Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman I believe when we first put out the alcohol and drug reforms, there was some anticipated savings as a result of having to regretfully close down Delta House. It is my understanding that we have attained a savings from that but by the same token, no individual has been denied access to the alcohol and drug programs as we have indicated. Individuals still have access to residential alcohol and drug programs, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not have that level of detail with me but I can certainly provide it to the Member possibly tomorrow.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is an ongoing issue in that it is still the current fiscal year and we still do monitor, but quite frankly it is up to the board to determine where to send their constituents for receiving what they deem to be the adequate service. It is not necessarily within their region if they do not have that service available there. The board's responsibility to us again is to make sure that there is access in the case of what the honourable Member is referring to in the alcohol and drug programs, If the individual requires that residential treatment that they have a program available. We have not heard any concerns or complaints from individuals to us saying that they are not being provided the service through the boards. It is my understanding that service is being provided. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, this goes right back to the essence of the initial opening comments and my response to board accountability and responsibility to the people they serve. As we know the Inuvik situation is a bit different then other boards as they had a board representative of every single community. When I first took over responsibility for Health and Social Services back in the fall of 1995, they found that the Board was not effective, it was too large and not conducive to being productive on numerous occasions when I met face to face with them or through correspondence or speaking to their MLAs. They chose to downsize that board dramatically, as the Members know, to have a representative from the Sahtu, from the Gwich'in, from the Inuvialuit, from the town of Inuvik, from the town of Norman Wells and the chairperson. I would say that depending on the circumstances, those representatives of those groups in the

communities that they represent are the avenues to appeal or lodge complaints if community members or community leaders feel that their interests are not being looked after and their issues are not being resolved, as a first avenue. If their representation on that board is not deemed to be adequate or deemed not to be representative, I guess I would leave it to the people that they represent to make that individual accountable. Failing that, of course, there is always the avenue of coming to myself as the Minister of the department as ultimately being responsible for bringing forth the issue. If it is a legitimate issue that our standards are not being met, our expectations, then we would intervene. Otherwise, if it is logistically a board decision, then we would stand by it, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Agreed.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in the area of health and disease surveillance, could the Minister indicate what the situation is with regard to tuberculosis? Whether the incidences of this particular disease are remaining at a constant level, if they are decreasing or increasing? I understand that throughout the world it seems to be increasing in various locations. I was wondering what the situation is in the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I believe there have been some outbreaks in the Northwest Territories in the past. It seems to have resurfaced again. Recently, there has been an outbreak in Cape Dorset. I will ask Mr. Ramsden to speak more specifically on that. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, we did not come here today with specific ratios or percentages in terms of incidents of tuberculosis, but certainly, the rate at which it appears in our population is high. There are troubling issues around tuberculosis. One of the areas that we are putting particular effort into is the follow up with people who have tested positive. We have seen in recent months outbreaks of tuberculosis amongst people that had previously been treated and either were not followed up with properly or did not complete the course of their treatment. It is high and we think there is additional vigilance or effort needed to adequately support and treat people that do show positive signs. Thank you.