Mr. Todd.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the only people that shut doors these days is the union. My door is open all the time so is our staff's and so is Mr. Voytilla's. Thank you.

Oral question, supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Todd.

No, I do not think we.. we are working on a program based upon discussions that we held during the bargaining that took place and also because Mr. Ootes and others had raised it in the House.

So we are working trying to determine an appropriate course of action that would provide us with an opportunity to increase the student employment opportunities, because if you remember this last year, due to budget restraint, due to the fact we were unable to reach, what I thought was a reasonable position, with respect to student employment, we, in fact, employed significantly less students this year than we did in previous years, so it is my desire if you want, and the Cabinet's, that we would try to find an accommodation, hopefully, with our colleagues and partners at the UNW, but, if not, we will have to look at some other way in which to ensure that our children and our neighbour's children get equal opportunity for jobs this coming summer. Thank you.

Thank you, oral questions, final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Todd.

Yes, thank you Mr. Speaker. Part of the development, if you want, an alternative should we be unable to move forward in the current arrangement we have is to have discussions with the federal government and in particular, Ms. Blondin-Andrew who is a strong advocate of employing our youth across the territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions, Mr. Picco.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

I thought I was getting a serious question there, no. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions supplementary, Mr. Picco.

I thought I was going to get a serious answer. Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question then, is the Minister taking a page out of Mr. Martin's book and overinflating the deficit figure so at the end of the day the number comes out lower and we receive accolades for a job well done?

Mr. Todd.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Receiving accolades. Few and far between in these days and this job, Mr. Speaker. I want to show my colleague that any improvement in the fiscal situation was correct, was good - was part of good prudent management on the part of this government, partly associated with some of the revenue changes that took place and it would be - I must remain prudent in our deficit elimination strategy which is a two-year strategy and we intend to continue along that line. However, I think it is also important that one does not fabricate financial information when one is a Finance Minister. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions Mr. Picco.

Mr. Speaker, that is very good, but he did not answer my question. My question was, and of course it is not a supplemental question because I still want an answer to my first question. My

question was, is he inflating the deficit figures so at the end of the day, the government, the number comes out lower and it looks like we have done such a fantastic job but he is lowballing the number, which Mr. Martin is doing? There is my question just a second ago, you did not answer it, you just gave me some rosy, virtued story. So can he answer that question? Is he lowballing the deficit numbers so we look like we are doing a very good job when in actuality, everything is going on even keel?

Again, to remind the members that regarding your supplementary question, not to get into debate about the question itself. Mr. Todd.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to caution my honourable colleague, and it is not often I would do this, but I have spoken to him on a number of occasions of the seriousness of the budget elimination strategy and the impact that has on people's lives. And I want to show him in this House and the public at large that there is no inflated component to the budget strategy. When you are dealing with a billion, two hundred million dollars flaws either way take place on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. So if we are going to discuss the budget, and we are going to stress the overall deficit elimination strategy, then I want my honourable colleague, who I know is a very serious MLA, to understand that when he speaks in relationship to it, he should speak in a very sound, solid, concise way and not trivialize the issue. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral question, final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker I did not mean to trivialize or get into a debate with the honourable member, but he just rubs me the wrong way. My supplementary question, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker the result of the deficit as we have learned over the last nine months is from continued cuts to our base from the Federal Government which was announced in the 1995 Federal Budget. My question for the Honourable Minister of Finance is "Is there any indication from the Federal Minister, Mr. Martin, from Mr. Todd's two wonderful meetings with him, if we are going to be cut again for fiscal 96/97? I hope that is not too trivial.