Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Good morning. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been recently, as Members of this House are aware, a lot of confusion surrounding the issue of access to health services for residents of the Sahtu. I rise today to provide some clarity of this matter. I will explain the facts and my position.

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I will deal with the matter of the Cabinet Directive that has been the subject of some discussion in this House. Let me be very clear, matters affecting the location of service delivery are the sole responsibility of the Minister of Health and Social Services. I intend to accept that responsibility and be held accountable for it. I cannot speak to why the previous Minister, in the previous government, choose to bring the matter of health services in the Sahtu before Cabinet. That was a decision made in different times. However, I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that I will make determinations, as necessary, on the best fit for service delivery in the health and social service system. I will make those determinations on the basis of facts, on the basis of best value for money, and after appropriate consultation with the people affected. I will make those determinations so that current and future generations of residents will have access to quality care, shared equitably and resources in a sustainable way.

I have had many conversations with the chair of the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Service Board. On February 6th, I wrote to her to confirm my position on the matter of provision of health services. All Sahtu communities and the Sahtu leadership were copied on my letter. I am, therefore, Mr. Speaker surprised that confusion remains. In that letter, I confirmed my support for the board's proposal to provide a limited element of choice to people from the Sahtu, particularly as it relates to the travel of elders who may have family in Inuvik.

I also informed the chair that there had recently been a series of complaints from the Sahtu, with people alleging that the board is, in fact, going much further than offering limited choice. I reiterated my expectations about how changes need to be advanced. I told the board that I considered the Cabinet decision of April, 1995, to be essentially in effect, except for the limited element of choice just mentioned. I suggested to the board that given the considerable change that has occurred in the health and social service system since 1995, I fully expect that the board would continue to search for ways of meeting the needs of Sahtu residents efficiently and effectively. I directed the board to precede its decisions about changes with extensive discussion with the communities served, and to follow up the consultation with a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis.

As Members know, the Department of Health and Social Services has made considerable investment in the Stanton system, and we will need to test the impact on that system of any change in the service relationship between the Inuvik and Stanton regions.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a tough two and a half years, since we came into office, faced with tough problems, less money, a population under terrific social pressure and a will to make the decisions we need to make in this day and age. We have asked board trustees to wrestle with difficult issues and make tough decisions when the full range of options available to them has not been that palatable. With all that, Mr. Speaker, we need to extend our support, guidance and appreciation for their effort and commitment.

Mr. Speaker, our boards and their volunteer trustees represent a key linkage between the caregivers that work for the board and the residents and communities they serve. I will continue to support their operations, to insist on their accountability to the residents they serve and to me as Minister. It is unfortunate that the boards often receive negative coverage of their attempts to deal with difficult situations. Yet when they are doing good thing, operating effectively and efficiently we hear very little about them.

I will ensure that we continue to strengthen the support we provide to boards, and hope that, on occasion, Members of this House will see fit to join me in celebrating their frequent successes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have an

emergency statement that is not really an emergency, Mr. Speaker, it was not filed on time according to the rules of the House. My apologies to you Mr. Speaker, as well as the Members of the House. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable James Antoine will be absent from the House today to attend a meeting on transportation and aboriginal issues with Mr. Krutko in Fort McPherson. I apologize once again to the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in regard to the statement the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation made yesterday. I do appreciate the fact that he indicated that social housing rent increases will no longer be increased in the Nunavut area before division. I appreciated the fact that there will be no rent increases, however, in my riding the housing managers in the local communities received a letter stating that as of June 1, 1998, there will be a 90 percent increase of social housing rents. The Minister stated yesterday that this will stay at 60 percent and will no longer increase to 90 percent. This was going to be put in effect June, 1998. I will be asking the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation a question regarding this matter and ask him to clarify this situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Roland

