Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, I think that it is important to clarify. I did not seem to be able to get my point across the other day that this is not a fund of government. This is an independent fund of foreign investors. The investment committee is made up of three independent people in southern Canada. One of them is, I know for sure, the financier who is backing it, Mr. David Taylor, who puts up the money for the fund from Pacific Western. Another one is a banker, I believe, from the Bank of Montreal. Another one is an investment counsellor from Toronto. I would have to get the names for my colleague and advise him tomorrow.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister indicated that this government appointed the manager of the fund. Can we assume that this government also appointed these committee members?

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did not say that the government appointed the manager of this fund. I said that the board of directors recommended the appointment of Mr. Bailey and I concurred as the chairman of the board.

Oral question. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister have knowledge as to which groups, individuals or companies have accessed this fund to date and what types of applications we are receiving for this fund?

Mr. Todd.

Mr. Cotes asked me the same question. Should I ask Mr. Cotes' banker how much he borrows from the bank? These are private matters between private funds. This is not a government fund. It is an independent fund funded by immigrant investment money that was set up in a manner to provide opportunities for northern business to access it. I am not asking the board of directors and announcing to this House who gets money. The same as I would not expect the bank to do the same. It is ridiculous.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if this fund is at such an arm's length from this government, why did the Minister appoint the manager in the first place? Thank you.

Mr. Todd.

I promised myself that I would be more patient this term, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes the questions

asked by my honourable colleagues border on ridiculous, but I will try to explain once again, nice and slow. What this government did in an effort to provide a stimulus and to provide new access to the capital was seed the immigrant investment fund for the tune of $380,000 to get it up and going. That money was supposed to be returned from the Aurora Fund back to the government. I made a commitment last week to find out if that has gone back. This fund is an independent fund that this government should be proud of in relationship to being, the seed money to get the thing moving. I do not know how else to answer the question. If the Members want a complete briefing on the Aurora, I would be only to happy to do it. If they are asking me around the table here, who is going to get access to the money, it is just not on. Period. The same as in any other lending institutions. That is why I say the question boards on ridiculous.

Oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Todd.

That is what I like about my colleagues from Inuvik. The clear, concise question. Mr. Speaker, the only problem is I do not have a clear, concise answer. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the importance of this issue. It has been ongoing for a number of years. The trouble with this issue quite frankly, is it crosses a variety of departments from Municipal and Community Affairs to the Power Corporation to Public Works, to City Hall, to the municipality, et cetera. There is and has been from a bureaucracy prospective, a tripartite departmental committee trying to seek an appropriate resolve to this issue, as my colleague has done in a number of occasions, understandably so. He has been lobbying me extremely hard because of the concern of his constituents to come to some satisfactory result of the issue. I do not have the answer today as to when we can conclude a satisfactory arrangement on this issue, but we are close to bringing forward a paper to the FMB that would once and for all resolve

this difficult issue with respect to the utilidor heating system in Inuvik.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, my honourable colleague has put me in a first today. This is the first time I have to look at my briefing books in almost two years. Mr. Speaker, in the notes here it does indicate that work is expected to be completed in the next 30 to 60 days so we can provide adequate time for Cabinet and Financial Management Board to make a decision prior to the 1998-1999 construction seasons. I am not trying to evade the question. I know it has been a long outstanding one by Inuvik, by my colleague. I know when I looked initially at the paper, if my memory serves me correct, it was a pretty high ticket item in terms of the dollars and that was a concern. I believe it was somewhere around the $8 to $10 million range. We will have to take a second look at it if there was a more cost-effective way in which to do this. I understand the urgency of the issue. I am sure my colleague will bear with me in recognizing that it is not just one party at the table. I will commit today that we will try to get results to this issue in a fiscally, responsible manner within the next 60 days. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.