Thank you, Ms. Thompson. Orders of the Day. Ms. Thompson, your point of privilege.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand on a point of privilege. During question period I mistakenly indicated to Mr. Steen that I had not used the words, "some communities are not educated". In reviewing the Hansard this morning I realized that on page 2017 I did use the words, "communities might not be educated".

I apologize to Mr. Steen and thank him for bringing this matter to my attention. Mr. Speaker, Inuktitut is my first language and in my mind I was talking about training. Training and education are the same words in Inuktitut. As Minister of MACA it is my responsibility to work with communities to ensure they are properly trained to carry on their responsibilities. I take this role very seriously and will work hard to ensure communities get the training they need to be successful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Thompson. You do not have a Point of Privilege but I am sure the Minister appreciates your statement. Ministers' Statements, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a number of questions in the House this week regarding the possibility of amalgamation of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Public Works and Services and the Department of Transportation. As Members will recall, this is not a new idea.

Last spring, the Standing Committee on Social Programs discussed the possibility of combining organizations such as the Housing Corporation and the Department of Public Works and Services to create one department responsible for infrastructure management.

This potential amalgamation supports that idea, and takes it one step further.

The Housing Corporation and the Departments of Transportation and Public Works and Services all design, build, and maintain community infrastructure. Unfortunately, as separate departments, these organizations often fail to take advantage of the economics of the scale that are possible through pooled resources and coordinated planning. As well, communities are often confused when they have to deal with three major contracting organizations. This amalgamation would directly address both of these issues, and would in fact, result in additional benefits as well.

Mr. Speaker, creating one department to manage our infrastructure is another step in fulfilling the 13th Assembly's priority to develop a more effective and efficient government structure. It is also positive and necessary to move in support of Community Empowerment and Division.

Mr. Speaker, to put this in perspective, I would like to provide Members with a bit of history. In 1991 the Government had twenty departments. Recognizing a change was needed, the 12th Assembly began redesigning and restructuring government, and in the process, reorganized the Departments of Public Works and Government Services; Education, Culture and Employment; and Health and Social Services.

When this Assembly took office last fall, we all made a commitment to continue the process in order to help secure our financial future, and to best prepare for division. Our first step resulted in the creation of the Department of Resource, Wildlife and Economic Development. Our next step, we undertook the dismantling of the Department of Safety and Public Services, transferring the responsibilities to other government departments.

The consolidation of our infrastructure departments will complete the process of organizational reform which began in 1991. By 1997, the core structure of the Government will have been reduced from twenty to nine departments.

As a result, a great deal of overlap and duplication will be eliminated, and the majority of our funding will be devoted to fulfilling our mandate, of delivering programs and services to the public.

Mr. Speaker, Members asked questions earlier this week regarding timeframe for the amalgamation of our infrastructure departments. I would like to stress to all Members that we are in the very early stages of this process. Cabinet has asked for a workplan outlining the overall process for the potential amalgamation for review at the end of October. After the workplan is presented and discussed at Cabinet, we will be moving it forward for discussion and review by the Standing Committee on Government Operations. Following that, we will be tabling a paper in the Legislative Assembly some time in November to allow for public debate.

Until the work plan is complete we cannot give a specific time for amalgamation or any stage of the process .. but I will say, based on the time frame of this Government, that our hope is to successfully complete this process in the spring of 1997.

Mr. Speaker, Members have also voiced concerns about the process that we will be following reviewing the amalgamation proposal, and ask about the opportunity for input and public debate. The work plan that is expected to come before Cabinet will include a strategy for thorough consultation with all stakeholders, both in the private sector and the Government.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, it will include a more specific plan on how we will seek Members' input and how we will communicate with them throughout this process.

