Thank you, Mr. Ng. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Don Morin will be absent from the House today to travel to Edmonton to attend to matters relating to the conflict of interest inquiry. The Honourable John Todd will be absent from the House today to meet with the chief executive officer of the Northern Stores in Rankin Inlet. Mr. Todd will also be absent from the House Monday, March 6th and Tuesday, March 7th to attend a prospectors' and developers' conference in Toronto.

Mr. Speaker, I will also be absent from the House Monday, March 6th and Tuesday, March 7th to attend the prospectors and developers' conference in Toronto and on Thursday, March 9th to attend the Pauktuutit annual general meeting in Inuvik. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I walked to work this morning with a young man who I have known since he was 15 years old. He is now 32 and his name is Ronnie Hauck. He's a person with very special abilities and special challenges. A few years ago, the Abe Miller Centre assisted him in setting up a courier service out of the centre. About a year ago, I asked Mr. Todd to assist in helping Ronnie to set himself up as an independent courier service. He learned quite a bit about Ronnie and he was very impressed with his achievements.

I'm happy to say that on April 1st of this year, Ronnie will achieve the independence he's been trying to achieve since he was a teenager. In many ways, Ronnie's success is an example of what we would like to achieve with our entire economy. We are a very small population and we shouldn't depend only on mega projects to be our major economic saviour. In the long run, Mr. Speaker, it will be the hundreds of small businesses that will sustain us because they, themselves, will be sustainable.

This seems like a small issue, Mr. Speaker, but if we are successful in many small projects, the economic impact could be very significant. I would like to make this statement today in the absence of Mr. Todd because I would like to thank him for his attention and assistance in this matter, but do not want to see him blush.

---Laughter

So, perhaps this can be passed on to him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Speaker's Ruling

Mr. Speaker, I, too, reviewed Hansard last evening and recognize that Mr. Lewis did not refer "sleazy" toward us as Members. Therefore, I would like to withdraw the quote with regard to these particular words as being unparliamentary. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Point of privilege, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Point Of Privilege

Mr. Speaker, on a point of privilege, I rise under rule 20 concerning a report that was on CBC radio this morning.

Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, I did file the required statement with you that was on the news report and I would like to quote it. The particular area that I would like to quote is Giles Penney's report, "...it was an unpleasant struggle with frequent pleas to the Speaker." And particularly to the reference where he stated, "Thebacha MLA, Jeannie Marie-Jewell, started out saying she wanted to have an election in June. But, before she finished talking, she was asking the Speaker to rule on MLA Brian Lewis's comments from February 20th when the Yellowknife Member used the word "sleazy"."

Mr. Speaker, I feel that CBC, once again, are reporting incorrectly. It was in fact Mr. Lewis who raised the point of order as we have just discussed this issue. Once again, we find that CBC is reporting incorrectly and not focusing on the issue that was under debate and more on sensationalism. The CBC does no favours to the residents of the Northwest Territories in not reporting accurately the events of this Assembly. They are not giving them information that they want to be informed about.

I know, Mr. Speaker, that we can't do much about this, but I want to correct CBC for the record. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Whitford.

The Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you, Mr. Whitford. Item 3, Members' statements. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for the record, I would like to state that the motion to amend Motion 14-12(7) was defeated, which is unfortunate because the Nunavut Caucus ordinary MLAs will have less than a two-week break when everybody else will have a two-week break.

Furthermore, I was somewhat saddened to see that our Nunavut Cabinet Members did not support the amendment for the March break. I say this because, as I said yesterday, I did try to change the dates with the chairperson of the Nunavut Implementation Commission, but because of the Price Waterhouse report not being available prior to that date, we could not change the date. As a result, some of our Members will have to fly home and then return again the middle of the next week to attend this very important meeting that really is a key part in designing the Nunavut government. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Dent.

The Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Complete your statement, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 3, Members' statements. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recent public statements have been made about a matter that has caused many concerns to my constituents in Fort Smith. I am speaking of reports indicating that the regional vice-president of the Union of Northern Workers in Fort Smith falsely represented his credentials on an employment application to work in a government position.

Many of my constituents were very concerned with the fact that he was in an area working with troubled children, despite the fact that he allegedly presented fraudulent accounts of his training and education. There are further concerns that even when it was discovered that misrepresentation took place, it has appeared that no formal action has been taken by the Department of Personnel or the Department of Justice.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, this individual continues to retain his executive position with the Union of Northern Workers, even though he resigned from the public service upon discovery of his deceit.

