Thank you, Ms. Thompson. Welcome back to the continuation of the Fourth Session which, as you know, began on November 27, 1996. I would like, on your behalf, to offer best wishes for a quick recovery to the Speaker, the Honourable Sam Gargan. Speaker Gargan had to undergo some minor surgery, but he tells me he hopes to be back in this Chair by the end of this week.

As this is the first opportunity the Speaker would have had to bring to the Members' attention an incident that occurred on the last day we sat prior to the extended adjournment, I must inform you that Speaker Gargan was concerned with a breach of decorum and respect for this Chamber and towards certain Members of this Assembly. The Speaker has asked me, on his behalf, to voice his concern surrounding the throwing of buckets of paper from the Gallery onto the floor of the Chamber. Speaker Gargan appreciates that there is a tradition after a very long budget session for Members to express their pleasure at having the budget approved by throwing papers from their desks to the floor. The tradition, as we believe, includes the media tearing up their notes and throwing them back at the Members. The incident disturbed the Speaker as some Members were involved in emptying buckets of paper over the Gallery on top of the Minister of Finance and some other Members. The Speaker feels that the dignity of the House was not upheld and would request in the future that all Members be respectful in their actions and preserve the dignity of this Chamber.

In addition, I would like to inform you that, upon his return to the Chair, Speaker Gargan intends to provide the Members with a report on his visit to Cape Dorset earlier this year in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the making of the mace and the events he is sponsoring later this week.

I know that you my colleagues, will not give the Chair a difficult time over the next few days as I try to fill in for the Speaker.

-- Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements, Mr. Arlooktoo.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the Members that the Honourable Don Morin will be absent from the House for the remainder of the week to attend the Western Premiers' Conference in Campbell River.

Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Kelvin Ng and the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi will be absent today and tomorrow. Mr. Ng is attending a meeting of the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board in Iqaluit and Mr. Kakfwi is attending the Sahtu Oil and Gas Stakeholders Conference in Norman Wells.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Ministers' statements, Mr. Arlooktoo.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to welcome all the Members back to this Legislative Chamber as we reconvene the Fourth Session of the Legislative Assembly.

While this is going to be a much shorter session compared to when we last sat in these chairs, our discussions over the next two weeks will leave a strong mark on the future of the North.

Over the next two weeks, and indeed the next 21 months, we will be examining legislation and activities that will indeed affect the lives of the people we serve. But while this is truly our mandate, we must also lay important groundwork for two new future governments. The Premier has reminded us many times about how much we have left to do in a relatively short period of time. As of today, we have only 675 days left in our mandate.

With time of the essence, we must continually challenge ourselves to look beyond the needs of a few, and focus on making the best decisions for all. That is not an easy thing to do. But no one ever said being a strong, effective leader was easy.

Mr. Speaker, over the next two weeks, we will be discussing and debating things that affect the economic future of the north. We will be looking at the realities and logistics involved with the dividing of a large territory such as ours. And we will be making decisions and setting directions on social programs and legislation - things that directly affect each and every one of our constituents. This is a huge responsibility, and one we cannot treat lightly, or take out of context.

The people of the north are looking to us to provide direction, to show leadership and to make the right decisions. In fact, they should expect nothing less. They do not expect their MLAs to spend hours debating how this government spends every dollar.

Certainly we should question, but we must also trust the people who work for this government to follow the directions we set, and we must make sure that what we are questioning is truly in the best interest of all people, not just the special interests of a few.

As MLAs, our job is to represent our constituents. But more importantly, we must remind ourselves that we work for every citizen of the Northwest Territories. Let us keep that perspective in the next two weeks, and indeed the next 21 months. Mr. Speaker, there is no question we face a heavy challenge as individuals in trying to balance the needs of today with planning for tomorrow. We must never lose sight of that and engage in debating small, short-term issues, and lose valuable time in facing the larger, long-term issues that affect the quality of life, and the future of the north.

I am proud to be sitting with you, my colleagues, as a Member of this Legislative Assembly. I am also proud our people believe we can show the leadership required to meet that challenge, and provide for a secure and healthy future.

