rates are set and are well-known to the medical society in the NWT. When we set the fee schedules, the Medical Association is informed of what the parameters of those fee schedules are. It is done in conjunction with the federal government in consideration with what they feel is a reasonable rate of return for services provided. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.