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. O'Brien. Welcome back.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to be back in the House again. Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to hear that the acting chair of the Keewatin Regional Health Board announced that the Keewatin Regional Health Board and the University of Manitoba reached an agreement in principle on the provision of health services in the Keewatin region. Under this interim agreement, the University of Manitoba will provide services to the Keewatin residence in the following areas; physician services, travel clinics and specialist services. Mr. Speaker, I believe this is a first step in re-establishing medical services and also trust back in the system that the people in the Keewatin were looking for, expecting and anticipating. I will have questions for the Minister later on today on this issue. Thank you.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last night we

had the pleasure of going down to Fort Resolution to open a new community television channel. It is a community television channel by NorthwesTel Cable and the elders' committee in Fort Resolution worked long and hard to bring this channel on stream. The chairman, Pete Fraser, as well as the volunteers in Fort Resolution who worked hard to make sure that the people of Fort Resolution have a community channel is Leon Beaulieu, Catherine Wishey, Dottie Mandeville and Faith Beaulieu. These people put in many, many hours on behalf of the community. All the good people of Fort Resolution showed up last night to welcome our honoured guests, the Honourable Kelvin Ng, the Honourable Charles Dent and our good friend Levi Barnabas from the High Arctic who came with us to enjoy a feast of caribou stew and bannock. Everybody had a great and an enjoyable time visiting with each other. It was a good evening and we had promised our Chief in Fort Resolution last night, Don Balsillie, that I would wear this in the House today, so I am wearing it right now for Fort Resolution Chief Don Balsillie and the people in Fort Resolution.

--Applause

Later on today, Mr. Speaker, myself, Charles Dent, Kelvin Ng and Levi Barnabas will have a request in to our television cameras to get a picture of all of us with our SJL sweatshirts on and send a video back to Fort Resolution so they can play it to all the community on their new community access channel. I wish Fort Resolution the best of luck with their access channel. I know communication is important in our community and this access channel at the community level will help bring the community together. Once again, Fort Resolution has made me proud to represent them. I am very proud of what they did for my colleagues last night and keep up the good work and keep working together. Mahsi cho.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you spoke of literacy yesterday in your address, today I rise to bring forward a message on the same topic. Communication has been a part of our lives since the beginning of time. Our ancestry used many forms to communicate, in some cultures the drum is an important communicator, others used smoke and others used different forms of writing on different objects. My ancestors would communicate by writing in the snow, using charcoal to write with and many other signals and forms of writing. These are all forms of literacy. In today's world, one must know how to read and write in English to move ahead. However, we, as aboriginal people, cannot forget our history, our culture and most importantly, our language. Yesterday was Literacy Action Day across the north and I hope all our residents recognize how important literacy is for the survival of our language and our culture. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will speak in Inuktitut. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak on the issue of elders' organizations. The elders' organizations do not have certain staff, such as secretaries. They do have funding and a lot of them do not have secretaries to report how they use their funding. I feel that the elders should have this support staff to make sure that what they are doing is reported. The elders are very important to us and now that they are starting to do a lot of things, such as elders' circles in the communities and through the legal system, we would like to provide support staff for the elders in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recall, when I ran for MLA, thinking before that it probably is not that much of a stressful job. I now know better. I now read more before 10:00 in the morning than I used to read every week. There are meetings before Session, after Session, at night, on weekends. Outside groups want your time and support for their issues. Some of the longer term Members, their children grow up before their eyes and they do not even notice. My children have sometimes mentioned to me that they are thinking of calling me Uncle Seamus instead of Dad.

Politics is a stressful life, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank all those MLAs who ran before and served the people of the Northwest Territories. What happened to the Members of the 12th Assembly? Where are they now? Many of the former Members are still working hard for the people in their own home communities. Henry Zoe is the executive director for the Dogrib Treaty 11; the former Premier, Nellie Cournoyea is the chairperson and chief executive officer of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation; Richard Nerysoo is the president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council; Dennis Patterson is the chairperson of the Baffin Regional Health Board; Fred Koe is the deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs; and Tony Whitford is our Sergeant-at-Arms, as well as being the executive assistant to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