But what I am even more proud of is the fact that I am a resident and citizen of the Northwest Territories. And it is that role which I believe will inspire me and everyone else in this House, to rise to that challenge, and do what is right. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Ministers' statements. Members' statements, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Members' statements. The Member for High Arctic, Mr. Barnabas.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to make a brief statement today on behalf of the Members of the Nunavut Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the people of Nunavut decided that they would not elect their representatives to the Nunavut Legislative Assembly in 1999 on the basis of one male and one female MLA in each constituency.

We in the Nunavut Caucus are pleased with the manner in which this issue has been decided and fully support the outcome of this democratic process. We feel that this vote accomplished its intended goals of bringing both sides of the issue to light and creating extensive public discussion.

Individually, we have our own personal opinions on this issue, but as the duly elected public representatives of the people of Nunavut, it was our collective position in Cambridge Bay and remains so today, that the principles of democracy must prevail in any decision to change the manner in which the people are governed.

Mr. Speaker, we are very fortunate in our part of the world and we should all be thankful for the opportunity that we have in our society, an opportunity many do not, to hear the voice of the people.

We recognize that the issue of gender parity has been an emotional one over the past few months and would like to urge the people of Nunavut to come together as we have in the past, to move forward toward 1999. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

-- Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Baffin Central, Mr. Enuaraq.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, fellow Members. (Translation ends) A fire destroyed the Attagoyuk School in Pangnirtung. The government has responded and a new school will be built in the near future. We appreciate the efforts of the government to get a new building up and ready for our students as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we seem to share the fate of the community of Fort McPherson. Like Fort McPherson, the school had a large gymnasium. The community made good use of the gym. Under the capital standards of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the new school is only going to have a small gymnasium. Even though it is not the community's fault that they lost the old gym, they will end up with a new building which has less gym space than they had a year ago. I hope that the community and government can work together and find an answer to this community concern. Mr. Speaker, later on today I will be asking the appropriate Minister about this concern. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize some very deserving young people from the city of Yellowknife who have represented themselves both nationally and internationally. The first one is a young man named Scott Robertson, a constituent of Yellowknife South who has received national recognition for his submissions to a national contest sponsored by the Brewers Association of Canada. The Brewers Association of Canada requested entries from youth on materials to promote responsible drinking. Scott produced three written submissions and won in the semi-finals. His work was submitted along with thousands of others from across Canada. The intent of this contest was to promote or comment on responsible drinking and Scott has most certainly demonstrated his abilities to provide a winning perspective.

He considers young people drinking irresponsibly world-wide and hopes his message will help tone down the amount consumed by youth. Scott made the semi-finals and went to Ottawa in March along with three other finalists from other regions in Canada. Scott is currently enrolled in a nursing program at the University of Calgary and upon completion hopes to return to Yellowknife. It is very fulfilling to see members of our youth choose to take a proactive role in the area of responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages.

The second youth, Mr. Speaker, whom I believe should be recognized is Tara Hamer. Tara is presently enrolled in a Bachelor of Science and Math program in Nova Scotia. She was selected as a Team Canada Junior Curling member who recently competed in the World Junior Curling Games in Japan. Tara's team took second in the World Allstars as well as being named the 1997 Canadian Junior Representative at these games in Japan.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Henry. The Member for Yellowknife South is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays.

Conclude your statement, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you, Members, for giving me that latitude.

Last month, Mr. Speaker, Dean and Greg Robertson entered their pieces in an international competition where they competed against 700 other pieces. These young gentlemen placed well in their divisions, earning several awards for their work and bringing northern recognition to another well-deserving field. I ask my fellow Members to join with me in acknowledging the work and achievements of these very deserving young individuals from my community who rightfully deserve our praise. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. I would like to remind all Members that this is the first time that we have gathered together for the session and I know most Members are anxious to get up and make Members' statements. I would remind the Members to be conscientious of the time allotted for your Member's statement in order to allow other Members to speak. Thank you. I have the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to welcome my colleagues back to another busy session here in the House. I hope everyone is well relaxed and in a cooperative mood. During the opening day, I would also like to thank the staff of the Department of National Defence for the opportunity to visit the NORAD site in Colorado. The tour was very interesting and showed what our federal government and the American government have worked on over the years to ensure North America's safety. It also shows the spirit of cooperation and partnership that has developed between our governments.

