Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Ms. Cournoyea.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a reply to an oral question which was asked by Mr. Dent on February 24th regarding the assessment of FAS/FAE.

The national population health survey and national longitudinal survey of children were combined and carried out with approximately 1,500 households across the NWT over the past few months. Several survey questions related to the use and amounts of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. This information will provide an indication of the number of children who are at risk for FAS/FAE in the Northwest Territories. Although it will not provide us with the incidence of FAS/FAE, the survey will allow us to determine if further research into this area is necessary. In addition, those children identified as "at risk" through the survey will be followed up in subsequent surveys for assessment of developmental and behavioural problems. This has the potential to provide valuable information on the nature and severity of the problems faced by these children.

As part of the national survey, it will also give us a sense of how our situation compares to the other provinces. I expect the survey report this summer and I will provide a copy to all the Members.

Mr. Speaker, I have a further reply if I may continue. A return to an oral question also asked by Mr. Dent on February 27th regarding the provision of speech therapy to students. Mr. Speaker, Stanton Hospital has two speech pathologists providing services to Yellowknife catchment area, the Kitikmeot and the Inuvik regions. Because of this huge workload, Stanton has had no choice but to limit services in Yellowknife to preschool children. This situation is not workable in the long term and the hospital board has been looking for ways to increase the staffing. It has been possible, Mr. Speaker, through a combination of increased efficiencies and the repatriation of services currently provided in the south, to identify additional resources to resolve this problem. As a result, the hospital will add three speech pathologists to its organization over the next year.

These additional resources will clear up the backlog for both preschool and school-age children. Mr. Speaker, the team will also assess the continuing need for speech pathology services in cooperation with Yellowknife schools. This technical support will help the schools to develop more effective teaching strategies by differentiating between students whose speech difficulties relate to a medical problem as opposed to those who are having difficulty for other reasons, such as learning English as a second language.

Mr. Speaker, I have a further reply to an oral question. It is an oral question asked by Mr. Allooloo on March 7th regarding the government liaison officer acceptance of revised job offers.

Mr. Speaker, between February 13 and 15, 1995, nine GLOs in the Baffin region were offered new half-time positions by the Department of Personnel and asked to confirm their acceptance of the offer within five business days.

Following issue of the revised job offers:

- The Arctic Bay GLO position has been reassessed and, as that position also serves the community of Nanisivik, it has been returned to a full-time position for the fiscal year 1995-96. The part-time job offer has been rescinded, and the incumbent has been advised that her services will be maintained on a full-time basis at this time.

- Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services has agreed to provide funding for part-time positions for the delivery of income support in the communities of Pond Inlet, Igloolik and Pangnirtung. The incumbent Pond Inlet, Igloolik and Pangnirtung GLOs have been offered, and have accepted, amended, full-time job offers which will include responsibilities for the delivery of services for both the Department of Executive and Department of Health and Social Services.

- The remaining Baffin GLOs have not accepted the half-time positions offered. The government is now proceeding with notifications of lay-off, but incumbent GLOs can still accept the half-time position offered until such time as the notification of lay-off is received.

Incumbent GLOs who wish to proceed with lay-off will be given priority status on other employment competitions within the GNWT for a period of one year following their date of lay-off.

Mr. Speaker, I have one further reply. It is a return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on March 7th, regarding the transfer of responsibility for staff housing to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, as part of the long-term staff housing strategy, the responsibilities for the various components of the program will be transferred from the Department of Personnel and from the Department of Public Works and Services to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and to the Financial Management Board Secretariat beginning on April 1, 1995.

On that date, the present headquarters responsibilities of the Department of Personnel for the administration of staff housing will be transferred to the Housing Corporation. Personnel responsibilities for staff housing policy will be transferred to the Financial Management Board Secretariat.

A timetable for the transfer of the remaining property management functions to the Housing Corporation, and for the consolidation of staff housing maintenance functions, is being prepared and will be tabled in the Assembly during the next session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Are there any further returns? Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like you to recognize Mr. Tom Eagle who is in the gallery opposite me. He is a distinguished elder from the city of Yellowknife and the executive director of the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Mr. Ben McDonald of the Union of Northern Workers.

---Applause

He is back in the gallery. I would like to thank Mr. Whitford and Mr. Ningark for drawing his presence to my attention. And I would like to say that he was here Friday, March 10th, but I did not recognize him which I regret, that was irresponsible of me not to have done so. Thank you.

---Applause.

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Are there any further recognitions? Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Renewable Resources. Prior to the break, the Minister had given me 14 volumes of the fire management review which his department had commissioned quite some time ago. Mr. Speaker, this review cost the department $392,000. The review had some 27 recommendations. I would like to ask the Minister if he knows

how many recommendations were accepted from this particular review. Thank you.

Thank you. The Minister for Renewable Resources, Silas Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take the question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Premier a question with regard to the response that she gave me regarding GLO acceptance. I would like to thank the Minister for seeing that the bigger communities in Baffin need their GLO positions to be full time. I would like to ask the Minister of those nine positions the government is allowing to be full-time, what happens to the rest of the GLOs? If they are let go, are they are allowed to be participants of the workforce adjustment program? Thank you.

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I will take the question as notice.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following my Member's statement I made earlier today, my question is directed to the honourable Minister for Education, Culture and Employment, as he is responsible for the infrastructure money that is given to the territories for distribution across the board. Mr. Minister, Pelly Bay has been requesting, in the past, funding in the neighbourhood of $1.2 million to build a gymnasium attachment -- that seems like a lot of money; I am reading the amount from a note which was given to me and it's very sloppy handwriting -- for the school. The person who wrote me this note is wondering if there is money left over in the program after communities who requested funding were given their money. Is there any money left over from the old year? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will just indicate, Mr. Speaker, that some of the communities have not completed their applications for the resources that have been allocated to each community. To date, 26 projects have been approved, valued at approximately $2 million, and it is the intent of these projects to create 142 short-term and long-term jobs. An additional 36 proposals have been received by the management committee and will be going forward for approval shortly. In this particular year, I believe, the matching dollars are approximately $6 million.

Thank you. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my supplementary to the same Minister is, if in fact there is some money left over, surely the community of Pelly Bay that has requested funding for a very useful purpose should be able to get money that is no longer used by other communities. My supplementary to the Minister is, what is the status of the Pelly Bay request for funding under the infrastructure program? Thank you.

Mr. Nerysoo.