As this amalgamation overlaps on three different ministerial portfolios, I have asked the Honourable Goo Arlooktoo to be the lead Minister for this project. Mr. Arlooktoo will make every effort to bring issues to the attention of the Members through the Standing Committee on Government Operations. He will also ensure, where possible, that the amalgamation process will be conducted in the open, and communication to Members and the Departments involved will be a priority.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to discussing this amalgamation, I would like to stress one thing to all Members of this House. While it is important to discuss the proposed move in the open, we must be aware of the sensitivities involved, particularly when it comes to employees working in the three existing Departments. While the Government will make every attempt to minimize lay offs in the amalgamation process, we must be sensitive to what we say in our public discussions. I believe we should, as with any other topic, focus on the benefits for all parties involved.

Members must remember the issues facing this Government, the goals we have set for ourselves, and the benefits that will be achieved with this amalgamation. And more importantly, we must all remember that we are doing this not for short-term gain or on a whim -- but rather to help build a foundation for the future of the North. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you Mr. Morin. Ministers' Statements, Ms. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Minister's Statement today is on the subject of community empowerment. Later on today I will be tabling an overview of the community empowerment initiative. I hope that this information will provide us with a basis for the discussion we need to have on this important subject. Mr. Speaker, the concept of community empowerment is not new. In the last Legislative Assembly, ordinary Members and Cabinet alike endorsed a community wellness strategy. Community empowerment is also a priority of this Cabinet and a key feature of the agenda for change. Mr. Speaker, most Members in this House are already familiar with the material I am tabling today. It is the basic presentation that we have using at meetings with the Standing Committees and regional leadership summits over the summer. The document is meant to get the discussion going. It does not represent approved Cabinet direction. It is not carved in stone. It does represent the thinking and ideas that have been developed to date. Mr. Speaker, at the community level, and at regional leadership meetings we have found positive support for community empowerment. Community leaders know that they are very limited in the decisions they are currently allowed to make. These are difficult times for any level of Government, but community governments are experiencing a great deal of frustration with our current system. The community empowerment initiative outlines a new way of doing business. It describes new roles for community governments and yes, that also means changes for Cabinet and for ordinary Members. For many years, Members of the Legislative Assembly had the burden of responsibility for delivering capital projects to their communities. That system worked well when we had a fully funded capital plan. Now that capital budgets are being cut, we are all finding that the old system does not works as well.

I think it is fair to say that we are all frustrated with the current system, but I believe community leaders are the most frustrated of all.

Community leaders are trying to make responsible decisions with diminishing resources. Yet they see the Legislative Assembly is not ready to give them any flexibility to set to their own priorities. We have to decided how much power we are willing to give up so that community governments can truly be responsible for their residents and for their future.

How much flexibility are we willing to give communities? We need to let communities know whether we believe they can be responsible decision-makers, or whether their decisions will be revisited by this House. This week it was Fort Simpson that needed flexibility, but next time it could be one of your constituents. What are we going to do if other communities come forward asking for the flexibility to use their limited capital dollars in a way that makes more sense to them? Are we going to say no because we know better?

Mr. Speaker, many MLA's attended the regional leadership meetings held over the past few months. Others were present at standing committee meetings when presentations on community empowerment were given.

I have received letters from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure telling me the initiative should be put on hold.

Shame, shame.

I have received a letter from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Social Programs telling me that initiative should not be put on hold.

Bravo! Bravo!

So I welcome this opportunity to get the issues out on the floor of the House where the communities can hear the concerns that Ordinary Members have about community empowerment.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I believe that communities in the NWT are ahead of their territorial politicians in this matter.

Communities have been asking for more authority and more control for years. But I want to emphasize that with authority and control, come accountability.

I was pleased with the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Government Operations with respect to asking the Auditor General of Canada to undertake a comprehensive audit of my Department. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the recommendation. The recommendations of the Auditor General will help MACA improve its capacity to monitor municipal finances, and as such will be very helpful. I appreciate the Standing Committee's attention to this important part of the empowerment initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I would like this house to know that the government is not giving everything away. The work we have done to date has focused on working through the many complex issues around the empowerment initiative. This work has involved almost every department in our government. There has been a tremendous effort to identify and analyze issues and develop options for the initiative. The main parts of this work includes:

1. A clear definition of territorial interests and community opportunities. As government gets smaller and our resources shrink, we have to put our efforts into territorial-wide areas of responsibility. We have to get out of areas of decision-making that could effectively be handled by local governments.