As well as showing the importance of establishing rangers throughout the north as well as other areas across our great nation, I felt it was very informative and well worth touring and I would encourage my colleagues who did not go to visit this impressive site. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Picco. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the vote yesterday is another step on the road towards the creation of Nunavut. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who exercised their democratic right and voted. We will have to now move on to the larger issues of division. The delay in the appointment of the interim commissioner and now the federal election will, and has, slowed down the Nunavut creation process. It means that all parties, the NTI, the GNWT, the federal government and the interim commissioner, will have to roll up their sleeves to make sure that division occurs on time and with the proper logistics in place to make it a success.

Some of the other Legislative Assemblies of the GNWT were accused of paying lip service to the implementation of the Nunavut final agreement. I think that our lead Ministers like Deputy Premier Goo Arlooktoo, have shown that this government is committed to the process for the creation of both new territories. Mr. Speaker, Article 23 and Article 24 of the Nunavut final agreement are two of the principle clauses that will help the Nunavut government achieve parity within a public government that will reflect the Nunavut population and I support that. We will have to have separate formula financing agreements in place. It is imperative that the gross expenditure base for both new territories is equitable and sustaining. Several pieces of the neighbouring legislation have to be passed as well as amendments to the Nunavut Act. Later today, I will be asking the Minister of Finance about the funding arrangements for both new territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kivallivik, Mr. O'Brien. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on a sad note. Two weeks ago my home community of Arviat suffered a terrible tragedy. A three-year-old child came in contact with a team of dogs and was severely mauled and died from her injuries. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my fellow colleagues join me in offering our sincere condolences to my friend Dennis Okatsiak, his wife and family for the loss of their precious Panik. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Erasmus. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to welcome everyone back to the fair city of Yellowknife. Also, I would like to welcome the Pages who are from Iqaluit. Welcome to Yellowknife. I hope you have a good time. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement today is on division. This government has finished a second year of the deficit reduction plan. This means that most communities can breathe a sigh of relief as they will have no more reductions.

With division some Nunavut communities may even look forward to growth. Unfortunately, Yellowknife is not in this enviable position. When division hits there will be smaller government in the west. Programs and services in communities will not be reduced. However, headquarters functions will naturally be reduced as there will be less volume of users. In other words, division is going to mean a slightly smaller headquarters staff in Yellowknife. For some displaced employees there will be opportunities to join Nunavut government and move to Iqaluit perhaps. Others may not be able to move for family or other personal reasons. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the impact of division on Yellowknife residents. No matter what we call it, division will mean that some staff will not have jobs after April 1, 1999. We have talked about how we need stability. As much as possible, we have to give headquarters staff that same stability. As the government develops its pre-division plans, I will be closely watching to ensure the impact on active staff is minimized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will speak in my language. I am glad that we have gathered here to meet for another two weeks. So, I am glad to see you. During our break, I was able to go home to my community. Recently, we had an ice breakup in Fort Simpson and when this happens there is usually a lot of commotion. This year there was a lot of water and in places like Jean Marie River, there was a lot of commotion for the few days that there was a breakup. They were scared that it might flood, but that did not happen so I am thankful for that. Recently, when I was in my constituency, and when I arrived in Fort Liard, I was glad that the leaves had come out. It is not like around here -- when the leaves come out in Fort Liard and birds are out and the people are out visiting, I am glad that I went to visit them.

Today is another new day. I am glad that there are a lot of new items that people are working on in the community and us too at the Legislative Assembly. I suppose that we would like to be out in the good weather, but during the duration of the meeting it would be good if we worked well together. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today it gives me great pleasure to welcome Allan and Eliza Kingdon, also known as Mr. and Mrs. Canada, from Iqaluit. Eliza is here this week helping me with the seven Pages from Iqaluit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Billy Merkosak from Pond Inlet. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Welcome to the Assembly. Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Enuaraq.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During Members' statements I made a statement about the school in Pangnirtung that will be built. The gymnasium is too small. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what he has done up-to-date about the size of the gymnasium. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation

ends)

