Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. Once again, Mr. Speaker, this new scheme that we are working on is in the development stage it is fairly hard to say exactly right now what kind of time frame we are looking at. Next year, we hopefully start planning the actual road site, if it goes through the different processes for approval. In the meantime, between now and then we are going to have to sit down and develop some sort of a strategy which the department has done. We need to get involved with the other possible partners and develop the plan together because we cannot do it alone.

So, my answer to the honourable member, Mr. Speaker, is that at this point in time it is difficult to say what kind of time frame we are looking at. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The honourable member is putting me on the spot here, but the way I would like to answer it is that we have to look at the whole highway system. There are other interests out there as well, in regards to development of our infrastructure. The highest priority, however, according to the department is to reconstruct and re-develop existing infrastructure. So, in that regard, it is already in there and we are looking at the existing road and we know it has to get done. We are also looking at our finances and we are looking at different ways of trying to do this work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the member knows I will take this question as notice and I will get the Minister to reply to him. Thank you.

Thank you, the question is taken as notice. Oral questions, Mr. Roland.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this summer I had the opportunity to drive the Dempster Highway from

Inuvik through Fort McPherson all the way to Whitehorse and at the end of this trip I had the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Transportation for the Yukon government. As of a few days ago, that government is no longer there. The Minister is no longer there, but however, there is on going discussions between the officials of both departments, the deputy minister of the transportation from the Yukon government as well as his counterpart, my deputy minister, have been meeting on a regular basis. After the new government is formed in the Yukon, then we will sit down with the new government and see if the conditions we have laid out are still there.

Mr. Speaker, the Dempster Highway, I am told will remain open, however, there is discussion about the level of maintenance that is currently on that section of the highway. It was discussed by the Yukon government, they were looking at, they are also looking at budget reductions in the Yukon, therefore, they were looking at this section of the highway for reducing the level of maintenance and they were looking at different scenarios on how to do that.

We were at that stage in the discussion when the election was called in the Yukon and at this point in time we do not know who the new Minister is going to be, but as far as the discussion between the officials, they are going on and, hopefully, once we know who the new Minister is we will try to sit down with them as soon as possible and resume our discussion. Hopefully, they will have changed a little bit of direction by that time and that the type of level of maintenance they were talking about reducing will not be as much as they were asking for, hopefully. But this is, in all our discussions, this will take place. Thank you.

Thank you, oral question, supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our Premier has communicated with the new Premier of the Yukon and they have talked and agreed to work closely with each other on all issues. So, it is a good opening note, and yes, to the question of the honourable Member that the MLAs affected should be closely involved in this whole process. Thank you.

Oral questions, Mr. Miltenberger.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My colleague is correct there was the report that went to the Government Operations on June 14th that I sent, I believe. We did receive some comments and some directions from the Government Operations Committee. Given the sensitivity of this issue and the importance of it, in that we need to move forward into getting more aboriginal northerners into the civil service, we are trying to incorporate the concerns that were expressed by the committee. We are going to try and have that together as soon as we can.

I am a bit concerned, if I may answer this way, that when we talk about affirmative action and then my honourable colleague earlier talked about job strategy, to me, in a sense, even though they are of similar mind, there are two separate entities. So, I am having some difficulty with that, but I am hoping and I am optimistic that we will be able to conclude this report, including the recommendations made by the Government Operations Committee, s quickly as possible and, if not table in the House in the next two weeks, certainly get it ready for January. I apologize to my colleague for the delay in this important matter. Thank you.

Thank you, oral questions, supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Todd.