Mr. Speaker, this matter has the potential to create a disruptive situation with the regional operation of our territorial civil service. It also has the potential to effect employee morale and to erode public confidence in the GNWT personnel policy.

Mr. Speaker, I believe it has left many of my constituents, who are in fact hard-working members of our public service, unhappy and confused about the sort of policies that are being implemented by their own collective bargaining unit.

I believe there are a couple of concerns and questions that need to be raised as to what formal action was taken by the Department of Personnel to investigate and respond when it was alleged that this employee misrepresented his formal background during a candidate selection procedure. How can the Union of Northern Workers possibly retain its credibility as an organization that is representative of public service employees when regional vice-presidents are not even required to work for the government?

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that many of my constituents are concerned and, as you are aware, I know that when matters like this occur...

My time is up, I seek unanimous consent to continue.

The Member for Thebacha is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please complete your statement, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you are aware, I know when matters like this occur in small centres or remote communities, impact on workplace relations and employee confidence can be much greater than people in Yellowknife might realize. On one hand, it creates turmoil and interpersonal strain within government operations, while on the other, it attempts to mediate the situation which risks being interpreted as interference in the operation of a legal and independent collective bargaining unit.

You know in many ways, Mr. Speaker, for an MLA, it becomes a no-win situation. For this reason, Mr. Speaker, I believe it requires further examination; particularly when this position was held to look after youths of our territory, and troubled youths. Therefore, I will be looking to the respective Ministers of our Cabinet to enquire and to take the necessary leadership to address this kind of situation.

However, in closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate what some of my constituents have told me. That they want me at the same time to compliment one of our northern news organizations, News/North services, for researching and reporting this matter in News/North, especially considering that our local newspaper, the Slave River Journal, has been ignoring the situation. Some of my constituents have even suggested that this may be due to the fact that the union office space is rented from the Slave River Journal owner. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during my visit to my region, mainly Taloyoak, I had the opportunity to talk to one of the local business people, Mr. Dennis Lyall. Mr. Lyall has indicated to me on two occasions that he wants to put together traditional events, which are slated for the early summer of 1995.

Mr. Speaker, such events are good for the community; it brings together different entertainers from outlying communities as well as from other regions. Mr. Speaker, cultural events are good, they are mentally healthy; physically healthy and culturally healthy, and, Mr. Speaker, it is God-given for people to get together in the spirit of goodwill. So I would urge the department which has the money to support such events to do so. At the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Communications for some possible funding for this event. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to have an opportunity to speak about a young man I think many of us know personally, at least I do. He's a young man who is setting what I consider is an example worthy of recognition. He's a young man from Yellowknife, actually, by the name of Jeremy Jaud. We pay great tribute to our athletes. Mr. Whitford, Member for Yellowknife South, spoke about our athletes at the Canada Winter Games. The chair of the Ordinary Members' Caucus spoke about the Koe curling team. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we have a tendency not to realize the importance of sports to the development of young people.

I wanted to rise to pay tribute to Jeremy Jaud, and not only for his character because I had an opportunity to be at the Canada Summer Games where I saw Jeremy Jaud and members of the Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club, who are the majority of the team, cheer on other athletes, whether they were playing volleyball, soccer or fastball. For those who don't know and who didn't read the papers, from the 10th to the 12th of February at the 1995 Junior Nationals in Victoria, Jeremy took gold in the 100-metre freestyle, the 100-metre breaststroke, the 200-metre individual medley, the 200-relay, the 200 metre breaststroke; and, in the 400 metre relay, Jeremy and his team broke the old youth national record by a full two seconds.

Jeremy Jaud also won silver medals in the 200-metre freestyle, the 400-individual medley, the 200-backstroke and the 400-metre freestyle.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Mackenzie Delta is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to make a point of raising this issue today because I think, oft-times we have a tendency of spreading bad news. Jeremy Jaud is giving the territories a chance to spread good news about things, about young people and the reason why determination and commitment is important for young people, whether it is in school, athletics or at work. A young man like this who, along with other athletes like Ron Gonzales of Hay River, Pinto Dragon of Fort Smith, and Kevin Koe of Inuvik/Yellowknife, set wonderful examples for our young. I think we should always encourage young people to participate in athletics because it develops character, commitment and the desire to do better, whether or not they win. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Nerysoo. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to talk about young athletes, and Jeremy Jaud is a very impressive young athlete. I would like to talk about our speedskaters. This weekend, the NWT Speedskating Association is holding their territorial championships. There are 150 skaters involved in the Yellowknife club. They've been coached by very dedicated long-time coaches, Gay Kennedy and Dave McCann, who have been with the club for many, many years.