Thank you. The honourable Minister for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Supplementary, the honourable Member for Baffin Central, Mr. Enuaraq.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Community Education Council in Pangnirtung were told that the gymnasium in the new school, if they have to extend the gymnasium, the Community Education Council has to provide $250,000. They are not able to provide this money, and I feel that the GNWT should help the community extend the gymnasium. The school that burned down had a bigger gymnasium and I wonder if the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment can look into this further to see if the gymnasium could be extended? Thank you. (Translation ends)

The honourable Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. I have the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you. I believe there were two questions. The Minister for Municipal and Community Affairs, the honourable Manitok Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am quite aware of the water problem in Fort McPherson. It seems to happen every spring, which is the smell of the water changes with the spring water and the Deputy Minister of MACA met with the mayor in Rankin Inlet just this month. I have not had a full briefing yet on this issue, so I am inviting the MLA and also the mayor to have a full briefing with my staff and probably Public Works because there has been quite a bit of consultation done with the community. With my busy schedule and other things, I have not had a full briefing on this so I am just inviting the MLA and also the mayor to meet with me and we will get a full briefing on it at the same time. Thank you.

Thank you. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you. Madame Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand there is a meeting that will be happening on June 2nd with David, the MLA, David Krutko, to discuss the water problem in his community and I understand that officials from my department and also Public Works will be there at that time. That is the soonest we can make it. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Members' statement I spoke about division and the role that we are in. My questions are on the division issue and they are to the chair of the Division Committee, Mr. Todd. Can Mr. Todd update this house on the current status of the formula financing for both new territories that will be taking place in meetings and negotiations today?

Thank you. The chairman of the Financial Management Board, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can update my honourable colleague from the future capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit, on the formula financing arrangements as it relates to division. The political committee, made up of NTI, interim commissioner, the Western Coalition and ourselves, met early last month to try to reach a common position on how we would move forward with respect to the two new formulas that are necessary in the creation of two new governments on April 1, 1999. I think it would be fair to characterize those meetings as cooperative and the overall objective is the same for all parties, that is we want to ensure there is adequate funding in place to maintain the level of services that we currently have and hopefully onward into the future in the 21st century.

Each of these entities have an official that is a working official that will be part of the formula financing discussions with the federal government, who will call the meeting. The first official meeting is planned this Friday, I believe, and what will hopefully unfold there is we will be able to determine some time-lines because that is important. The criteria I suggest for what kind of formulas we want because there are a number of options out there, particularly in the new territory of Nunavut and how we are going to proceed with respect to the argument, if you want, as to how we quantify the kinds of dollars that we are going to require to meet the demands that are being placed upon us by our appropriate jurisdictions. I think I would probably be in a better position earlier next week to advise my colleague as to any further developments as it relates to these two new formulas, at the officials level, Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that people in the Northwest Territories are sleeping well tonight knowing that Mr. Todd is taking care of this for us. My supplementary question, Mr. Speaker, is concerning the model that we are using for Nunavut. Is the formula financing or the costing for both new territories, is it based on the status quo for the western Arctic at the present time, or is it based on the decentralized model or the NIC model for Nunavut?

Thank you. The honourable Minister for Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I see my colleague must have an audience again today because he needs to perform, which is not out of character for him. I want to assure him that right now, this government is proceeding in an orderly way to determine the appropriate cost to the Footprints in the Snow 2 model and we are also, at the same time, costing the western government as it now exists and hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will be in a position to identify what we think these two new governments will cost, more importantly, what we think the incremental side of it will be in Nunavut with a decentralized government. We can, through the coalition that we have of collective concern, move forward to the federal government and see if they are going to pay the bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Todd. Second supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the formula financing arrangement for both new territories, of course, is crucial here. Because we want to know exactly what funds we will have available on April 1, 1999. My supplementary question to the Minister of Finance and also chair of the Division Committee is, basically, has he been in contact with Paul Martin, who is the Minister of Finance, or is he dealing with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs? What lead government department on the federal side is now involved in the formula financing arrangements for the new territories, both the east and the west?

