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

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all negotiated contracts for the government, it is part of the negotiation that development corporations and community organizations that are carrying out the contract at the community level, have to supply all that information to the government, all the jobs it creates, all the local people they hire, the regional people and where every cent of that contract is spent. That is part of the information the government compiles and, as Members have seen when they first came here, the best picture that we have seen on the economic front, when we were presented with the economic position of this government and what we did in the previous Assembly to create work in the north, was from our negotiated contracts and our manufacturing in the north. That was the only place we saw the scale go up, where we created more employment in the north, especially at the community level. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would request that information from the Ministers who are in charge of contracts, Transportation, Public Works and Services, Housing Corporation, for example, to try and compile that information. I will make it available to the Member as soon as I get it. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of MACA and requires her assistance. Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, four people were hired during the summer of 1968 to remove 30 graves from the old Hall Beach Cemetery and then have them moved to the current site. I have been told, Mr. Speaker, that these four people did not get paid for the work that they did. I would like to ask the Minister of MACA if she would look into this situation and advise me of her findings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Ms. Thompson.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to let the honourable Member know that I understood him clearly and I will be speaking to the superintendent of MACA, Mike Ferris. He will be working with the community concerning the graves that were relocated in Hall Beach. I will make sure I will look into why these four people did not get paid for the work that they did. Mike Ferris will be working on this as soon as possible. I will let the honourable Member know as soon as I learn what is happening here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a question to the Minister of Finance concerning income tax (Translation ends) about help for unilingual and other constituents with income tax problems. I note that Revenue Canada has placed ads now in Yellowknife newspapers about helping residents here with their income tax. My question to the Minister of Finance is, has he contacted Revenue Canada about my earlier concerns and/or assistance in Nunavut and other parts of the Northwest Territories about help with income tax filings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Finance. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe my staff have been communicating with Revenue Canada to see if there is a possibility to expand these workshops across the Territories as it relates to income tax. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the best of times, income tax forms can be difficult to understand. We have a situation where some people have not filed for two, three, four years, through no fault of their own. My supplementary question is, will the Minister be directing his staff at the regional level or maybe one of the other departments like EC&C, to help deliver workshops in adult education centres or through FMBS offices in the regions, to help people with income tax?

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it is important to be clear with my honourable colleague that it is not the role and responsibility of the GNWT employees to do people's personal income tax. However, I do recognize there are, at this time of the year, some difficulties associated with it and would be prepared to sit down with my colleague, Mr. Dent, to see if there was a possibility to do maybe some workshops at adult education centres. I cannot commit today whether in fact we can get that done or not because the clock is ticking, as Mr. Picco likes to say, and income taxes have to be done in the next short while. I will undertake to discuss it with my colleague who is responsible for adult education to see if there is a possibility there. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the concern here is that we have a lot of unilingual people who, when they get these forms, do not understand them and try to find someone to help them with these forms. To go to a professional tax filer, like we have in Iqaluit, costs $150 to $200. That is if you have all the information for them. I wonder if there is any assistance available from this government. I think it is a territorial concern because they are residents of our territory and they are residents of the Northwest Territories. They are taxpayers in the Northwest Territories and if they do not file their taxes, we do not get that revenue stream. I think there is some implication here for the Northwest Territories government. So, I would ask again, is there some type of financial assistance to help people to find these professional tax filers to help them with income tax, especially for unilingual people? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no money in the budget if that is what my honourable colleague is saying. I understand the problem, we have all got it. I used to volunteer my time, as I know my honourable colleague did when he was with Community Futures in Iqaluit and was out there doing his thing for his constituents. I will commit to discussing the matter with Mr. Dent to see if there is a possibility to run workshops but it is not the role and responsibility of this government to do individual tax returns and we are not in a position to do that. Thank you.