Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this development plan at the Yellowknife airport was last updated in 1994 by Transport Canada while they were still the owners and operators of the airport. There is a need now to further update this land development plan here for the Yellowknife airport and that is what we intend to do by initiating the rezoning process in the city of Yellowknife. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister informs me that this plan was prepared or updated in 1994 so I take it that there was some work done on it prior to 1994. Mr. Speaker, this is 1997, and I would suggest that many developments have occurred in the north which I think have greatly impacted this plan in particular the diamond industry which hopefully will be locating a lot more activities in the north. I am wondering if the Minister has taken that into consideration in this plan and updated the plan further than the 1994 addition that he is talking about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tie intention of the department is to complete the work over the next year in conjunction with full consultation with the city and with the airport users and all the stake-holders that might be involved with airport operation. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to receiving the input of land owners presently surrounding the Yellowknife airport and receive their input into this rezoning and uses for the airport land? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this whole process is going to be handled by the city of Yellowknife and their rezoning procedures, so I am sure that anybody that is interested in the Yellowknife airport and wants input will have that opportunity. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Barnabas.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, through the boards and the health centres there is an annual pap smear program that, I believe, is annual, maybe it is semi-annual, that ladies participate in. Under the well women's clinics some of the self-examination programs and awareness programs for breast cancer, those are the ones specifically that come to mind. I think that for specific cases of diagnoses would depend on the individual coming to the health centres or to the medical clinics, wherever they may be and the professionals assessing their family histories, depending on what types of possible cancer they may be looking for or medical history of the patient. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How many cancer specialists are currently employed by the Government of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I may be wrong, but I do not believe that we do employ any specific cancer specialists, although we draw upon the services from other jurisdictions. I think we do have some internists that do have some knowledge of cancer screening programs and that type of thing, but I would have to check into that matter as whether or not we do have specific cancer specialists on staff with any of the boards or with the department, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday during my Member's statement I spoke about my region's need for a speech language pathologist and this government's haphazard response to this important service. This type of service is needed in my region, and I would like to ask the Minister responsible, the Honourable Mr. Ng, when his department will consider transferring this position to the community service board?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess first of all I would disagree that I do not think it is a haphazard response about this important service. We do recognize there is a need there. The honourable Member for Hay River also brought up this issue about the need of a speech pathologist for Hay River to service her residents. I agreed when she brought up the issue that I would review what service area and what type of programs that the five speech pathologists based in the Stanton Regional Board have in respect to how often they service the communities and what regions and communities they do service, At that time I can make a decision on what may be a suitable way to try to address some of the needs in the other areas if it is deemed that maybe they are not getting the service that they should be or if the fact remains that the pathologist on staff are maybe overworked and the need to try to assist them in beefing up some of the service to the other areas that may not be as well represented as Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In regards to the Med-Emerg report, Mr. Speaker, in the spring of 1997 there was a consulting firm Med-Emerg International Inc. who had prepared a draft document outlining the proposed health care reforms to be undertaken by the department. We recently met with the members of the medical profession who are quite concerned with the process how the report was put together as well as the report itself, its contents. First of all I would like to know how this firm, Med-Emerg International Inc. was selected as the group to do this report.

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