Mr. Chairman, yes, if we are able to get together and do something positive, yes.

I think he is offering to try to assist. Thanks very much, Mr. Ballantyne. Now, this is my list, so if there is anyone who hasn't put their hand up, then I'd like to know about it. After Mr. Ballantyne, Mr. Ningark, then Mr. Zoe, then Mr. Pudlat. Is there anybody else who wanted to jump in? Mr. Antoine. The next person is Mr. Ningark.

Qujannamiik. (Translation) Mr. Chairman, recently the MLA for Aivilik, James Arvaluk, said that some of the vehicles are used for paving or smoothing out the roads. Some of the equipment is easily breakable because, of course, the material on the equipment is not as sturdy as the material it encounters. Particularly, when they are working on paving the roads and maintaining the airstrips, they wear out and they tend to break down after a while. So, my question to the Minister through you, Mr. Chairman, is, on the vehicles and maintenance machinery that the municipal corporations own and receive from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, how long is the shelf life? How long is the useful life of these vehicles supposed to be? I am sure this varies with the different types of machinery, meaning water trucks, sewage trucks and different kinds of maintenance vehicles that get replaced. How often are they replaced? How many years is the useful life for our dump trucks and sewage trucks and other maintenance types of vehicles? They probably get replaced after "X" number of years. Can you provide how long the life is, for these vehicles? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Arngna'naaq.

(Translation) Through a set of standard criteria, details are provided within those documents that relate to the length of time the vehicles should operate. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Arngna'naaq. Mr. Ningark.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Also, if a municipal corporation obtains used vehicles, perhaps purchased at lower rates in order to save spending, that might be used for maintenance on airports or roads or when developing lands for building residential areas. But because, many times these vehicles break down at a faster rate resulting in stoppage of work, or, if a water truck breaks down or leaks occur, different maintenance problems occur, when these vehicles stop operating properly, I imagine that it ends up costing the government a lot of money to maintain these older vehicles. I realize fiscal restraint is the direction but it is difficult for the municipal corporations to receive parts for broken down vehicles. The service centres are a far distance from these communities, and, if you end up getting the wrong parts, there is another delay in ordering those parts over again. So, my question to the Minister is, are you still providing used or second-hand vehicles to municipal corporations? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Arngna'naaq.

(Translation) I forgot to indicate in my earlier response concerning the criteria that I am able to get on this information. I can make the standards and criteria available to the Member. Sometimes, the smaller communities receive new vehicles called retrofits. I am not sure if all of the communities receive second-hand or retrofitted vehicles. Perhaps we can find out that information. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think Al Menard has been in the system long enough to know what the policies are. He has been around since the day I started working for the hamlet at the municipal level. This is where I had my first crack at training on the job for this job here. I would like to ask the Minister a question. In turn, perhaps, he can assign his

deputy minister to answer my question. Is there a policy whereby a municipal corporation needs the equipment and that government, in turn, will give a second-hand used car or truck, as the case may be? I know that was the case many years ago when I worked for the hamlet council. That is not always a good practice to get a second-hand used car for a municipal community because of the extreme conditions in our community. There is a time factor between the community and the supplier, so it is not always the cheapest way to deal in business. Is that still practised by the system? Thank you.

All right. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask Mr. Menard to respond to that.

Mr. Menard.

Mr. Chairman, the department does not have a policy to give used equipment to the communities. Most of the time, it is new equipment that is given to the communities. However, we do take advantage of opportunities. For example, recently, there was an opportunity to redirect some equipment from the DEW Line sites and, through DPW, they were inspected and we were advised that there would be some life left in the equipment from the DEW lines. It was assigned to various communities across the North, some of this used equipment. Another thing we might do is take the opportunities of retrofitting existing equipment from one community and sending it to another community, so we do some exchange. Very seldom, we will just take a broken down, used one and send it to a community. It is mostly all new equipment that goes into communities.

Thank you, Mr. Menard. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Many years ago, when I was a senior administrative officer for the hamlet of Pelly Bay, we requested a sewage truck for the community. It was under difficult circumstances because Pelly Bay is served by air only. Time went by and we got a sewage truck from Cambridge Bay. That machine did not last very long and it was very costly for the community. The deputy minister says that they are instructed by a person who works for DPW, but I am wondering if all the used equipment that is given to the communities is, in fact, in very good working condition. I don't have faith in the system whereby, when a community is so far away from the supplier, then the possibility of that equipment breaking down before the next fiscal year is very good. I hope the Minister and deputy minister will make a note of my concern. Thank you.

It is a comment, Mr. Arngna'naaq. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Because I'm sitting here, I have to remind myself and the Members that we are in fact reviewing the O and M estimates. We are not reviewing the capital estimates. I spoke to that earlier, myself, when I spoke about equipment. So, I have to remind myself and other Members of committee of the whole. Mr. Minister, you have the floor.

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Zoe seems to have...

Mr. Zoe, go ahead.

Mr. Zoe, you should allow the Minister to be able to respond to some of the concerns that you have raised. I think you have raised a number of concerns already. You have covered a number of areas. Perhaps, if you have any questions, try to make your questions as short as possible, perhaps one or two at a time. Perhaps, now the Minister will respond to the issues that Mr. Zoe has brought before this committee. Mr. Minister.