Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the strongest selling points for the NWT tourism is our miles of untamed wilderness. In small but growing numbers people are coming from around the world to experience our clean air and open spaces, from the challenge of the Nahanni to the splendour of the Pangnirtung Pass. Some come in organized tours and stick to the beaten path. We also attract many adventurers looking for a new challenge.

Most of the time, there are no problems, however, each year people get stuck in the bush and/or out on the land. They get lost, hit bad weather, or have trouble with their equipment. Eventually, most people are found and recover from their experience. But when people get into trouble on the land, there are costs associated with finding them. A single search and rescue can cost thousands of dollars. As more tourists come north, the potential liability for search and rescue will increase.

Recently, I noticed an ad for a gadget called a Stat Find 406. This is a pocket-sized personal locator beacon. It is designed to work in the arctic conditions and sends a strong signal for accurate position location. Mr. Speaker, as a service this government could make these locators available for tourists to rent. They could be provided through our parks operators or through local RCMP detachments where many tourists already file their travel plans.

For a small fee we could provide tourists with a bit of insurance against this possible trouble. This small expenditure would give individuals some peace of mind about their personal safety if problems do come up. It would make it easier for us to locate those who do not come back when they are expected to. More importantly, this little gadget could reap savings in human lives and in reduced search and rescue costs. The pocket locator is a little thing which could be set off and be of great benefit to tourists and government alike. I hope the capable staff of the RWED department will take a look at this type of innovation which can make the NWT a more attractive place for tourism. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

I would like to make a statement on the state of eyecare in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, a few years ago I got a prescription and a new pair of glasses here in Yellowknife. Soon after that when I started reading, after about five or ten minutes I started getting headaches. At this time, I was in school in Saskatoon. I had all kinds of specialists there, and I was getting all kinds of tests done. And luckily enough, since I was status, the federal government was paying for it, otherwise the territorial government would have had a huge bill. The long and the short of it is, finally I got a new pair of glasses and, low and behold, I could read again without getting headaches.

Last year, at this time I got a new pair of glasses. I was here this time and I started getting dizzy as soon as I looked down or looked sideways and things like that. I thought it was because my eyes were changing, you know when you have to hold your paper like this. A couple months later, I broke my glasses and told the optometrist this, so he checked out my prescription on his little machine there, and checked it with the one from my old pair of glasses, which I had to wear because I was getting my glasses fixed. What he told me was that I had better go to the ophthalmologist right away, because I had a stigmatism or something in my eye and my new prescription changed it so instead of looking this way, I was looking sideways, which was what was making me dizzy. Sure enough I went back, got my eyes checked again, and I had to get a new right lens because it was the wrong diagnosis.

We were discussing it upstairs and there are a couple of other Yellowknife MLAs who had similar problems. One of them had such a bad problem, not this time, but the previous time, that he was getting worried about going back to the ophthalmologist here. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. The Member for Yellowknife North is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Erasmus, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I personally know an elder who was misdiagnosed. We know that she was misdiagnosed because she was told here that there was no hope for her eye sight, that she would have to slowly go blind. When she was down south for something, I think she went to Lac St. Anne, or something, she was in Edmonton, so she stopped in and saw a doctor and she got a pair of glasses. Lo and behold she could see. We are not talking miracles here, Mr. Speaker. This elder now refuses to go to the ophthalmologist here. Her children have to pay to send her down south to get her eyes checked.

Another person I know quite well, got three pairs of glasses here because each successive pair of glasses did not work properly. He thought he had to have corrective surgery, this new laser thing, you know. He was kind of worried about that so he thought he would try one last thing. He went to the West Edmonton Mall, and saw the ophthalmologist there. In an hour and half, he had his eyes checked, he had a new pair of glasses and he has had no problems ever since.

Mr. Speaker, talking to other people, I have heard a lot of other complaints, which I will not talk about here. I do not think that the people of the Northwest Territories should be afraid to go get their eyes checked here and get a pair of glasses, and not have to go down south to get glasses. Something should be done about this.

I am also asking if there are other people out there who have had similar problems, their own personal problems -- I do not want to hear about rumours -- would you please contact me. My phone number is 669-2295, and talk to Vi. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Members' statements. Are there any further Members' statements? Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Krutko.

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Roland.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the savings in this case will be from the anticipated savings from the financing that we give to Delta House as it stands at this time. There would be incremental costs as a result of possible additional travel costs to other residential treatment facilities if clients were to choose facilities outside of the Inuvik area, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, we did not look at that because of the fact that we were not eliminating the availability of treatment that would result from the Delta House closure because of the fact that we would still provide treatment, as I indicated earlier, for residential type of treatment if it was required in other facilities which we finance. We would still provide treatment and programming, whether at the local or regional level, through some of the funding that

would still be going into communities in the Inuvik region, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was a factor in the overall review of some of the alcohol and drug reform initiatives that we are going under currently. We do not anticipate, initially, that the 12 beds that will be unavailable as a result of the Delta House closure, that there will be significant backlog created from that because of the fact there are empty spaces available currently in the other residential treatment facilities, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary. Final supplementary, Mr. Roland.