Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things the communities can do, and I have said this before, is that the communities can be block-funded for a single program or a capital project. Block funds can be for a number of programs or projects, and the big key in this is that block funding to that community would mean flexibility with their funds to do what they want to do with their money. The block funding agreement would allow the communities to identify local issues and plan and allocate resources to solve them and take responsibility for the design and delivery of local programs and services, and have more independence in administration, spending choices, and revenue generation. Also take control of GNWT resources and use them more effectively and flexibility. Also to accept a more comfortable degree of funding certainty over a term of the agreement, and become accountable to local residents instead of GNWT. This is one of the things that communities should be looking into, so they could have more flexibility in allocating the funding to other resources in their communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my statement, the strategic plan is to make recommendations as to how the health care and social service systems could be established for both Nunavut and the western territory. What I could see coming out of it that could impact on the Iqaluit hospital and the Inuvik hospital, is depending on what recommendations come forward, and whether those recommendations are acceptable, what program and scope of those programs would be available to those two facilities. That would impact on the size of the

facilities and the dollars that would be spent to meet those needs, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the construction of the Nunavut and Inuvik hospitals are very important, as has been expressed in this House. I wonder, what is the time frame for the completion of the report, and when it will be able to be viewed by members of the public and the Members of this House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The anticipation is to have a draft strategic plan ready by the latter part of April, and for some extensive further consultation over the course of the summer, with the goal of trying to finalize the strategic plan for us by late fall, in order to carry forward and try to implement some of the structural changes that will be required as a result of this strategic planning process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess the Minister is talking metaphorically when he says structural changes. What are the structural changes that the Minister is referring? Is he referring to the mandate of the department, the different aspects of the direction of the department, or actual facilities?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I refer structurally to program changes that would be necessitated as a result of some of the recommendations that would be coming forward in the draft strategic plan. Of course, if those strategic recommendations for changes were palatable for us as politicians representing constituents throughout the territories, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the consultation process that we will be undertaking in the communities in the western NWT is of course the "Partners in a New Beginning" document, along with all the different types of information that is available from many years of constitutional development work in the Northwest Territories. That includes the history, the chronology of events over the number of years that talks have gone on, and in different types of forms that existed in the North until present day. We are going to use all of that information and make sure that everybody has a very clear picture of exactly what it is that has been documented until this point in time. Hopefully, once this is done, people will have a clear understanding of what this document is about and will try to answer all of the questions as a result of the "Partners in a New Beginning" up to this point in time, as a result of the presentation we hopefully will make in the communities. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the other two models that are in the document "Partners in a New Beginning", there is other information that was developed throughout the summer in the many meetings we had. We have asked some of our officials to take a closer look at these two other models, and come out with some information on those two. Yes, we hopefully will be bringing more information to these consultation meetings in relation to the other two models. Thank you.

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

Mr. Antoine.