I do not think you can say that any of these people have retired from political life. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, some of them are probably a bigger pain to the government than they were when they sat in this House. The Members of the 12th Assembly who managed to get re-elected, have all been elevated to loftier positions of power. Their experience in working in the Assembly is a benefit and valuable. Some of the former MLAs are in private business. Michael Ballantyne runs his own consulting firm, although I have not heard of him getting any major government contracts, I am sure he is lurking in the corridors of power somewhere. John Pollard, after imparting his vast knowledge of finance to my honourable colleague, Mr. Todd from Rankin Inlet, has returned home to Hay River and is looking after his own business interests, instead of those of the Northwest Territories. Jeannie Marie-Jewell is in Fort Smith living a life of leisure and contemplating her next foray into public life. I have heard from unreliable sources that she is developing a penchant for biting M&Ms in half.

--Laughter

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

The Member for Yellowknife South is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do I have any nays? Mr. Henry, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you colleagues. Brian Lewis can be seen wandering the streets of Yellowknife deep in thought, pondering retirement and ever ready to lend his voice to debate during the times of constitutional crisis.

I now know, Mr. Speaker, of the sacrifices of these former Members made on behalf of their constituents and the people of the Northwest Territories and wish to commend them and wish them well in future endeavours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will speak in Inuktitut. (Translation) Mr. Speaker, thank you. As we all know, right now, the income tax will have to be worked on in the very near future. Mr. Speaker, we all know, the ordinary people do not know how to do their income tax, especially in the smaller communities. We do not have any help to file income tax. In Yellowknife, you have H&R Block that we could use for support, but in the smaller communities, we do not have anything like this. Mr. Speaker, there are many people who need help filling out their income tax forms and every year, the income tax form changes. Even when you are able to speak the English language, the returns are very difficult to understand. We, the Inuit, are the taxpayers, especially in the north. We have to think about them because they are not able to read English. As stated, even if you are able to read, it is very difficult to understand and a lot of people do not fill out their income tax forms because it is very difficult for them. We do need help in the smaller communities. Is there any help available from the government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

--Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too, would like to say that today is Friday and I am also very thankful. We have been pretty busy for the past five weeks. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to be on the front page in a newspaper article this week, and I learned that by going through Internet messages on the computer. Yesterday, I started going through internet messages again, just to find out whether I still remain to be on the front page for this week. I learned that two dogs have taken away my front page in the news article and Mr. Speaker, I hope those two dogs are not Mr. Kakfwi's dogs. Thank you.

--Laughter/Applause

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past two years, originating with the Iqaluit Trade and Promotion Office, I have been involved in trying to create some new economic activities at the Iqaluit airport. One of these initiatives included the opportunity of cold-weather testing. The idea of a cold-weather testing facility came about because of the usage of the Iqaluit airport for cold-weather testing by different major airlines. As an example, the cold-weather testing of an airbus 340, owned by Air France. That alone, Mr. Speaker, significantly dropped approximately $750,000 into the local economy. Yesterday, Jerry Ell of the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and I, met with the Minister of Transportation to again revisit this proposal. Mr. Speaker, hopefully over the next few months, more developments may be made public that could result in significant revenue streams and unique opportunities for new jobs, as well as international and corporate exposure for Iqaluit. Mr. Speaker, we have to look at new economic and job creation opportunities outside of government. This ongoing initiative may result in private business setting up a cold-weather testing facility in my community that may result in new opportunities for jobs and revenue streams. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I refuse to be influenced by harsh words of others. I refuse to remain silent anymore. I rise today to applaud the government on their stance on the diamond industry.

--Applause

I applaud their insistence that valuation and sorting must occur off site and in a northern community. I applaud their stance on value-added secondary industry, that they want to work with the industry to ensure access to a constant, reliable supply of diamonds at fair market value. Mr. Speaker, it is the government's responsibility to ensure that northern residents benefit from northern resources, not just to allow people to fly in and fly out or drive in and drive out, as the case may be. Mr. Speaker, we have heard that on average, the federal government will get annual revenues of something like almost $200 million a year, while the Government of the Northwest Territories will receive $17 million a year. That is less than we will have to spend on infrastructure and social programs in support of the mines. Mr. Speaker, I would rather see diamonds stay in the ground than receive less benefit than we spend on social programs caused by the mines. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I applaud this government's stance on the diamond industry. Thank you.

