Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not think you have to be here to be able to read the opening comments. The only opening comment I can say about the opening remarks is about the comprehensive strategic plan for the department. If the Minister is saying that study was a strategic plan, then that would be open to debate between myself and the Minister. All I am saying is what is factual and that is the report was heavily criticized by different organizations who are professionals in the field and I am not. I would take that for face value of what it is. I would like to continue my opening comments, Mr. Chairman, and my opening comments included earlier talk and discussions surrounding the area of retention of our medical professionals. It would seem, at times, this was one of the concerns that was raised, not just in my region, but other regions of the NWT.

The area surrounding family planning, the Member had talked about making a statement on family planning and, hopefully, today, we might be able to hear a little bit from the department on that issue. The birthing centre he talked about earlier in Rankin Inlet was a success, but now is closed. That is a concern. It would be interesting to see what happened there. On boards and agencies under the Department of Health and Social Services, the people we talk about all the time, the front- line staff, have not had any wage increases since 1992. Mr. Chairman, that is six years. I would have liked to see some more money, hopefully put in, reprofiled, into the health and social services board budget for those types of boards and agencies of government. That is a concern.

One of the goals of the department is outlined in the program overview in the main estimates. It says that the NWT residents will achieve enhanced health and well-being and have equitable accesses to quality health and social services based on their needs. Those two points have been carried out by the department and I am pleased to see that. On the other hand, the sustainable health and social services system seems to have been having some problems and I would agree with other Members here today that when you try to raise some areas of concerns and criticisms, it seems you get retorts and replies in a negative manner when you are trying to provide constructive criticism. That is not the point. The point of being a Member of this Assembly, asking questions and everything has been well demonstrated in the past. If you checked the attendance record, I think I have been here for every sitting of questions and so on. Just because I was upstairs on a conference call, for Mr. Ng to make a little cheap point, we both can do that and I will have an opportunity to do it later.

Following up on my opening remarks, Mr. Chairman, is the concern surrounding the construction of the facility in Inuvik and the Baffin region. I understand some Members felt those projects should be put off for another year. They have been on the books now for ten years and they are a priority. To update certain Members of this House that indeed, the Baffin Regional Hospital has not had any type of major renovation since 1962, the population in that region has increased by more than 60 percent in that period of time and we are still using the same stand-alone facility. Last year, federal public works was in and found the facility to be redundant, Mr. Chairman, so that project should be moving ahead. I do have a concern with the federal dollars that have been committed in the renovation and replacement of the facility. Later today, Mr. Chairman, I will be asking some specific questions on the monies that should be forthcoming from the federal government on that agreement. With those monies that have been paid out and allocated already, I think there is about $6 million transferred for the Baffin facility and $3 or $4 million for the Inuvik facility.

One of the major concerns we had two years ago was that day we found the money that had been transferred by the federal government to the territorial government went to the consolidated revenue fund and had been expended, as per usual of this government. We do have to come up with those monies that have already been transferred and the negotiations to date have centred around whether it is a renovation or replacement of the facility in the Baffin. It is also contingent on the percentage of aboriginal population. In our case, 85 percent of the population is aboriginal and if it is a renovation or a replacement, 85 percent of that cost would be covered. I do understand that the Minister and his staff have been in negotiations and each time a question comes up, we still have no concrete portion of monies. I do not know if maybe the negotiations are delicate, or what have you, but it has been a ten-year period. The negotiations have been ongoing for quite a period of time. My level of comfort in the federal contribution is this, Mr. Chairman that, indeed, whatever money the federal government gives us, it means we do not have to leverage loans to the P3 to finance that hospital and which means it will be less exposure to the taxpayer over that 20-year period that the P3 facility for my region would have to be paid for. The more federal government money we have, the less debt we have to incur from the lenders of choice. This is my reason for continuing to ask questions on the formula that will be allocated to both of those facilities. Later today, I will have an opportunity to ask that question to the Minister and thank him for his time and ask him to try to keep his well known discretionary powers and his good sense of humour on keel, so that we could ask some serious questions without him getting angry or flicking pieces of gum wrappers at me. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.