Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Kivallivik, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I have three returns today. The first one is a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Pudluk on February 21, 1994. I'm responding to the Member's question and subsequent discussions with the honourable Member on community deficits.

Communities are required by legislation to prepare annual budgets. Municipalities receive funding from a variety of sources, including the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and budgets must reflect revenues from all sources.

Our legislation also requires a municipal corporation to eliminate any deficit that may have accumulated during the year. by the end of the following fiscal year. Deficits occur in communities because expenditures exceed revenues. There are a number of reasons for excess expenditures. Unplanned or extraordinary expenditures may be required, for example, in situations where unusually cold temperatures result in higher fuel and utility bills. Unplanned expenditures may be required if a water line breaks or equipment fails, creating a need for expensive repairs. Each community is different.

Community counsellors should be receiving accurate monthly financial information from their administrative staff in order to assist them in identifying potential deficits because of such situations as I have noted. The department monitors the financial position of all communities, providing advice and assistance where necessary.

Madam Speaker, the second return is to a question asked by Mr. Arvaluk on February 28, 1994, on selection of players for senior men's hockey for Arctic Winter Games.

The manager of our Northwest Territories team for Arctic Winter Games has been delegated to the Sport North Federation. Sport North, in turn, requests that each territorial sport organization establish a process by which their teams will be selected for the Arctic Winter Games.

I'm advised that at their annual general meeting in the fall of 1993, the NWT Amateur Hockey Association agreed to select an open men's hockey team from the best players involved in the territorial trials held in January, 1994. This process was implemented in order to provide an opportunity for the best players from across the Northwest Territories to be selected, as opposed to the previous selection process which allowed only for the winning team to attend the games.

This all-star team approach has successfully been used by other sports sending teams to the games. It was decided that responsibility for choosing the final team would rest with the two team coaches. Job advertisements for these positions were sent territorial-wide and only two coaches applied for the position. Only two applied and were selected. Both of these coaches are very capable. I have been assured that following a careful screening process, the best players have been chosen for the team.

The team selected consists of six players from the Yellowknife region, two from the Inuvik region, five from the South Slave region, two from the Mackenzie region and one from the Baffin region. Any change in team composition at this point, less than a week before the games, would mean that an athlete who has been told he has a spot on the team and has been training hard in anticipation of this, would have to be bumped in order to make room for the substitution.

I'm pleased to inform the honourable Member for Aivilik that there are four athletes from his constituency who will be attending the Arctic Winter Games. In total, there are 80 athletes, coaches, officials and mission staff who will be attending the games from the Nunavut area. I have written to the president of the NWT Hockey Association, advising him of the Member's concern.

My third return, Madam Speaker, if I may, is to a question asked by Mr. Ballantyne on February 24, 1994 regarding the block funding agreement involving the Yellowknife sewer system.

As of February 16, 1993, a block funding agreement between the city of Yellowknife and the Government of the Northwest Territories has been in effect. Under the terms of this agreement, the Government of the Northwest Territories has agreed to contribute $4.1 million to the city in each of the 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 fiscal years. This funding support is being provided in order to assist the city in its delivery of municipal programs and services that are normally eligible for funding under the capital and operations and maintenance programs of the department.

The agreement allows for the city to request extraordinary funding for projects which do not fall under the parameters of the department's municipal capital assistance program, or the municipal operating assistance program. An example of such a project has been the sewer and water upgrading work on the city's central business district. In 1993, the Financial Management Board approved $1.2 million for work to be undertaken during the 1993-94 construction season.

In November 1993, the city submitted a request for extraordinary funding support for water/sewer upgrading of the School Draw area, which has also been experiencing a severe degradation of the water/sewer lines.

Over the past several months, there have been ongoing discussions between the city and department staff on the long-term requirements and priorities for water/sewer replacement and upgrading for the entire city. As a result of these deliberations, the department is in the process of preparing a submission to the Financial Management Board. The submission will request extraordinary funding assistance for the city in support of its long-term water/sewer infrastructure replacement program. It is anticipated that this submission will be reviewed by the Financial Management Board in the near future. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have two returns to oral questions. The first question was asked by Mr. Whitford on February 22, 1994, regarding the cancellation of a request for proposals for counselling services.

The request for proposals for counselling services for Hay River and Fort Smith was advertised prematurely.

Discussions with a view to cost-sharing the service were still ongoing between the Department of Social Services and the South Slave Divisional Board of Education when the advertisement was sent out to media. The oversight was noticed and an effort was made to pull the advertisement. However, instead of pulling it out altogether, News/North placed a cancelled stamp across the advertisement.

The call for proposals for this important and much-needed service will be placed in the newspapers again in mid-March 1994 once all the details respecting cost-sharing are finalized.

My second return to oral question was asked by Mr. Ng on February 28, 1994 regarding the evaluation of food allowances for social assistance clients.

When the social assistance food allowances were first established in the early 1970s, they were set lower than the actual cost of food. This was done deliberately, on the assumption that social assistance recipients would supplement the allowance with country food.

This assumption may be less valid today because of a decreased usage of country foods.

The Department of Social Services, in cooperation with other departments, is undertaking a review of income support programs, including social assistance. As part of this initiative, it is our intention to review not just the food allowances, but all of the benefits currently paid through social assistance. This review will determine what the actual costs of living are in each community, so that social assistance and other support programs can be adjusted to provide a fair level of income.

I expect this review to be completed in the fall. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.