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

Mr. Todd thinks it is a good answer, but 4,000 other people do not. In the past, Mr. Speaker, the Minister has talked about technology, and how that will help when the regional librarian is gone. Is the Minister indicating, when he talks about technology in small communities in the Baffin, that modern technology has reached a point where it can replace people?

Mr. Dent.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes I think this technology is becoming almost like a frankenstein monster that we are creating. Mr. Speaker, the community was not consulted with the removal or supposed lay-off of the regional librarian position. Is that community empowerment? Is that community consultation that we keep priding ourselves on in this House? I have raised my concerns before the preservation and use of Inuktitut in this House, and one of the advantages of having a regional librarian in the Baffin is to deal with Baffin communities, is that she has that quick access to Inuktitut language speakers who could help clarify requests and queries. I am sure that the staff in Hay River do not have that same access, especially since the same Minister is also proposing to eliminate the interpreter translator services at the language bureau. It is very hard for me to get my question out Mr. Speaker, when the people across the floor are interrupting me. Can the Minister indicate how language difficulties in requests by many of the unilingual people in the Baffin Region can be addressed by people in Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. To remind the Members again to have your preamble and then three supplementaries.

-- Applause

Mr. Dent.

Oral questions. Supplementary. Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would not need a long preamble or a long lead in time in the question if the Members would give the dignity and respect, and decorum in this House that, I think, we should be generating to the people of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the Minister said that he cannot afford to keep the librarian position in Rankin Inlet, and cannot afford to keep it in Iqaluit because it is not anywhere else in the Northwest Territories. Does that make it right? We cut two people because we cannot afford to put them somewhere else? I do not think that is good politics. I do not think that is good government. So, my question to the Minister is will he rethink, will this government rethink, will this department rethink the layoff notice given to the regional librarian in Iqaluit and also in Rankin Inlet? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, it is a fact of life that with these long term mortgages that in most cases you will be paying for 20, 25, 30 years on the mortgage before it is paid off. I am aware of the concern that the Member has raised. It has been raised by the Member from Fort Smith several times to me. We are looking into the concerns raised.

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

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker. What I will do is talk again with my staff in the Housing Corporation and see if there is, in fact, anything that we can do, but I do not want to do with these homeowners is to raise the expectations that we may be changing their payments. So, I will look into it first before making any inquiries outside.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.