Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take that question as notice. Thank you.

The question is taken as notice. Oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Thank you. In regards to rules, I would like to ask the Member are those comments he made himself, or are those comments made by the media?

A Minister cannot confirm what has been said by the media about the 11 percent, but I do believe it is in the Minister's knowledge, the second part of your question. I will allow it. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think what my honourable colleague is alluding to is the editorial comment that was made on the budget, and I believe some people independent of government may have given their analysis of the budget and the projected cuts that we have placed in there. Any reference to percentages have no bearing on the position of the FMBS. It was probably an independent group of people doing their thing based upon the fact that we brought the budget forward yesterday. Thank you.

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

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize, and my honourable colleague has raised this on a number of occasions, the need for fairness and equity. In fact, I believe another Member asked it yesterday and others. We are very cognisant of the fact that my honourable colleague from Inuvik is under, understandably, a considerable amount of pressure because of what is taking place in his riding. As others are, myself included. We did provide the layoffs, et cetera. I am prepared to prepare a full analysis, if you want, of where the cuts have taken place both in capital, O & M and in the PYs, to reassure everybody that, as I said in the budget yesterday, we did try to transcend any particular constituency and ensure that there was a sense of fairness and equity.

The reality is that budget rate cuts have come from those who have the most. Regional centres like Rankin Inlet, like Iqaluit, and Inuvik have had to take their fair share of the hits. I understand where my honourable colleague is coming from. I will provide him with the information that will hopefully reassure him that his area of concern is addressed as quickly as I can, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government is on record and has been on record in the past as always supporting northern hire. We have already made a commitment to Members of this Legislative Assembly on the review of the affirmative action policy. I believe that is going to be brought forward during this session, so Members can debate that issue in this House and set the principles for recreating ... the affirmative action policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I have said previously in this House, this government is very committed to hiring north. Hiring in any organization is a difficult task. When we were elected some 15 months ago, we kept the majority of the senior management on, and we have hired the majority of the senior management from the north. There are some positions that require unique skills that we did advertise in southern Canada for and in the north as well. Those people that did apply, it was felt that they were the best qualified to fill those positions, so they were hired. As far as affirmative action and the whole affirmative action issue, we still have to take the opportunity in this Assembly to debate that issue and discuss it here. I believe that issue will be brought forward by the government in the very near future. I do know that it is safe to make the commitment that it will be brought forward during this session of the Legislative Assembly for debate. Thank you.

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

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I made that statement, that there are certain qualifications that are needed for certain jobs in the Northwest Territories, and I am not going to talk about any specific jobs, but you end up going south. You do end up with a southerner in a position the odd time, whether it be in government, or it be in the mining industry, or whatever. We acknowledge that fact and we recognize that. That is not saying that people in the Northwest Territories do not have a great amount of qualifications, but it so happens that some jobs in the government, and even outside of government, that people make the decision to hire, and they make the decision to hire the best person for that job.

The only way you can ever really judge whether that is the right or wrong decision, is finding out if that person produces. Until you give that person the opportunity to produce, whether it be for private sector or the government, then you cannot judge whether that is the right or wrong decision. So, the indulgence of the Assembly, I think that we are going to, in this Assembly, have a debate on the affirmative action policy and hiring north. We will have that debate, and we will have that debate on broad principles, and then we will have clear direction from this House. I know that in the past the affirmative action policy has not increased very well, of aboriginal senior management in government. I also know that it has to be re-worked, and we look forward to Members' input on that whole issue.

I am not going to make a comment on whether or not, I guess I have a problem, Mr. Speaker, commenting or talking about individuals in this Assembly that are not able to defend themselves in the Assembly. We have made it common practice before in this House, for example, not to name individuals or be cautious of how we approach issues. We approach them on principle and deal with them in such a way. Thank you.

Yes, again, just to caution the Members regarding questions to the Ministers, the Members have to ask questions on the governments position on certain issues, to caution you with regard to seeking an opinion on an individual Member as a Member. Mr. Miltenberger.