Thank you. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have said consistently to everybody in the House, to my colleague in committee, to him privately on a number of occasions, that I have had discussions with Mr. Martin as late as January 9th with respect to how we are going to proceed forward in an orderly way to determine the appropriate funding that is required for both new territories. We are, may I remind him, in the federal election right now and it is very difficult to get everybody's attention. Hopefully, we will get it after June the 2nd and assuming that the current government will be in place, then we will be able to move onward with our agenda, both in terms of the political agenda in trying to convince the politicians what the requirement is and the technical exercise that is necessary to demonstrate need. That is what we are doing, Mr. Speaker, and I will continue to keep the House

involved, in particular, my honourable colleague involved as to how those negotiations proceed. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Todd tells me so many different things, it is hard for me to know and remember which month he spoke to Mr. Martin last. So he has confirmed that it was five months ago. My concern, being from Iqaluit, which is the capital of Nunavut, is exactly what the gross expenditure base will be. I wonder if Mr. Todd or any of his department of officials have any idea at this present time what numbers we are looking at for the costing exercise, or a ball park figure? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The honourable Minister Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe I missed something this week? We just spent four days in caucus giving everybody a complete detailed breakdown of the cost of division and the strategy to determine what the appropriate costs are. I understand Mr. Picco was at those meetings. I suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, that while it is nice to get pressed, but I suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Picco and others are well aware of the exercise that is currently under-way by this government and all the parties associated with it. When we get to the final conclusion of what we think the costs are, we need to ensure that our partners in this exercise are with us. NTI, the new interim commissioner, Mr. Anawak, the Western Coalition led by Mr. Floyd Roland, when we do that, and when we accomplish that we will then move forward in an orderly, constructive, well documented way to seek federal approval for the appropriate levels of funding that is required to ensure that the adequate services and delivery of services for the people of Nunavut and in the western Arctic. Thank you.

Thank you. That was in response to the final supplementary of the honourable Member for Iqaluit. I have the honourable Member for Kivallivik, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for MACA. Mr. Speaker, earlier in my statement I spoke about the death of a three-year-old child in Arviat after being mauled by a dog team. Mr. Speaker, in this situation the proximity of the dog team did conform with the bylaw. My question to the Minister is, will the Minister contact all the hamlets in the NWT to ensure that their bylaw is reasonable and safe so that we can prevent this sort of situation from ever happening again? Thank you.

Thank you. The honourable Minister for Municipal and Community Affairs, Madame Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say that I will get my department to review the bylaw issue and I will get back to the Member on the process. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. I have the honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Roland.

Thank you. The honourable Minister for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you. The honourable Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Second supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you. Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Roland.

Thank you. The honourable Mr. Dent.

Thank you. I have the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Between the question and response, we will pause momentarily in order to recognize the interpretation that we have which is a vital part of this operation. Thank you. It is a very difficult question to point out to a certain Minister. It seems to be part of the Premier's office, Personnel Secretariat or FMB. So, Mr. Todd, would you endeavour to answer the question?

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. Let me go back to what our original position was over a year ago. That is when we were in negotiations with the union, we asked them to consider a student rate rather than the conventional rates that are currently in our collective agreement. For one reason or another we did not get an agreement. I am not placing any blame, but we did not get one. The intent at that time was to try to find a reasonable level of what you might call student compensation so that we can hire and recruit more students given the fiscal limitations that we were under. That was our original intent. That did not work.

At the end of the current situation with respect to students not under the new initiative that was announced and that we are going to reannounce tomorrow, under the current situation there is a very limited number of dollars available for student recruitment. There is certainly less money available than there was in the past. Now part of our accountability strategy and responsibility strategy is to put the onus and responsibility, on the Ministers and the deputy ministers and on the individual departments. We are trying to decentralize authority because we fundamentally believe that we will get people more accountable and get better utilization of the dollars. So the process right now and Mr. Ootes is correct, there is no centralized clearing house for student employment. Each department has its own budget, each department recruits its own students and that is the process we have in place right now. I hope that answers my colleague's question.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Yes thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I would be the first to admit that perhaps the system may appear on the surface to be a bit cumbersome, but I am telling you right now that the fact of the matter is, the expectation out there for students has been reduced because we do not have

the fiscal resources. I do not want to get back into that story, but that is the reality. One of the reasons that we announced early the new initiative is because we have tried to find a way in which to lever our dollars to get more students to work. That is really what we are trying to do here. Now, I will examine the concern raised by Mr. Ootes. It could very well be a legitimate one. I will assume it is at this point in time, and see if there is some way in which we can provide students with the form of information that he has from the federal government.

