Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the safety equipment and training for renewable resource officers. Mr. Speaker, recently the renewable resource officers in the western NWT requested more training in the areas of enforcement, specifically, conflict resolution, investigative techniques and the safety equipment associated with the use of force. I support their request, Mr. Speaker. Primarily because when I was going to school in Saskatchewan, there were stories of officers in the remote areas. They came upon people who were poaching and whatnot and several times people were badly beaten and had to go to the hospital and that sort of thing. I support this. The reasons the officers are requesting this is because there is an increased number of acts and regulations they are expected to enforce and investigations and prosecutions have increased. Also, the conflicts associated with enforcement have increased, along with fines and jail terms which also have increased. This increases the potential for conflict. Usually, officers are alone when they conduct routine patrols in remote areas and they often encounter people they do not know. Many of those people have firearms. In the past a wildlife officer was familiar with the majority of people whom he or she met. Today, that is not true. You never know, the person whom they stop might be someone who is on Canada's most wanted list. I am glad to see that the Minister has recognized the potential for a problem and has instituted a health and safety committee. I urge the Minister to accept the recommendations from this committee to ensure that our renewable resource officers can do their job properly and safely. Thank you.

--Applause

Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Picco on January 28, 1998, opinion on conflict of interest. As requested by the honourable Member for Iqaluit, I have further information with respect to the appointment of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development to the Aurora Funds board and whether these appointments represent a conflict of interest.

It is the opinion of the Department of Justice that there is no conflict of interest. Neither Minister is compensated either directly nor indirectly for work or activities associated with the Aurora Funds. Therefore, they are not in a conflict of interest as defined under the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act.

Section 2, subsection C of the ministerial guidelines states:

Ministers shall not, except as may be required as a duty of office, hold an office or directorship in any organization other than a social club, religious organization or political party.

I would like to mention in the course of checking into this matter, it was discovered that through an administrative oversight the appointment of the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development to the board of the Aurora Funds was not formally ratified by Cabinet. This oversight has no bearing on the conflict of interest question, nor on the Minister's activities to date in relation to the board. This appointment has since been formalized by Cabinet, as it is this government's opinion, backed by the legal opinion I have just outlined, that it is good government for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, along with the Minister of Finance, to serve as members and/or directors of the Aurora Funds boards.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide this information to the House, and trust it addresses any concerns Members have, and draws the issue of a potential conflict of interest to a conclusion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Ms. Pat Thomas, the president of the NWTTA. Thank you.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has always had a board development section within the ministry. What we have done as I indicated last fall as the result of recognizing the need to be more in tune, I guess, with some of the activities that the boards are undertaking, we established a monitoring and evaluating unit that is now formed under program planning support and evaluation. This unit will work with boards in identifying what their needs are in respect to some of the training initiatives of some of their staff. It will provide some of the overall broader support to boards that might not be available or make sense on a board by board basis and provide those supports as needed to beef up their operations.

In respect to some of the monitoring issues, once we set outcomes and standards and reach those agreements with boards, again, our intent is to be actively involved in monitoring some of those outcomes and working with the boards on an ongoing basis as they deliver programs, as they attempt to implement changes in the way they deliver some of their programs and ensure they will meet some of the outcomes and some of the standards that we would expect, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I understand it now, it is more of a broader unit that is going to be providing services to all boards. As required, again, there will be specific individuals, obviously with specific areas of specialization who will be expected to work with boards throughout the territories. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all boards are actively undergoing board trustee development workshops. I believe a former Stanton board chair, Mr. Tony Chang, undertakes a number of these training workshops with all boards. The feedback I have had in speaking with trustees and with board chairs is that it is a very effective forum for them and a very effective workshop that outlines their responsibilities and gives them the decision-making authority. It outlines the guidelines and the expectations that they are required to be knowledgeable of in carrying out their responsibilities, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it would again depend, obviously, on the different circumstances of the board. If the board has undergone some radical turnover for whatever reason, there are a lot of new trustees, obviously, we would try to emphasize the need to have these types of workshops as soon as possible. In the case of other boards where there might be a slower turnover in respect to some of the trustees, they could plan some of these workshops where it would not, obviously, be of such an urgent nature and it could be of an ongoing nature in beefing up or re-establishing for the current board members and providing the new training for the newer board members, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question has health and environmental implications in it for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, over the Christmas holidays, according to my understanding there was an outbreak of rabies in Gjoa Haven, I believe, or perhaps throughout the region because the animals such as foxes and wolves have no boundary. My question to the Premier is what is the status of the concern? Thank you.