It is being breached, Madam Speaker, by Canada Post, I think, for the most part. Madam Speaker, the Finance Departments of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC are still working together. We are still a solid group, we believe. The Premier of Alberta has been pressured -- I believe the right word is pressured -- by the Prime Minister and there is no question that it is difficult to stop entrepreneurs who are mailing

cartons of cigarettes across the country. Although, the federal government is looking at that issue.

In fact, as a little aside, Madam Speaker, last Thursday, catching a plane out of Ottawa, there was a fellow going through the security area and of course his bag buzzed. So, they opened it up and it was just full of cartons of cigarettes. Obviously, he was going to a different province and was going to report it and pay the taxes.

Madam Speaker, we are going to report to our Premiers, once the Finance Ministers have come up with a plan. At the present time, we're together at the Finance level and, of course, it will depend on what our Premiers say when we present the plan to them. I will keep the House posted. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Madam Speaker, having heard Mr. Pollard's assertion that everybody is still solid on not lowering tobacco taxes, I'd like to ask the Minister of Finance, are there any other jurisdictions in the country -- other than the Northwest Territories -- that are proposing to raise their taxes to fill the hole left by the federal tax reduction? Are there any other jurisdictions proposing this move? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, Premier Ostashek from the Yukon, who is also the Finance Minister of the Yukon, initially said that he would like to move into the federal tax room. He hasn't said anything lately that I know of. But, I don't know of any other provincial jurisdictions that are considering it and that is what we are doing at the present time. I won't make a recommendation until we've seen the report that our respective colleagues across western Canada and the north have come up with. When that happens, when we see what the implications will be for us, I will make a recommendation to the House.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Madam Speaker, I'm not an advocate for lower cigarette prices, I want to clarify that. However, the Minister of Finance just stated that he is going to be considering this issue when he reviews the report of the western Ministers of Finance. I had understood that the Minister had earlier announced in this House that he was going to move with legislation to move into the federal taxing room, increase the limits on the smoking age, improve tobacco tax evasion measures and this sort of thing. Is the Minister now saying that he is merely considering this move and the final decision has not been taken by this government to move ahead with amendments to the Tobacco Tax Act? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, there are a number of elements. I've been asked to lower taxes and I've said no to that. The second thing is, I've said I'd like to put the price of tobacco back to where it was prior to the Quebec and federal government arrangement. I'm firm on that, going back to where the price was. I said that I would like to talk about, think about and look at the implications of moving into the federal tax room. The reason I'm not prepared to commit to that right now is because I would like to see what the effect might be upon us. I would like to see what the other provinces are going to say about that. Mostly, I want to see what Mr. Martin says about it because he may be a little annoyed if I move into his tax room. I am committed to putting the price of cigarettes back to their old price and I'll commit to that, but I don't think I've ever said categorically that I'm going to move into the federal tax room.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Since the Minister has indicated that he will be taking certain measures, including increasing the legal age for purchase in the Northwest Territories -- which I, personally, would support -- can I ask the Minister, at what stage is the draughtsmanship of the new legislation or amendments at this point in time? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, it is on my desk at the present time. There's one hitch that has been holding it up and that is the raising of the age to 19 years of age. It is a question of whether it should be in this act or another act. I'm trying to find out today if we can, in fact, if we can do it in the Tobacco Tax Act and then the issue can come through the House and on to committee. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yes, that work is now being done. In fact, some of the work has already been done, in some cases. We are working in conjunction with my colleague, Mr. Todd, to develop an overall money strategy which includes the matter of education and training.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Whitford.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Just to advise the honourable Members, presently the new Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources has established a steering committee to address the whole matter of the mining developments in the Lac de Gras and the Slave geological area. I think the experiences we had with the KIA, Metall Mining Limited, Human Resource Development Canada and Education, Culture and Employment, along with Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, in our initial discussions on the Izok Lake initiative, was a good basis by which we should continue our consultations and discussions with the mining industry. I think that will be a template for the same kind of dialogue and discussions we conduct with BHP, or any of the other mining companies involved in the Lac de Gras area.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs, Mr. Nerysoo.