We also have a wave of the future. Three of the great young skaters in the club, Giny Wainwright, Dwight Pennington and Jamie Sanders are fantastic skaters and have taken certification courses with Sport North and are giving back to the sport, as coaches, so that the club continues. The Yellowknife Speedskating Club has held clinics in Igloolik, Fort Providence, Pangnirtung, Tuktoyaktuk, Norman Wells, Inuvik and in Aklavik. Last week, we had eight athletes at the Canada Winter Games

and everybody at the Winter Games were very impressed with the calibre of our athletes.

Speedskating is a wonderful sport for those who have ever seen it. Those kids skate like the wind. There are very simple rules: skate fast and turn left, at least that's what they tell me. It's a sport that can take place anywhere in the territories because all you really need is an arena, skates and a helmet. I understand that Pangnirtung is one example where it's really catching on and two kids from Pangnirtung are competing here at the championships. They are a really good bunch of kids and a good bunch of coaches, with tremendous camaraderie. I think the Yellowknife Speedskating Club is a great credit to the community.

The championships are being held at the Yellowknife Community Arena on Friday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and on Saturday from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Everybody is welcome. On behalf of the Legislative Assembly, I wish all the competitors well in the NWT championships. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ballantyne. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Antoine on February 22nd with regard to funding provided to the students at Lester B. Pearson College. In the past, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment supported one northern student a year to attend Lester B. Pearson College, through the payment of a two-year scholarship. The scholarship covered costs for tuition and room and board for this two-year program. In addition, the department also paid the transportation costs for NWT students.

Due to fiscal restraint, in 1993 the department informed Lester B. Pearson College that they would no longer be providing a scholarship for students to attend this program. The last student the department fully funded to attend was a student from Fort Smith, sponsored for the 1993-95 academic term. This year, the cost of tuition and room and board for the college is $19,000. The department did provide the college with a list of possible private sponsors, including land claim organizations, that might be willing to support NWT students.

I am pleased to inform you that, starting in 1994, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, in conjunction with Lester B. Pearson College, is supporting a student from Rankin Inlet to attend the program. I am also pleased to inform you that Lester B. Pearson, itself, is also offering a scholarship for one NWT student for each new two-year term. A Fort Simpson student is now receiving this scholarship for the 1994-96 term. In total, there are three NWT students now attending the college. A student from Fort Smith is in the second and last year of the program and the Fort Simpson and Rankin Inlet students are in the first year of their program.

I'm not aware of any letters sent to these students telling them that they would no longer be receiving scholarship funding to attend Lester B. Pearson college and I would appreciate receiving a copy of these letters so I can help resolve this matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Dent.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. The question was taken as notice. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the budget speech delivered on February 20, 1995, the Minister of Finance made a statement and I wish to quote that statement: "We are committed to treating our employees fairly and it is our intention to work cooperatively with the unions, be it at the bargaining table or in joint consultation, to determine the most effective means to reduce wage and benefits costs." What does the Minister mean by this statement?

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to send a clear message to our employees, either through the NWTTA or the UNW, that we would bargain with them in good faith, whether it was creating workforce adjustment programs if any downsizing were to occur, or if it was concerning community transfer where jurisdictions are changing for certain employees. Most of all, Mr. Speaker, it was regarding the collective bargaining that has been going on and that we have asked for certain concessions from our employees through their union, the UNW. I wanted to send a clear message that that would be done in good faith and that we were willing to cooperate and use the bargaining process properly and come to good arrangements with our unions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. This particular statement that I quoted seems like a real paradox, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that the union is not as interested in reducing wages and benefits costs, as some Members of this government are. How are the negotiations between the UNW and this government proceeding?

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are no negotiations going on at the present time. We are looking and have exchanged names with regard to mediation and arbitration which is a course in the bargaining process.

Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Has an arbitrator or mediator been chosen yet?

Mr. Pollard.

Not to my knowledge, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Koe.

When does the Minister expect that process to continue and expect a mediator to be chosen?

Mr. Pollard.

