Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Morin do you want to respond?

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the Premier tell me if any funds or contribution arrangements have been made between other organizations in regard to the circumpolar conferences that have taken place over the years and has there been any assistance from this government in regard to such conferences?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the Premier assist me or make an attempt to assist with regard to the possibility of opening up links between the different aboriginal people, especially in northern Canada, with regard to the cooperation and coordination of efforts between the different jurisdictions? I do not think we should be putting up roadblocks or that the aboriginal people who have been here for thousands of years have to abide to one law over the other We should be opening up the doors, like what we are doing with the international initiatives the Premier has been on, in regard to Team Canada trips; but also, we should be bringing down barriers between aboriginal groups so that they can start working closer together. Is there a possibility or a way that the Minister can help in bringing down these barriers especially between the different jurisdictions, in regard to Alaska, the Yukon and also the Northwest Territories? Can the Premier look at the possibility of taking a serious look at this item and see if there is anything he can do, and this government, to avoid these barriers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Maybe on some of the items, in case the Premier is not aware, is the whole Gwich'in and Porcupine concerns, with regard to the 10-02 lands in Alaska, which basically arise out of that caribou herd, which travels between three jurisdictions. It is one of the main food consumptions of the Gwich'in in the Northwest Territories. So, whatever happens to that herd in Alaska will have a bearing on the people of the Northwest Territories. That is one issue. The other area that can be possibly looked at, is the economics of trading barriers between the different aboriginal groups in Alaska, and the Yukon, to being able to trade across the boundary between the United States and Canada, the ability of trading gifts or bringing items from Canada into Alaska, which is part of the United States.

There are international agreements in regard to the restriction of certain animal products and restriction in regard to fur items and things like that, which could be possibly looked at by this government. So, when you do meet on these trade missions between Canada and the United States and talk about Free Trade, this could be one of the issues you could assist with, through the Prime Minister of Canada, by making him aware these issues are still a barrier on aboriginal people in Canada. So, when there is a lobbying effort by aboriginal groups as a whole regardless of where they live, their concerns will be taken into account.

So those are some of the items I was talking about that this government can seriously look at in regard to assisting these groups when we talk about bilateral arrangements between the jurisdictions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There appears to be a lack of policy in place whereby this government would respond to a crisis or near crisis situations in the regions and assist boards to resolve issues before they get out of hand. Based on questions I had in the House recently, I have come to the conclusion there is no real policy in place. I am wondering if the Premier would confirm, first of all, that there is no policy in place.

Second, would he consider establishing a policy and perhaps putting in place an emergency response team or quick response team, whatever you want to call it, of managers under Cabinet direction, possibly under the Cabinet Secretariat, whereby this group would move in at a certain time and assist with problems arising in the regions?

Mr. Chairman, I guess what I was looking at was more like, I was not thinking so much of regional managers or regional directors, I was thinking more in the line of a group of managers, so to speak, maybe one from Financial Management Board as far as finance is concerned, maybe one from health, one from education, at the managerial level. What appears to be needed would be the ability to make decisions when they get down there including removing certain board members if it is necessary, thereby establishing again a service of some sort. In other words, I am referring to quite high level of managerial positions that will have the authority and ability to move into troubled areas and on quick notice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Well on another item, Mr. Chairman, I would like to question the Premier on the Personnel Secretariat. This particular secretariat, would they be the department involved for, say, any fraud or embezzlement going on in any department of the government?