Madam Speaker, I have another return asked by Mr. Gargan on February 15, 1994, regarding communities considered as off-highway.

Madam Speaker, on February 15, 1994, Mr. Gargan, the Member for Deh Cho, asked me for a list of the communities that are considered off the highway system for the purposes of government benefits. This question arose from the earlier discussion about the settlement allowances being provided for the staff of the alcohol and drug treatment centres. When Mr. Gargan originally asked me why the staff of the Hay River Alcohol and Drug Treatment Centre were not eligible to receive the settlement allowances, I incorrectly indicated that it was because Hay River was on the highway system and settlement allowance was not payable on the highway system.

Rather than providing the list Mr. Gargan requested, I would like to correct the record and provide more accurate information. I decided to provide settlement allowances to treatment centre staff equivalent to those provided to government employees. These settlement allowances are outlined in the collective agreement between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Union of Northern Workers. The allowances are intended to compensate staff for the higher cost of living in communities outside of Yellowknife and are not related to whether or not the community is on or off the highway system.