Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

So, Madam Speaker, is the Minister saying that for reasons of fairness, every local company in Pangnirtung is allowed to bid this year by invitation on the rent supp project? But, that same fairness may not be applied in another community where there are several local companies interested in bidding on those same rent supp contracts in the same region.

Thank you. Minister of Housing, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I never said for reason of fairness. What I said is that every individual community has their own circumstances. I've gone through the consultation process with the Members of the Assembly. They are supported by their communities, their hamlets, whether or not to negotiate.

In Pangnirtung's case, they requested local tender only. So that's what I'm doing. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Madam Speaker, thank you. Is it not the case that what happened in Pangnirtung was -- and I was trying to ask this question earlier -- the Minister favoured one local Inuit-owned company with his announced intention to negotiate a contract, and another local Inuit-owned company protested and said this is not fair, we, too, should have an opportunity in fairness to bid on this contract because we, too, are local and Inuit-owned? Madam Speaker, is that not the situation that arose in Pangnirtung, that out of fairness to two local Inuit-owned companies, the corporation changed its plans and decided to do a local invitational tender for local companies for reasons of fairness and equity between those two similar companies? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Housing, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have been aware of the one Inuit local development corporation that's owned 100 per cent by the Inuit of Pangnirtung. That's the carpenters, those people who actually work on the projects. They have an excellent track record from the access units last year. I met with them and I agreed that I wanted to see the training continued in Pangnirtung. So, I was going to recommend to Cabinet to negotiate a contract with them. It came to light later in the situation that there was another Inuit-owned company in the community that I did not know of, also a percentage owned by an Inuit businessman. Kenn Harper, or somebody like that owns a good chunk of that company. They want him to also bid on those rent supp units, so I gave him an opportunity to do that. Thank you.

Thank you. The Speaker would like to recognize, in the gallery, the executive of the board of the NWT Association of Municipalities, representing the communities of Rae, Fort Smith, Cambridge Bay, Norman Wells, Yellowknife and also Coppermine and Hay River. Welcome to our Assembly.

---Applause

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

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

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

(Microphone turned off)

---Laughter

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

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

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for High Arctic, Mr. Pudluk, was next, but he's not in the House. Item 5, oral questions. Item 6, written questions. Item 7, returns to written questions. Mr. Clerk.

Madam Speaker, return to written question 7-12(5), asked by Mr. Pudluk to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources concerning employment in NWT mines:

Turnover rates for aboriginal or northern employees at NWT mines:

Nanisivik: 1993 turnover rate for northerners (defined as a person born in the NWT, and spending 75 per cent of life in NWT) was 30 per cent. Note: Turnover rates have been declining considerably over the last three years and are much less than the period between 1978 and 1990.

Polaris: The turnover rate for aboriginal employees in 1993 was 20 per cent. Due to base metals prices and economic conditions, three positions that were vacated by aboriginal employees during 1993 have not been filled.

Con: 100 per cent of employees are northerners, 1993 turnover rate was 10.5 per cent.

Lupin: 1993 turnover rate for full-time employees (meaning full benefits) from Cambridge Bay and Coppermine, 21 per cent. Note: The 21 per cent figure is influenced by the high turnover rate in entry level positions. The entry level positions tend to be in the mill, or as "buckers" (processing samples) where conditions are noisy, dusty and closely supervised. Some people are not prepared for this type of work. There is a very low turnover rate among the northerners who successfully worked their way up. There are aboriginal employees working at Lupin who were there when the mine opened and have moved up to the top level of miner positions.

Giant: no response yet.

Treminco: no response.

A return to written question asked by Mr. Lewis to the Minister of Safety and Public Services concerning the responsibility of mines to provide adequate fire fighting equipment:

Operating mines in isolated locations do have a responsibility to make appropriate fire fighting provisions at the mine site. The fire safety requirements in the current Mining Safety Act for mines which are not operating but are in a construction phase, such as the Colomac mine, are not as stringent as those for operating mines, and this anomaly will be addressed in the proposed new legislation.

The Department of Safety and Public Services ensures that mine sites have appropriate fire fighting capabilities. In February, when the last inspection occurred at the Colomac mine, the fire fighting equipment was in operating condition. The mine did not advise the mine safety division when the equipment ceased functioning.

This matter will be deal with further by the mine safety division.