Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Does the Minister have any idea of how many frauds were committed and are known to have been committed within the last two years?

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, I don't know how many were committed in the last couple of years because I'm sure there are some we don't know about, but I will provide a list to the Member about the ones we do know about, and their status. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Along the lines of that, too, there have to be dollar amounts. Can the Minister provide us with the estimated amount of dollars lost to fraud in the last two years?

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, I'm not aware if I'll be able to table those documents in the House because there are things before the court and there is the issue of confidentiality. But, I will have the list prepared, it will have a dollar amount attached to it and I will provide it to Members. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services a question. In light of the problems this year, which he has admitted in the House, in implementing the devolution of project management to the regions and in light of the chronic high turnover of project managers, historically, and the inefficiencies that result from that, I would like to ask the Minister -- who I know is always looking for means to get better value for the public dollar and who has now been in the job for some years -- has he considered privatizing the construction operations of the Department of Public Works and Services? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The majority of the operations already have been privatized. We use private consultants and engineers. We have project officers on staff looking after the territorial government's interest. I have heard the Member's side of the story about the problems we have encountered in Iqaluit and now I will get the other side of the story and make a decision about what to do in Iqaluit. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Madam Speaker, the Minister says that most of the functions of the department have been privatized and all they have is a few project officers. It is my understanding that those project officers are often architects or engineers. There is now, I believe, a thriving public practice of engineers and architects in the Northwest Territories, and not only in Yellowknife. I would like to ask the Minister, is it really necessary for DPW to have its own architects and engineers in-house? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister responsible for the Public Works and Services, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The way that the department has been moving during the past three years I've had it, is that people we are hiring aren't necessarily architects and engineers. They are project managers. They are supposed to have the ability to work with the communities to ensure the communities benefit from the projects, that communities are well-informed about the projects and have the ability to work with their clients as well. So, I agree with the Member, they don't necessarily have to be architects or engineers. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, has he ever done a comparison of the square foot costs of construction of similar facilities by the private sector and where a project is managed by his department in a particular community? Thank you.

Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In some cases, a private building may exceed the Government of the Northwest Territories' per square foot price, but in other cases a government's building would exceed private enterprises' price. The Member must remember that all the standards and criteria for a building is driven by the client. They have standards and criteria. We have a senior management committee set up through FMB to look at all the standards and criteria. As well, some Members of Cabinet will be getting together fairly soon to look at how we can cut costs in capital. The key is to get our projects designed on time, to get client counselling done on time, community counselling done on time and also to have up-to-date standards and criteria that we build to. Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Five years ago when Mr. Wray was the Minister of Economic Development, he revealed a plan for a kind of a interpretive centre at Prelude Lake park. It was to be a major project with a lot of work to be done on it. I know that over the last five

years surveyors keep on going through the bush. Five years ago they used red to blaze the trail. The next year they used green. They have run out of colours this year, so I noticed that two weeks ago, they are now using little clumps of colours so you can differentiate between this year's survey, last year's survey, and the survey from three years before that. I would like to ask the Minister, where is this project going? There is $240,000 in the capital estimates. Maybe he could explain to me where this project is at.

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

(Microphone turned off)