Hear, hear.

2. Community planning - a community planning process has been developed for NWT communities and a staff training program has been planned. Communities need to plan for their futures and these tools enable them to do so.

3. Assessments - as communities take on more responsibility, it will be very important to make sure they have the skills and expertise they need to be successful. A major part of assessments involves determining the training needs of the community. We want to make sure that local people get the skills and training they need to take on this challenge. Again, all training departments and colleges have participated in this work.

4. Accountability - options for block funding are being researched and developed. Monitoring and evaluation are also key elements of the accountability framework.

I would also like the members to know that my Department has been consulting with the office of the Auditor General of Canada since spring. My Deputy Minister initiated discussions with the auditor generals office and requested "real time" advice on the development of the Community Empowerment Initiative.

Staff from the Auditor General's office reviewed the various components of the initiative over the summer, not just with MACA but also with the Financial Management Board Secretariat and other departments involved in developing the initiative. We are expecting to receive the result of the Auditor General's review soon, and I will provide Members with a copy of his comments and observations.

Mr. Speaker, I will also be tabling motions from the Baffin Leadership summit and the Keewatin Leadership meetings. These motions express support for community empowerment.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Speaker, I have heard several Members say that they support community empowerment in principle, but that they have concerns about how it will be implemented.

To these Members, I would like to say that your concerns are valid, and I hope that through our discussions, we can resolve them. But I also urge members to let go of the old way of doing business in government, and have more faith in the communities.

Hear, hear!

We need to reduce dependency on government and increase local authority and autonomy. We can not do that if all the important community decisions are made on the floor of this House.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to discussing the Community Empowerment Initiative in this House. My cabinet colleagues and I are sincere in our belief that communities can handle more responsibility. We believe that community leaders are capable of deciding their priorities and that they can, and should, take control of their future. I hope that Members agree, and that we move forward with community empowerment quickly.

Our communities are counting on us. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you Ms. Thompson. Ministers' Statements, Mr. Ng.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services has launched an extensive public awareness campaign designed to promote community wellness planning and individual responsibility.

The campaign includes public service announcements that describe community wellness successes. These will air shortly on CBC television.

As well, the Department is developing a wellness campaign for school-aged children which includes comic and colouring books, contests and lunch bags to encourage healthy choices.

The Department has a 1-800 number for residents to receive information on community wellness planning and projects. Mr. Speaker, the Department has also distributed planning guidelines on HIV/AIDS prevention and it leading workshops on how to help communities deal with this threat to their health and well-being. The Department is actively working with communities on suicide prevention through information, support and workshops.

We hope all of these strategies will help people become more aware of how they can make health choices individually and as communities.

I am informing Members about our awareness campaign and ask all Members to join us in promoting healthy choices. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you Mr. Ng. Ministers' Statements, Mr. Dent.

The Minister Responsible for Education, Culture and Employment is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his Minister's Statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays, conclude your statement Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' Statements is now over. Members' Statement, Ms. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Members' Statements, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform this House as a courtesy on Tuesday, October 15 and 16, I will be absent from the House to attend the Inuit Association in Gjoa Haven. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Members' Statements, Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to thank the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for releasing ... And it is in regards to one of my constituent's requests. I do believe that they have contributed money for one of my constituents from Pond Inlet. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Members' Statements, Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Time and again my colleagues have brought forward examples of failure by the Government to provide support and assistance at the community level,