What we will not examine though, in fairness to him, I am not prepared to look at a centralized model at this time because accountability and responsibility has been placed on the Ministers and placed on the deputy ministers et cetera. That is all the way through our program since we started. I will try to find a way to examine how we can provide the necessary information for the students but if we are heading towards whether we are going to have a centralized kind of clearing house, at this time I do not think it would be fair to give any indication to Mr. Ootes that we would be prepared to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Todd. Second supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. The honourable Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, this question has been raised on a number of occasions by my honourable colleague, but the fact of the matter is, we have signed a legal collective agreement with our colleagues in the union which commits us to certain wage rates for certain jobs for certain periods of time. I would be prepared, if I was given direction, to perhaps communicate with the union to see if they would consider it. But they have got an obligation and responsibility to the membership. I cannot speak for them, Mr. MacDonald and others are around and I am sure they can talk to you directly, but I do not think there is room right now considering that we have signed off an agreement which was difficult enough to get. Let us be candid, it was a tough time, the last little while.

We did indicate on the front end that we would have preferred to try to get a student rate, to ensure more students would be recruited because we knew the fiscal position we would be in. For one reason or another, and I am not making any judgement on it, we could not accomplish that in the bargaining process. I will talk to my department and see if they are prepared to communicate with the president and see if they wish to re-examine it. To be candid, I very much doubt it at this time, hence the reason we brought in the private sector initiative for the recruitment of students that Mr. Dent announced earlier this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. I would like to remind all Members when asking questions, the initial question allows for the preamble and supplementaries are there to seek clarification from the Minister on the questions. In some cases, we have had a number of Members asking more than one question at the same time. Those kinds of questions could be asked in terms of written questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be prepared to ask the departments if they can identify and provide me with a complete data list of how many students they are prepared to recruit this year based on the fiscal dollars they have available. I can tell you, unequivocally, that we are not in the same position we were over a year ago. There is, unfortunately, less opportunity hence the reason why we came forward with what we believe is a creative way to lever both private sector and government dollars to bring about new opportunities for our students. But I would certainly be prepared to coordinate and seek input from the departments as to how many students they intend to hire within the fiscal frameworks and we have set targets with respect to our budgets. Thank you.

Thank you. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Henry. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance responsible for the Division Secretariat. I think it is fair to say that there has been some confusion and misunderstanding regarding formula financing for the two new territories. I wonder if the Minister could make it clear as to what the government and the Western Coalition and the interim commissioner will be negotiating as far as formula financing agreements for the two new territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let us make it clear, there should be no confusion as it relates to this government's position as we move forward to negotiate the formula arrangements. We see clearly that there is a requirement for two new formula gross expenditure bases for both the western government and the eastern government. It is clear with respect to the federal government's position as it relates to Footprints in the Snow 2, they have indicated support for it, both through the Minister of DIAND and the Minister of Finance. This government's position is also to support the Footprints in the Snow 2 report, along with NTI. Therefore, we are currently costing, in an orderly way, that blueprint and model that is in place. In that costing, we will identify the incremental side of it. With respect to the western government, we are costing right now the government that is in place. Once we have that costing in place, with our partners in the process we will then move forward to the federal government and see if they are prepared to pay the price.

I have to remind everybody, especially the audience out there, that the fact of the matter is, the current levels of funding that we receive from the federal government is somewhere between 76 to 80 percent of the monies we receive. Our capacity to generate revenues is very limited. We are somewhere in the region of 20 to 24 percent capacity to generate revenues. When you look at two new territories, the capacity to generate revenues, the requirement for the gross expenditure base, will change significantly, hence the reason for what I have been saying for weeks. There is clearly a requirement to identify two new formulas, with two new expenditure bases, based upon two models. The models are Footprints in the Snow 2 and the western government as we currently see it. We then move that forward with our partners to the federal government and ask are you going to pay the bill? Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard the Minister break that down very well. I was wondering if he would also confirm to me or reject, has the federal government bought into the process that the GNWT will be negotiating two separate formula financing agreements? Thank you.