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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure, but

I will try to give it a go because I have asked the same question that my honourable colleague has raised with me, et cetera. The cost of living index is used to update information and provide us with the base for northern allowance, et cetera and is determined, to some extent, on the information we received from Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada surveys NWT communities once every three years to determine the value of the food basket, the basket of goods, air transportation, et cetera. Based on this index, employees receive the difference between the basket of foods purchased in Yellowknife versus the basket of food purchased in their home community. That is the first index. The second index is on a seven-day advanced airfare out of the community. The index is used on the flat amount being paid on airfare for a family. Yellowknife is used as a base for both those indexes. The two indexes produce a rate for each community that is a multiple of the Yellowknife based rate. The amounts produced by each index are added together to produce the Northern Allowance. In 1997-98, four changes were made to the Northern Allowance for the 1998 round of collective bargaining. We updated the value of the basket of goods in line with the consumer price index. We updated the cost of the living index based on the recent Statistics Canada information and we updated the transportation index based on the current airfare costs. This is a fairly lengthy response, Mr. Speaker, so I hope that is all right with everybody.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall when the Minister in the government proposed doing away with the VTA and called it a Northern Living Allowance. From my perspective, and I think it is factual, people need the necessities of life. They need food, shelter and clothing. I recall many statements made by the government over the last couple of years that they were, indeed, trying to create a northern workforce. I hear the Minister telling me that most of the emphasis in the Northern Living Allowance is related to air travel. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister to tell me why the Northern Living Allowance that this government has created is not taking into consideration what it actually costs a person to live there and create this northern employment workforce? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Todd.

I certainly do not want to put words in my honourable colleague's mouth, but if he were to ask me if I would re-examine the cost of the living index, I would be prepared to do that.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's consideration of that, and I think in the words of Mr. Roland earlier on today, he was talking about fairness to all of the Government of the Northwest Territories employees. At the same time I would ask the Minister if he would also look at the name of the particular program, Northern Living Allowance and ensure that it really does reflect northern living allowance and not northern travel allowance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, clearly the issue that was raised by my colleague prior in discussions with him informally and what he has raised in the House needs to be re-examined. I appreciate the opportunity to say to him that I am prepared to do that and hopefully, come forward with more comprehensive cost of living indexes for the territories and in the future. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for Transportation. Could the Minister give this House an update as to the present status of the Arctic Airports transfer as it relates to the eastern communities? Thank you.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Good morning to my colleagues. It is good to be back here at the Legislative Assembly. The Keewatin Transfer Initiative was going ahead because of the changes in Nunavut in regard to some of the departments; for example, Transportation and Public Works, getting together and forming changes in the structure of the

organization; there is a slow down in that process. We are not moving ahead as quickly as we had first anticipated. We are still working with the communities. However, it is a slower process than we had originally anticipated. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister try to be more precise as to what is actually causing the delay? Is it regarding organizational problems? Thank you.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the airport transfer to the Keewatin communities has been directly linked to the Keewatin Pilot Project. There has been a lack of progress in this pilot project and some of the discussions that were going on with the deputy minister of Community Government, Housing and Transportation with the Nunavut government. There is a new amalgamation and how the new Nunavut government is going to run this. It will probably be Community Government Housing and Transportation will be forming together in Nunavut. The airport transfer is not their highest priority at this point in time and so, the Department of Transportation in the west, is slowing down our work in this whole transfer. Should the pilot project and the airport transfer become a priority for the Interim Commissioner, and the deputy minister for Nunavut, the department is prepared to pick up the pace on short-notice. This is the reason for the slow down in the transfer. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister tell the House whether there have been any meetings that are planned in the near future to pick up the pace on these transfers, whether it is with the Interim Commissioner or whomever the related parties are?

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not aware at this point in time what the process is to continue with this initiative. I would like to take that question as notice and get back to him to see what the scheduling and timeframe is on this. Thank you.

The question is taken as notice. Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.