where the bulk of residents in the NWT still live. Mr. Speaker, the community of Arctic Bay has been identifying problems with the community freezer for years. It is the last of the group of very old freezers in our region. All the others have been replaced and it has been breaking down repeatedly in the last year. I have raised this issue with the Honourable Minister of Public Works and Services. Mr. Speaker, there are central problems illustrated by this case, critical community facility, one that is essential to safe food storage of country food, has been allowed to fail. These units are originally supplied by the Government to assist the communities, then the responsibility for the units was transferred over to the community organizations. But clearly, there are no freezer technicians in any of the small communities in the NWT. Our people are still dependent on the Government staff to maintain this equipment. When this equipment started to fail repeatedly, the local technicians have tried their best to make the repairs that they can, and the group has worked with great care to maintain the freezer properly. The repairs were finally carried out and the community was presented with a bill over $24,000 and the incorrect and rudely worded suggestion that the problems were all the fault of the community people. Mr. Speaker, we all have examples of this sort of treatment of the community level by Government staff. I am particularly concerned that this way of doing business has continued for many years. I have seen in this example a model of how community empowerment could fail us all if it started without the support of the communities. Mr. Speaker, I seek for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for the High Arctic is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Conclude his statement. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the old pattern could be repeated. Set up a program and dump on the communities without the resources and training. Then blame the communities when things go wrong. Then take all the credit for cutting the deficit at the same time. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all the Members of this House to remember their own communities, their willingness to control their own future, and their request for support and resources, as we head towards the parliament of our people in the communities. Mr. Speaker, I will have some oral questions later today for the Minister of Public Works and Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Barnabas. Member's Statement, Mr. Enuaraq, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past week and a half this House has had more debate than we have had in the first nine months of this Government. At times it has been heated. Mr. Speaker, the debates have shown the public that we are working and grappling with continued cuts and downsizing. This type of debate is healthy as long as it stays on the topic and does not get personal.

You cannot expect twenty-four people to agree on every item, or issue. Constituency concerns may take precedence over House concerns and visa versa. So be it. In some circles being consistent on every issues seems to be the utmost of importance, but being consistent on every aspect, or program, or issue, only demonstrates rigidity and the belief in the infallibility of a decision or stance.

Maybe the forward collective believes in consistency, but that does not make it right. A Member first and foremost has the legislative right to vote on any issue, any way they choose. Not voting with a majority in a consensus government style, like this House, could and sometimes does ostracize a Member.

I think it is important to remember other aspects of a Member's work in this House. Are they present for all the meetings? Do they keep up with all the committee issues? Do they ask informed questions? Are they habitually late or do they come and go from meetings as they feel like it? If a Member asks lots of questions in the House, are the questions judged on their merit, or frequency? Personally I would rather hear five questions from the same Member than one flippant question from another Member.

Over the next several months we will have more heated debate concerning the deficit reduction targets and the strategies of this Government. I look forward to this open debate and I think the public does, and needs to see this in the public forum in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Member's Statement, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be speaking today about fire fighting, but that of a different nature than what Mr. Picco is referring to. Mr. Speaker, this week has been designated as a time to acknowledge the bravery and dedication of all fire fighters across the country. Mr. Speaker, in the past I have had the opportunity of serving the volunteer fire fighting crews in both Tuktoyaktuk and Arviat. Mr. Speaker, this first hand experience gives me a realistic view of the hard work and dedication that fire fighting demands. Mr. Speaker, Johnny Sewoee is the Fire Chief of my own community of Arviat. He has a voluntary crew of twenty fire fighters who may at any given time be asked to risk their lives to keep the Hamlet of Arviat safe from fire. Driving a sixteen year old fire truck, Mr. Speaker, Johnny and his crew carry out practice runs every two weeks in the winter and once a week during the summer months. This practice session ensures that the crew keeps up-to-date on modern fire fighting techniques and keeps them always prepared in case of emergency.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the actual fire fighting practices, the firemen pay regular visits to the local schools, teach our children about fire fighting, fire safety measures. The children are taught how to escape safely from their homes if they are caught on fire, and also, if their schools should be endangered by fire.

Mr. Speaker, in my other community of Baker Lake, Mr. Titus Alooq has been the fire chief for a number of years and leads a crew of fifteen volunteer firemen. Mr. Speaker, approximately two years ago, Baker Lake experienced a major fire where two staff houses caught fire within twenty minutes of each other. With only one fire truck at their disposal, and despite the brave efforts of the crew in sub-zero temperatures, the crew were only able to salvage one of the homes.

