Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll find out possibly this afternoon or early tomorrow morning and get back to him within a few days. Thank you.

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

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Member that if a Minister is travelling specifically to their constituency, the Minister will be in touch with the Member or the Member's staff to make arrangements for when the Minister arrives in their constituency. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I also look up there on occasion, when Members are speaking.

---Laughter

But I will pass on the message to the facilities manager of the government.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for division, Mr. Todd. It is my understanding that the Minister recently met with the Commissioner of NIC in lqaluit. Would the Minister advise this House if discussions included the decentralization of jobs, as this is paramount to the future of both Arviat and Baker Lake? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, my honourable colleague is correct, I did meet with Mr. Amagoalik and some of his staff last Friday, in the late afternoon. I appreciated him taking the time because he had just come out of the hospital and, frankly, he didn't look very well when I saw him, but he did take the time to meet. We did discuss a number of topics as they relate to NIC's workplan that is coming forth over the summer. I did express to him the concern that was being expressed by my colleague and other colleagues across the Nunavut landscape about the decentralized model and if there would be a continuation of that. He assured me that that was going to be the primary thrust of the second report of NIC, and looked forward to working cooperatively with us to try to finalize the blueprint for a new decentralized Nunavut government on April 1, 1999.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is there any possibility that the Nunavut Caucus could meet with the Commissioner prior to the end of the summer? Thank you.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We did indicate at the time that greater cooperation between the GNWT and NIC was essential, particularly as we are only 33

short months away from the dividing of the Territories. I did encourage Mr. Amagoalik that there should be greater contact between the Nunavut Caucus and his group than there has been in the past. I am fairly confident that we'll be able to arrange something prior to the end of summer with the Nunavut Caucus and the NIC to meet and discuss the next stage of the work schedule. Mr. Amagoalik also assured me that he intended to meet with the Premier as quickly as possible on the workplan for the NIC and ourselves, and the need to formalize the cooperative approach that we intend to take in the coming months. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a point of clarification. Did the Minister state that the Commissioner inferred that the decentralized model is still on the books? Thank you.

Mr. Todd.

I think it's clearly recognized by all parties, whether it's this government or NTI --who are partners to the northern accord -and the federal government, that there is a commitment to determine an appropriate decentralized government. However, in saying that, there is a concern that has been expressed by myself, as the Minister of Finance, and the Cabinet about the fiscal side of things and the paying for a decentralized government. So the chairperson of the NIC assured me that the next report would be focusing on tightening up the report and, taking into consideration our current fiscal condition, the realignment of some of our departments and some of the changes that we've made in this government; and, at the end of the day, they would still be working towards a decentralized form of government for the new Nunavut government on April 1, 1999. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of FMBS. I was reading The Hub earlier in the day, the newspaper from Hay River. It indicated in there that there are going to be several people from the union coming from down south to help promote a no vote with the package that is being offered to the union. I have also heard several concerns from constituents who are complaining that there is inflammatory material going around from the union. I was wondering if the Minister could indicate if the government is going to provide people with factual information about the package that is being offered.