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

Chairman of the Financial Management Board, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't think that it is any secret that we have been looking at a human resource plan for the Government of the Northwest Territories. That comprises a number of things; the affirmative action policy has to be looked at and one of the other key areas is an employee assistance program. I believe that the original person who brought that forward, when he had this responsibility, was Mr. Kakfwi.

We were looking at that particular area and have been for some time, and have, perhaps, not on the same kind of lines that the committee made their recommendations to us. So, we are now re-looking at the idea that Mr. Dent raises. That is that the front-line workers should be taken into consideration first, and in that regard there has been some discussion with myself and the Premier in her capacity as the Minister of Health and Social Services, to maybe rejig this situation to address the front-line workers in communities. I don't have anything more than that on it at the present time, Mr. Speaker. It is safe to say that we are trying to change the focus at the present time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Mr. Pollard.

Yes, it is, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, in January, the Ingraham Trail Association made a request to the Minister about the possibility of the residents on the Ingraham Trail taking advantage of the territorial government's trucked sewer and water subsidy. Has there been an official response from the department to the association?

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, we have not responded. We are aware of the petition and request from the residents in that area and the department is looking at the rationale in providing trucked water and sewage services to special service areas at this time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister of Renewable Resources. Mr. Speaker, we hear that negotiations are well advanced between the European union and Canada on the issue of straddling stocks of turbot. These negotiations, I fear, might effect the fledgling turbot fishery in the Northwest Territories. Firstly, have the Minister and his officials been trying to monitor and have input into these important negotiations? Thank you.

Minister of Renewable Resources, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the department has been trying to keep up with what is going on between the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Spain. However, we are not able to get any details on where the discussion has

gone so far other than what we see in the newspapers. They are not willing to give any details until an agreement is finalized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, is the Northwest Territories not, through the Minister of Renewable Resources, part of the committee that allocates quotas within Canada and particularly with respect to turbot? And doesn't that give the Minister and his officials access to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and their officials about negotiations that would affect the resources available within Canadian waters? Thank you.

Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it would give us some representation in the discussions, but the discussions that are ongoing have been outside the Canada boundaries of the 200-mile limit. They have stuck with, basically, the international waters which are outside our boundaries. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the general thrust of these negotiations are that Canada gives up a share of its turbot allocation in these waters to the Europeans in return for the Europeans agreeing to more stringent enforcement mechanisms. I would like to ask the Minister, if the overall Canadian quota is reduced in these negotiations with the Europeans, is it not possible that this reduction in the overall Canadian quota will squeeze the allocations available within Canadian waters, particularly to applicant from the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that if there are any allocations given up by Canada in the waters within the 200-mile limit, that the Minister would have the decency to inform those who would be affected. I think that in the Northwest Territories, the area adjacent to the waters around the NTI agreement, if they are to be affected then the Minister would inform myself as well as the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, according to the Nunavut final agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.