I can't give a specific date, Mr. Speaker, but I would hope that it will be occurring very soon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I commented earlier this morning in my Member's statement that many of my constituents in Fort Smith are

concerned about a matter involving a former government employee in Fort Smith. Public statements have been made suggesting that this individual falsely represented himself as having a higher education than he actually did. Since then, this employee has resigned from his position which is similar to a position of trust working with youth. Mr. Speaker, the seriousness of the matter is compounded by the fact he continues to retain a senior position on the union executive as the regional vice-president. My question to the Minister of Personnel is what policies and procedures are in place to verify the information that candidates for government employment provide with respect to their education and training, which will reflect their proper credentials? Thank you.

Minister of Personnel, Ms. Cournoyea.

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

The question was taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Finance. A number of months ago, the Minister of Finance had meetings with the federal Minister Masse. The meetings were regarding the reconciliation of federal, provincial and territorial bureaucracies to try to end duplication and overlapping. What impact did the last federal budget have on these discussions?

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for overlap and duplication rests with me, although the arrangements between governments are between the Prime Minister and the Premier across the country. The Premier assigned me to conclude the issue with Minister Masse and our first round has been concluded. Mr. Ballantyne raises a good point, Mr. Speaker. With the federal cutbacks that are going to occur in the federal government, already we have seen Mr. Todd suggest that there are some federal things that could be done to mitigate the effect of the cutback on the EDA.

There are all kinds of signs out there that we need to get together again with the federal government. Just last week, there was a letter from the Prime Minister to the Premier saying the first round was over. We will be now be looking at what we can suggest for the second round. I would like to get more information on the budget first, but sometime in the next 30 days, I will be drafting a letter for the Premier to send to the Prime Minister to instruct Minister Masse to get back to me, so we can look at the impact of the federal government cutbacks on the NWT and see if there are some efficiencies that we can gain. At the same time, we need to mitigate some of those cutbacks upon us.

We need to see if we have too much administration and whether we can cooperate with the federal government. That is what we intend to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that information. In the letter and subsequent discussion with Minister Masse, could the Minister outline the concern that if the federal government continues to cut back all their programs, at the end of the day, there is going to be nothing to harmonize. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Pollard.

Indeed, Mr. Speaker, those issues will be pointed out. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Another area that I would ask the Minister and the Premier to explore -- and I would ask they include this area in the letter and discussion -- is DIAND. DIAND was relatively unscathed through the last budget. We are not sure over the next five or six years if the northern side of DIAND will remain unscathed. It seems that that is one area where there is a lot of duplication between what they do and what we do. Would the Minister specifically look at DIAND and see if there are areas in DIAND that could be better done by us or if there could be some harmonization between what DIAND does and what we do in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Pollard.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Justice. In last fall's capital Budget Address, the Minister of Finance stated that the Department of Justice was preparing a continuation plan to implement a correctional facilities plan. Again, in the recent budget speech, the Minister of Finance made reference to the corrections plan. My question to the Minister of Justice is what is the status of the corrections strategy and facilities plan?

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

There has been a lot of talk about putting emphasis on community corrections. What initiatives are under way in the department to prepare communities to develop community corrections programs?

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been advertisements out for proposals, as the Minister mentioned, for community corrections programs or youth facilities. When does the Minister envisage implementing some of these programs?

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of DPW. On my last constituency visit, I met with the GNWT staff, mainly with the teachers to deal with their request, along with DPW staff from the region. The outcome of our meeting was generally satisfactory; however, I still have some concerns.

The houses that cause me concern are more than two decades old and are in poor shape. Condition ratings were done shortly after the implementation of the housing strategy more than three years ago. What was the purpose of condition rating GNWT staff houses in level II and III communities?

Minister of DPW, Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, we were assessing the condition those particular units were in. I know the problem that the Member is raising. It has been brought to my attention, and I have asked the department to go in there again and look at these units that are causing the problem and give me a full report. So there is going to be an update on that condition rating, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Ms. Mike, supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the honourable Minister did not answer my question. I wanted to know what was the purpose of the condition rating on GNWT staff houses.

Mr. Pollard.

