Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the department for a briefing on the matter. As the Member knows, some of us will be gone over the weekend to Cambridge Bay. I would be willing to share the briefing information with the Member in the middle of next week.

Oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As far as a policy goes on negotiated contracts, the Department of Transportation does have a policy on negotiated contracts. Cabinet does have negotiated contract guidelines. In order to negotiate a contract in a community, you have to have the support of the people of that community, you have to have 100 percent northern involvement, and it has to benefit local people. Those are the guidelines in negotiating a contract in the communities. There are ones as well that come in on budget and on time. A negotiated contract is where the government sits down and facilitates it with the community people or the development corporations. The majority of them are development corporations. If you sub-tender any part of that negotiated contract, for example, if you have three trucking companies in a community to haul gravel, then you have to get prices from all three trucking companies. That is how negotiated contracts are done. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From what I understand of existing claims that are in place, the Nunavut Agreement, the Sahtu Comprehensive Claim, the Gwich'in claim, as well as the Inuvialuit claim, is that, in no place in those claims do they say that this government has to negotiate contracts with those groups. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Enuaraq.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that a local group wants to obtain possession of the building for a community resource centre, a support centre for families in the community. We have been trying to work with them in trying to put together a proposal to facilitate obtaining the old health centre, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Enuaraq.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question. The buildings, when they are vacant for a long period of time, start to deteriorate. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services to answer that question. (Translation ends)

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I did not catch the full question from the translation.

(Translation) When can I get a direct answer to the question that I asked? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question that I asked the Minister concerned the old health centre. It may just deteriorate when it is not being used. I am asking the Minister, can you let me know when we can take over that old health centre? Thank you. (Translation ends)

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the honourable Member clarifying it for me. What we are doing, Mr. Speaker, there is a Financial Management

Board submission that was just recently signed off by myself, that will be going to the Financial Management Board to deal with this matter in order to have the facility turnover facilitated. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the course of this week I have had a couple of my constituents bring concerns to me regarding the applications for general hunting licenses. These individuals were members of Treaty 11 and have supplied all the necessary requirements to ensure speedy processing. These applications were submitted in December, 1996 or the first part of January, 1997. It has been at least a month since the applications were submitted. After calling to find out what is taking so long to get their general hunting licenses, the residents were told that it would take at least eight months to process. It seems to be an extra long period of time for something of this nature, considering one can pay the nominal fee for a regular hunting license and get it the same day. The same goes for your driver's license and most other permits that a person can get. My question to the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is, why does this process take so long? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.