Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, It may not necessarily be a new agreement. I am looking at the possibility of trying to expand on our current arrangement with Correctional Services Canada, to look at the possibility of upping the amount of Federal inmates that we can take into our correctional facilities in the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the primary goal, as it stands now, is to try to repatriate some of the northern inmates who are in southern institutions. They are federal inmates because they have a sentence of two years or more. It would have to be with the agreement of the federal government, Correctional Services Canada. With

respect to whether or not those individuals, if they were to be productive, these discussions, whether or not they would be housed in a federal institution in the north is another matter. Of course, there are significant costs to that type of an initiative.

At this time, the federal government from our understanding, is not interested in looking at that. However, it is an area that I will certainly discuss more, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the honourable Member on behalf of the people that work for Department of Transportation for the compliment that she has given them in the way they maintain the highway. Secondly, no the road limit has not been altered on the highway. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, this year I am told that the amount of traffic is going to increase substantially as a result of the building up of the diamond mine infrastructure north of Yellowknife. As a

result of that, we are going to see a lot of traffic and a lot of tonnage being hauled over our existing highway system. Mr. Speaker, I am told by the people in the department that during the winter months when the roads are frozen, it is the best condition ever in the north. As a result of that, once the roads are in good condition and are frozen, they will not be subject to any increased damage. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the north here our roads are not yet up to the level of development as they are in the provinces south of us in Alberta and BC. So, as a result of that we have our load limit which is lower than surrounding jurisdiction but not that much lower and I could get back to the honourable Member with the exact differences in the load limits. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for Arctic Airports. Mr. Speaker, a week or so ago my community of Arviat experienced a power failure during blizzard conditions. Approximately 60 families were left in the dark, in the cold for two days. The Power Corporation tried in vain to fly in a linesman to rectify the problem but unfortunately the plane could not land. The plane could not find the runway because the runway lights could not be turned on due to the power failure. Mr. Speaker, my question is or my concern is, there could have been a number of serious situations occur here, whether it be a medevac or whatever. As a result of not having a backup generator, the lights could not be put on therefore the plane could not land. The linesman had to travel by bombardier from Rankin, which took another eight hours.

For most of the weekend these 60 families were left without heat, lights and so on. My question to the Minister is, will the Minister review with the hamlet the possibilities of installing a backup generator for the airport to avoid further serious conditions, such as these? Thank you.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I will look into the situation that the honourable Member is very concerned about. I agree it is a very serious condition. If there is no backup system then you could run into a lot of serious problems. Yes we will look into it. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Late last year the Edmonton Journal ran an article regarding infant mortality rates across Canada. Figures for the NWT were double that of the national average. My question is to the Minister of Health, Mr. Ng. Is he aware of the rates for infant mortality in the Northwest Territories? If, in fact, the rates as quoted by the Edmonton Journal of 12 percent or 6.3 percent higher than the national average, which would be 12.9 are accurate? Is the Minister aware of these figures?

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