It is because of instances like this, Mr. Speaker, and the regular time-consuming training that they do, I am proud to acknowledge all the fire fighters, especially those dedicated to voluntary crews in Arviat and Baker Lake. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and, far too often, they are taken for granted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Member's statement, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, the member from Mackenzie Delta is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement, do we have any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you Mr. Krutko. Member's statement Mr. Ootes.

The member for Yellowknife Central is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. You have unanimous consent Mr. Ootes.

Thank you Mr. Ootes. Member's statement, Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you may recall a few short months ago, BHP along with a number of aboriginal groups started on a path that would provide assurance benefits and protections on areas of the environment and natural resources. The goals of course was to allow a diamond mine to operate within the NWT. A few have heard over the last day, or so, this goal is progressing towards a reality. I would like to congratulate our Grand Chief Joe Rabesca, the treaty 11 council negotiator as well as BHP for making this historical agreement, and making the next step in seeing this project reality.

This project means many benefits to our people as well as the rest of Northwest Territories. It is nice to see that glimmer of light in horizon. In these times of cutbacks and layoffs, we can really support and encourage the other negotiating group to do the best and to try to come up with a package that works for them.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Grand Chief and Council as well as BHP, as they say, diamonds are Dogribs best friends...(laughter). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- applause

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Member's Statement, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to commend the Premier on his recent statement that he is going to table the paper regarding the amalgamation of Transportation, Housing Corporation, Public Services into the Legislative Assembly for public debate.

I just wanted to mention that there seems to be a little bit of reorganizing of history here in this paper. The Premier indicated that the 12th Assembly recognized changes needed so they began redesigning and restructuring Government and then the process reorganized departments. That, when this Assembly took office last fall we all made a commitment to continue that process. He indicated that our first step was altering the creation of the Department of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development. Next step, was the dismantling of the Department of Safety and Public Services. He forgot to mention the dismantling of Personnel, but he mentioned that he also continued that the consolidation of our infrastructure departments will complete the process of organizational reform.

Mr. Speaker, I feel that we as MLA's were taken advantage of, because these things did go through the committees, and we all felt that at some point we will all have our say and agree to, or say nay, to these things, but that did not happen, and I take a strong exception when I see, that it says here, that we all made a commitment to continue that process and it lays out these things which I never agreed to. Thank you.

-- applause

Thank you. Member's statement? Returns to oral questions. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the Chairperson of the Baffin Division of the Board of Education, Mr. Joe Atikitalluq.

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery, Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also recognize, a colleague, Board Chairperson, Joe Atikitalluq. Thank you.

-- applause

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Oral questions, Mr. Krutko.

The Minister of Justice, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes I can confirm that based on current funding that appropriations that were dedicated for the Aklavik correctional centre was reprofiled into capital contributions for operators, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral question, supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Ng?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, operators of wilderness operations camps can apply to the Department for one time capital contributions to assist them, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral question, supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have indicated in the past that yes, I think that Aklavik, given their expectations to have a community correctional centre there, that is no longer available for funding, that we would give them serious priority and consideration in any proposals that would come forward from that community, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral questions? Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all there were no cuts to the Tl'oondih funding. Contrary to that, as I have indicated in the past, we provided some funding from program areas within the Department of Health and Social Services to try to assist them in financing their operations. In respect to the correctional facility, that was originally designated for Aklavik, unfortunately, the Department of Justice did not have any operational dollars approved for that facility, and that was one of the reasons why the decision was made to reprofile those monies to capital contributions first of all to try to spread out the amount of dollars to a number of communities to allow them the opportunity to establish wilderness camp operations, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions, Mr. Miltenberger.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My definition, Mr. Speaker,

would be giving community based organizations and community individuals and groups the necessary resources and support to foster the development of wellness amongst their individuals in their communities to better the overall health of the community, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral question supplementary Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Mr. Ng.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess I would go back to having individuals having the responsibility and the acknowledgement of being able to look after themselves and to contribute to the betterment of the community by supporting their peers and supporting other organizations within the community, for the benefit of the community, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary.

