Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Seeing that the smoke coming from those fires is causing extreme risk, especially to those who have respiratory problems, I would like to know if the Minister would try and meet with the mayor who is in town in the City of Yellowknife at this time, if that is possible to organize that in the short time that he may have here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister responsible for RWED, and it pertains to the socio-economic agreement that was signed between BHP and the GNWT, in which there were obligations agreed to by both parties. My question to the Minister is in relation to the commitments made by the Government of the Northwest Territories, of which they are a number. Could the Minister indicate whether there will be new funds for these particular commitments, or are we expected to use existing resources? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the socio-economic agreement, and the commitments that we made, covers a whole range of issues such as employment, training, business development, cultural, health and social service matters. There has been no specific initiative on the part of this government to allocate specific dollars to meet the commitments that we have outlined. All departments are expected to, within existing resources and proposed departmental budgets, meet the tasks that are expected of them in order to meet the commitments made by this government when we signed that agreement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently spent some time with one of the officials with BHP who had indicated that they had met with some of the communities and that the issue of day care centres and day care programs came up. As an example, could the Minister indicate what he means by working with existing resources and working with the communities? Does that mean it goes into the planning process, or that they will just have to get in line with everybody else for the limited resources? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there are, I think, provisions within the government programs that will allow for the creation of day care centres and there are possibilities to access some funds within existing programs to establish day care centres where there is a need, and where they are viable. So, there is no specific program being set up specifically as a result of our commitment with the socio-economic agreement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister indicate whether the affected departments that are being impacted by this agreement have been made aware of what is being committed to, and that they may be expected to be responding on behalf of the government? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as far as I am aware all deputy ministers are fully aware of the commitments that this government makes when we sign agreements. The agreements have been passed on to senior management and being dealt with at that level. To prepare the individual departments, giving them time to develop plans on how they

are going to carry out the commitments that fall within their mandate and responsibilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is not so much a question, as it is to thank the Minister for his concise and to the point answers. It is much appreciated. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there is a muskox management area designated in the east Kitikmeot, which the Member is referring to, that has a quota allocated to it of roughly, I think it is, 40 muskox on an annual basis. There has been a request that has been processed with the proper consultation and approvals from the designated bodies over the last year or two. What we require is to change the big game hunting regulations, in order to meet the request to change it to 55. The changes in regulation are presently within the Department of Justice, and as of this afternoon I am aware that is still, hopefully this will all be done in time to meet the needs of the region in the next few weeks. It is our expectation that we will be able to comply in time for the hunting season. Thank you.