Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my colleague's, Mr. O'Brien's questions to the same Minister. The question I have is, I find out that only the bigger communities are benefitting from the decentralized model that we have been talking about up to date. When they started to build these facilities, the smaller communities are not benefitting compared to these bigger communities.

How will this government ensure the smaller communities will benefit from that model? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister responsible for the Division Secretariat, Mr. Todd.

Well, Mr. Speaker, the federal government in discussions with the territorial government and NTI appointed a commission two, three years ago, to determine an appropriate model for new government in Nunavut. That model was the NIC, Footprints 2 model, which all parties signed on and concurred with. I do not see any other further decentralization into the smaller communities whatsoever at this time.

Mr. Speaker, from a GNWT perspective, there are no discussions underway with respect to any further decentralization of the new Nunavut government. There is a clear and concise agreement that the Footprints 2 model is the one that is enacted at this time. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we were talking about Footprints 2, they were talking about sophisticated technical equipment. Can the smaller communities be involved with the decentralized government when the communications system will be up to date? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Todd.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I think it really would be inappropriate for me to make any comment beyond April 1, 1999. That is up to the new Legislature and the new elected people that will be there. But I would suggest to my honourable colleague that whoever the successful 19 candidates are for the new Nunavut government in February or March, 1999, they will have an opportunity because they will be the legitimate elected body of Nunavut to re-evaluate what is going on at that time. They may wish to, I am not suggesting, but they may wish to make appropriate adjustments. What I am saying at the present time, is this government and all parties support the Footprints 2 model. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

The Minister of Justice, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently the Member came to me with the question on what the Department of Justice was doing with regard to changes that are needed in the Labour Standards Act. There is a consensus out there that the Labour Standards Act is in need of some changes and overhaul. The Department of Justice had, indeed, looked into the issue and what needs to be changed and how long it would take, et cetera. I am told, unfortunately, in the next year because the legislative agenda is very full, we have to prioritize legislation we can deal with in the coming year.

The Labour Standards Act amendments that would be required would not be able to be done within the next year. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think everyone has recognized we are dealing with an act that is archaic. It is an extremely difficult act for staff to administer and difficult for the business community to deal with. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is, is he making any start on preparing legislative changes to that act? Is nothing going to happen until a year from now? Does the world stop because we are looking at division? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A review has taken place on the Labour Standards Act on what changes, additions and improvements need to be made on the act itself. Work can continue fine tuning which parts of the act need changing. The actual drafting up and improving on the legislation will have to wait for another year, at least. As I said, we do recognize the need to make changes to the act. With the short time that we have in the 12 to 14 months before the end of this Assembly's life, we need to prioritize which legislation the government can deal with. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along the same lines, the Minister is telling us that they have to prioritize things that the government wishes to do. Can I ask the Minister then, if his department is working on any legislative changes required to put an act in place, the potential for the Keewatin pilot project? Is there any legislation in the works to make those things a reality? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am sorry, Mr. Henry, that is a new question. You can ask a supplementary to the Labour Standards Act. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would ask the Minister then, what new initiatives are this department working on which have taken the priority over something that affects all residents of the Northwest Territories, employers and employees? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier the legislative agenda over the coming year is quite full. The government has provided the Standing Committee on Government Operations with a list of what the government hopes to achieve in terms of legislation in the coming year. I understand the committee was provided with an updated list as late as last week. I would be pleased to find a copy and provide it to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Picco.