Just to again remind the members that a lot of the question, the question that the member from Thebacha is asking is getting into an area of personal opinions. And if you want your question and if you look at the rules regarding your question, it says an oral question should be concisely and clearly put and shall refer only to a matter which may reasonably be assumed to be within the present knowledge of the Minister. And also, that this is a supplementary question, so you have to be direct in your question to the minister. Your point, Mr. Miltenberger.

There is no such thing as a Point of Clarification. I am sorry. He is asking the Member if he could repeat question to the Minister of Health.

The document that you are referring to is not in the Chamber. It is not in the knowledge of all the Members.

It is not a tabled document so, you cannot make reference to something that is not in the knowledge of the Chair or the Members.

Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Mr. Ng.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, how I would measure community wellness is in fact, we would have to first of all establish a benchmark of where we would start from, the health status of the community as it stands now in relation to other communities and in relation to territorial and to national standards and further on from that, in the years following that to compare that to where we started from to see what the overall health status of the community is Mr. Speaker.

So that is how I would gauge the effect of community wellness initiatives. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker as part of the overall process is to have a community action plan; direction where the community wants to go, to identify what initiatives they think are the priorities for that community. And after that is done and then we would support them with additional resources to move into taking on programs and to help them to train the human resources, to assist them to move forward and try and to develop and then implement programs that are going to, overall contribute to the overall better well-being and health of the communities, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions, Mr. Enuaraq.

(translation) Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Renewable Resources, Mr. Kakfwi.

In Clyde River, we have polar bear quotas that was 45 quotas and they were reduced to 22. When they were reduced, the polar bear quotas were reduced, the GNWT started giving $32,000 for assistance to the HTA in Clyde River and I would like to ask the Minister if they will be continuing to give the $32,000 to the HTA Association in Clyde River. Thank you.

Thank you. The Minister Responsible for Resource, Wildlife and

Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I requested that the honourable Minister clarify the status of the pending transfer of housing sub-office staff from Rankin to Arviat. Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was unclear as to whether the hamlet of Arviat were aware or advised of this pending transfer. Mr. Speaker, I have since verified that the hamlet have been advised of the transfer and, therefore, some are concerned about any delay in this pending transfer.

Mr. Speaker, would the honourable Minister kindly respond in more detail to this issue so as to provide greater assurances that this transfer will, indeed, take place. Thank you.

The Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, as I told the member yesterday, the transfer of the two positions from Rankin to Arviat has been planned and has been a commitment by the previous Assembly and it was, and is still, my intention to follow through. The letter that was sent to the MLAs said that the transfer would take place on April 1st.

I did say yesterday, however, that because of the pending amalgamation of the departments of Public Works and Services, Transportation and the Housing Corporation, that there is some uncertainty about the structure of these departments, so, until that is clarified in the next few weeks, I cannot say for sure how and when these transfers will happen.

Thank you. Oral questions, Mrs. Groenewegen.

The Minister Responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, the service of this telephone switchboard operation for Yellowknife was privatized and yes, NorthwesTel was the company that won the contract.

Thank you. Oral question supplementary, Ms. Groenewegen.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the process that was used, so I will find out and advise the member.

Thank you. Oral questions, Mr. Picco.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Public Works. Can the Minister inform me if contracts and Medevac flights issued by this government and borrowed in agency of this government have to adhere to the Article 24 of the Nunavut settlement area. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

The Minister Responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, medevac flights and medical services are managed by the Baffin Regional Health Board in Baffin Region and the members constituency, and I do believe that they do have to adhere the provisions of the articles 24 interim measures.

Oral question supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. So I guess, I take that in that indeed they do have to adhere to the Article 24 because they are funded by this government. Can the Minister inform this House what rules and regulations are in place to ensure that there is no circumvention of Article 24 in the Nunavut settlement area?