--Applause

Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great honour and pleasure to introduce a fellow who served in this House and was also sitting with me for four years and two Assemblies ago. He helped me greatly to understand the rules of this House. I was very fortunate when I got elected, I had Members who served in the House for many years who were very honourable and knew how the rules and the procedures of the House worked and how to work as an MLA. I would like to recognize the honourable Ludy Pudluk from the High Arctic.

--Applause

Mr. Speaker, Ludy was a good friend of many Members of this House and he still is. Welcome to the House, Ludy.

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Welcome to the Assembly. Life must be good after politics. You do look younger.

--Laughter/Applause

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Roland.

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. O'Brien.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a good friend of mine and a better friend to Mr. Todd, Mr. Glenn McLean, the president of the Keewatin Chamber of Commerce. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize my senior, my teacher and my friend, Mr. Ludy Pudluk.

--Applause

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery, Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize the individual who used to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly with me for nine years. I am happy he is in the gallery today. I would like to recognize, Mr. Pudluk. Thank you. (Translation ends)

--Applause

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize my predecessor, my colleague and resident of Resolute. He is also with the NHURD Board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too, would like to recognize Ludy Pudluk. I used to sit beside him when I was first elected. He taught me a great deal when I was coming in as a new Member. The one thing I remember the most, I use to always rub his leg accidentally when I was throwing my garbage because I did not have a garbage can and things have never been the same since he has not been there and I have not been rubbing his leg. Thank you.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Premier of this government. As I stated in my Member's statement, there are times every year in the small remote communities, people require the assistance of a person who is able to do an income tax return during the time of travelling. Will the Premier of this government assure the people in the remote communities, this government will provide that assistance to ensure people fill out their income tax returns? Thank you.

The Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government is committed to working with the Government of Canada and the people of the Northwest Territories to make sure the income tax forms are done. I was just reading a document the other day about Revenue Canada. They have increased their presence in the north to assist people. Also, we are on record of having asked Revenue Canada to have the forms translated into Inuktitut as well, but they have refused to do so. We are working with the people of the north to try to make sure people know how to fill out their income tax. I understand Revenue Canada will be putting on workshops as well in some communities. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, not every person in the jurisdiction is able to read, write and figure out the mathematics when filling out the income tax return. Will the Minister assure this House and the people in the remote communities that the assistance by the GNWT will be there in small communities when it is required? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The whole responsibility for federal income tax lies with the federal

government. We have attempted to bring the two parties together, the small communities and the federal government to assist the people in the small communities to fill out their income tax. I cannot commit this government to take on the responsibility that is solely a federal government responsibility. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Premier knows, we do not have a presence of a federal person in every community. The Premier, as the Premier of this government, should at least try to help those people who are not able to fill out their income tax return in a timely manner. Will the Minister assure this House that he will do everything he can to ensure that people who need assistance are helped? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are committed to working with the people in the communities to work with the federal government to make sure they understand the unique conditions of the Northwest Territories and the unique conditions of all our remote communities and the people who live there. We do have people who do not read or write in our communities, so they do have a problem filling out income tax. We will make sure we communicate that to the federal government again. We will continue to work with the federal government to try to find a solution that is positive to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to NWT Housing Corporation. The Minister stated yesterday in a Minister's statement that the social housing rents will not be increased before April 1999. Some of my constituents have been notified through a letter and verbally which states that sometime in June of this summer, social housing rental increases will be in effect up to 90 percent. At the present time, they are paying at a ceiling of 60 percent. I just want to find out from the Minister, I believe what he said in his Minister's statement yesterday. Will my constituents be notified that their rental increases will not be increased? Thank you. (Translation ends)

The Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Arlooktoo.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year, we made a statement that we would like to put a moratorium on the rental increases for social housing in the communities. We had to make a plan for 1998. The increase would have been effective in June, but yesterday I made a statement that rental increases that were to be in effect in June will not be in effect. The letter that was given to the communities is no longer in effect because there will no longer be an increase. Thank you. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

The Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have budgeted, based on the Hay and Associates job evaluation, an additional $9 million, to compensate female employees who were not in a pay equity situation in previous years. There is a great deal of employees who will be getting more money, not less money. Maybe some jobs are declassified and if they are, the existing people within these jobs, will be what we call, red circled. They will lose no money. Mr. Speaker, I am fairly confident today, more people will get more money and there will be some people who will remain the same as they are. Nobody will get less money.

--Applause

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are going to communicate on an individual basis with each employee. We have tried to communicate on a territorial-wide basis with respect to the pay equity issue and the fact we have allocated $9 million of new money to be added to the pay scale of most of our female employees. It will be done on an individual basis, Mr. Speaker, and I am fairly confident each member of the bureaucracy will fully understand the implications. Again, I want to repeat, anybody who is reclassified down will be what we define as red circled. That means a distinct pay level will stay. Should they leave and we recruit again, it would be recruited again at the reduced pay level. In fact, nobody who is currently in the government will get a reduction in salary because they will either be red circled or be increased, given that we have allocated $9 million which we hope the union and ourselves can come to an agreement with, prior to April 1, 1998. Thank you.

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

Mr. Todd.

Let me say clearly to our employees who are out there doing their best and working very hard. Nobody will have their salary reduced as it currently stands. Most will get increases, particularly in the female gender.

--Applause

Everybody else will be red circled. I will attempt to clarify as well as I can, what that means to each individual employee. I will check that with Mr. Voytilla, my deputy minister, and see how quickly we can do that. Again, I stress, of course, that in the $9 million we have to come to an agreement with the union on pay equity so we can pay this money to our employees. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Todd.

We are still in negotiations, Mr. Speaker, with respect to the collective agreement et cetera. There is still some difference of opinion between ourselves and UNW as it relates to the job evaluation system and the compensation both on the retroactive side and the ongoing side. That is as much as I would be prepared to say at this time because there are sensitive negotiations underway. Hopefully, we can get them concluded and we can put some cash in the hands of our employees, conclude a collective agreement that will give people more money, not less and get on with doing the job of government. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Roland.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not that I am aware of. In fact, contrary to that, there are many times the quality of the health and social services boards operations are mentioned versus complaints, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Inuvik regional health and social services board received a three-year accreditation and that was received from the Canadian Council on Health Facilities accreditation. That happened in February, 1997, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the only issue I believe came out of it was they asked for a review of the strategic directions be undertaken by the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board before the end of January, 1998. The board managed to do that before the end of 1997. In addition to that, I understand the board has also implemented a continuous quality improvement program they expect to put in place this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. This is a very detailed question. You would have been better served asking it as a written question. Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

If the Minister wishes to respond. It is a detailed question again and he has to make comparisons. Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier in relation to his Minister's statement yesterday regarding the GNWT position on northern diamonds. Recently, the Minister for RWED had come back from a fact-finding mission and indicated this government should not be in the business of buying diamonds. There seems to be a perception to some people from the government's stated position yesterday that perhaps this is the case. Could the Premier elaborate on the point of making diamonds accessible, consistently and reliably to the northern industries?

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, we made public our position as a government. It is clear that our government is very interested in becoming involved in the diamond industry. Our government has a duty to be involved in the diamond industry, to the people of the Northwest Territories. We have to fundamentally look after the people of the Northwest Territories and people's concerns on the diamond issue. We have concerns that we are not getting a fair share of taxes and royalties. We are working with the federal government on that issue. We want access to rough diamonds so we can develop a diamond cutting and polishing industry for the Northwest Territories people. We also need to have an inroad in the marketing of diamonds, so we know what the end value is, so we get the proper taxes and royalties on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories. That is the position of this government. Thank you.