Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to administration, have we been able to resolve the whole issue of the denturist thing? I'm on health legislation and policy. It says that there is the Dental Professions Act and you also have a situation where a person operating...I made numerous statements about it, but I haven't had any indication that that issue has been resolved.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The issue is being dealt with by way of a legislative proposal that is being drafted for Cabinet review. As soon as it has been reviewed, legislation will be drafted and presented to this House. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Administration, Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Chairman, under Bill C-31, are all the people who have been reinstated as status people being addressed? Are you keeping a record of people? I believe the Government Leader received letters from people who are still having problems. Maybe it is because their health card doesn't indicate that they are status.

Thank you. The honourable Minister.

Mr. Chairman, the Department of Indian Affairs issues identification to those people who are status. We use their identification cards to identify status Indians in the Northwest Territories for the purposes of health.

Thank you. Administration. The honourable Member for Deh Cho.

Under C-31, are status people's children included? In one letter to the Premier, there was a case that when a women's daughter was born and her health insurance benefits were filed, they didn't give the information that she was status, under C-31. I guess that has led to a lot of problems with her receiving health benefits. I don't presume this is an isolated incident. I was wondering how it is being addressed.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, as I said, if DIAND tells us that this person is status or has received his or her status back by way of Bill C-31, then we treat them as a status person. Now, if there are problems, I'm quite prepared to have someone in the department go the Department of Indian Affairs to find out the situation with particular people and find out how the problem can be solved. If there are problems of that nature, where part of the family is covered and some aren't, then we'll gladly take up the case with DIAND, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you. Administration, total O and M, $11.399 million. Mr. Dent.

Qujannamiik. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, there are 5.5 PYs in that area. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Dent.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, not all the positions have been filled for a great length of time. At the present time, there are two vacancies. There was one vacancy filled just last December, I believe, and we've just advertised for another person for Nunavut. That position is presently vacant. Not all the positions are filled. The majority of these people do respond to policy situations, although they do some work, as well, in responding to matters raised in the Legislative Assembly or in committee where they cross policy lines.

I've drawn these concerns to the attention of the department and I believe today I'll receive the review of the department. I've asked for that concern to be addressed when we look at whether there need to be changes in the department. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Administration. Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, we were at a recent conference on health in Ottawa. I think everybody around the table, the provinces, the Yukon, ourselves and the federal government, have some feeling of helplessness about what to do about HIV and, ultimately, AIDS. In some way, I was relieved because I thought it was just us, in the Northwest Territories, but everybody is having a problem with how to deal with it. We're not back to square one, but we're certainly taking an update of the HIV strategy this year. We're going to update the HIV infection rate studies and we are going to provide communities with some money to do their own initiatives. We will do some case management assistance to boards, ongoing education for health professionals and the public. We will be looking at the whole issue of community health and nursing. In particular, I will be interested in what these people, who we are asking to assist us, come up with as a way to get the message across.

I have spoken in Hay River to two large groups of people and said to them, if there is any way that you can advise us about what we should be doing about AIDS and the prevention of AIDS, please tell us. I haven't received any comments back from those people yet. People just say it is like a bullet that is never going to hit them. Young people are saying it is never going to be me. It won't happen to me. It only happens to some other kind of people. Unfortunately, from the latest studies that are coming out of the national AIDS secretariat for Health Canada, this thing is still on the increase. It isn't a bullet that everybody can dodge. It isn't somebody else's problem. It is all our problems because, if it doesn't get you, your family or community physically, it will eventually get us all fiscally. The cost of looking after these people is going to be enormous for this country.

I have probably gone on longer than I should, but I am hoping that we will come up with an update of the strategy and some suggestions about how we can go out there and get the message across. We have booklets dealing with safer sex and so forth, but we really need to get some idea from people about how they believe we should be getting that message across about this disease. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Administration. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.