We wanted to find out what condition they were in so we could make plans on what would happen with those units; whether or not we put a lot of money into the units, whether we dispose of the units or whether they have to be written off. We needed to know at that time what we were looking at for the condition of those particular units, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understood in his first response that he will get a full report on these units that I'm talking about, as to what condition they're in. Does this mean that the condition rating will be done again?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I've received specific complaints from people in Pangnirtung about some of the units that they're living in at the present time. I was concerned about some of those complaints, and I've asked for an assessment of those particular units. So I will have a better idea of what condition the unit is in and whether or not the maintenance has been done. It may even come back and tell me whether or not it's worth doing any more maintenance on those particular units, Mr. Speaker. From that report, I'll decide on what course of action to follow after that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been more than three years since the housing strategy was implemented. My understanding of the condition rating, as Mr. Pollard put it, is to assess what shape they're in. However, three years has gone by and nothing has been done to a lot of these units. From what I am told from the region, it's because there is nothing available to either make any repairs or to do any retrofit if that's what must be done. Will the Minister assure me, after he receives the report on the condition of these units, that everything will be done, that he locate some funds to at least bring these staff housing units to substandard condition? Thank you.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I want to find out what those units are like and get an assessment of what is the most economic way to either fix them or give me some outlook on what we can do with those particular units. I can't commit that we're going to refurbish those houses, but I can commit to the Member that as soon as I get that report back, I'll sit down with her and go over the report and we'll decide on a course of action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I indicated earlier in my Member's statement the plan of Taloyoak people to have a cultural event some time in the early summer. This may be preliminary at this stage. As I also indicated, it is God-given to enjoy life in a spirit of goodwill. It promotes the future young artists in the field of music, Mr. Speaker. It enhances the cultural identities of the specific group in this area. My question is to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. Could the honourable Minister provide me with information on what is available to support such events in terms of finances? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have all the information of all the programs available, but I will commit to the honourable Member, through writing, that I will advise him of all the programs that are available and, in fact, Mr. Speaker, I will even commit to writing and having the departmental staff in Cambridge Bay work with the people to whom he is referring so that they may fill out the appropriate forms so that they can be considered for accessing resources which are available in the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the honourable Minister. Would the honourable Minister assure me that he will take action, at the first opportunity, with his staff? Thank you.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will certainly take this issue along with some of the other issues the honourable Member has raised from his particular constituency, and we will see if we can combine them and try to address them collectively, maybe with a visit of the staff to that particular area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, the Minister should be aware of public statements that the regional vice-president of the Union of Northern Workers falsified information provided on his resume when he was being considered as a candidate for a treatment position in Fort Smith working with youths. I would like to ask the Minister if he can indicate whether there has been a formal investigation of this matter; with a view to determining if formal legal action should be taken in the event of deliberate or fraudulent misrepresentation of employee information. Thank you.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Speaker, I think that question should be more appropriately referred to the Honourable John Pollard.

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of departments involved in this one. Our department, Financial Management Board Secretariat, was the lead department, and it may eventually have to be turned over to somebody else, but in the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I will take the question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you. (Translation) Today I would like to recognize some people in the gallery. They are from overseas, the Soviet Union, now called Russia. When I look back to 1972 when Canada and the Soviet Union played hockey, the Canada Cup series, I recognize the names of some of the players, but the names of the guests we have in the gallery right now are very difficult to pronounce. I would like to try to say their names today. I might not be able to say them well enough but I will try. (Translation ends) Mr. Bremey Aipin.

---Applause

Mr. Aipin is the deputy chairman of the Committee on Aboriginal Affairs in Russia's Parliament. He is also the president of the association of aboriginal minorities in the north, Siberia and far east of the Russian Federation. So that is Bremey Aipin.

---Applause

The next gentleman is Ivan Ledkov.

---Applause

He is the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Okrug region. He is also the deputy chairman of the legislative committee.

The next person is a lady by the name of Elena Mal'steva.

---Applause

She is the medical doctor responsible for regional hospitals.

The other person is Vladimir Kryazhkov.

---Applause

He is a professor of law. I hope I pronounced your names correctly. I apologize if I didn't. Welcome to the Assembly.

---Applause

Also, just to remind Members, you will have an opportunity to meet with that delegation this afternoon.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) I would like to thank the Minister of Renewable Resources for having been able to visit my community. I apologize for not being able to be with him when he was in Grise Fiord. He met with hunters and trappers in Resolute and they talked about polar bear hunting. There is going to be a survey done near my community of Resolute Bay with regard to polar bears. The study will be to find out if there are enough polar bears left in my region. I would like to ask what other survey will be done during this time. Is there going to be another survey with regard to polar bears done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Renewable Resources, Mr. Arngna'naaq.