Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware, we do not have any money trees, whether it is on our side of the House or theirs. We do not have those in the Northwest Territories. We have a limited amount of monies available to this government. We will consider the motion made in this Legislative Assembly. We will consider it with the needs of the people of the Northwest Territories. We will try to address it the best way possible. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think we all are aware of the fiscal restraints on the Government of the Northwest Territories, but I do recall that a few weeks ago, the government stated they would buy $50 million worth of rough cut diamonds but because of their BHP agreement, that has fallen through. Maybe the Premier could identify that $50 million and rebase education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. That was a comment. There was no question there. Again, I would like to remind the Members with regard to the rules. A question must not repeat an earlier question which was answered, taken as notice or to which an answer was refused at that sitting. I will caution the Members on those repeated questions that have been answered. Oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Finance in regard to the multilateral agreement on investment. Mr. Speaker, the MAI, as it is known, is a new international economic agreement to negotiate the organization for economic cooperation and development. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of agencies across the country that are against it and have concerns with this new agreement. For example, the Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution demonstrating their concern. There are approximately 560 organizations in 67 countries that have concerns and that will not support this new agreement. Can the Minister provide this House with some information as to what impact he foresees this having on the two new territories? Thank you.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, we are well aware of the concerns that have been raised both nationally and internationally with respect to this agreement. We are examining the agreement as we speak. The government, at this time, does not have a clear position. I did indicate earlier, last week, that we do have some concerns with respect to it because it could impact on some of the preference policies that we have, negotiated contracts, business incentive policy, et cetera, and it could have an impact on how we do business in the future. I appreciate my colleague's question. It is an important one. It has long-term ramifications for the way this government and the Canadian governments do business. There is a significant amount of concern being raised out there by a variety of groups from unions to small business. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, we will be able to have a clear position as to what our position is and, of course, advise Ottawa and our provincial colleagues what it is and seek some resolve to it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister commit to providing a briefing to the Ordinary Members once he has possession of all the information that is required to advise us in a total fashion? Thank you.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the short answer is yes, I would only be too happy to. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is fully aware that the Government of Canada, through the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, is the lead on the majority of the mining licenses and regulations on land in the Northwest Territories. We have been working with DIAND to develop new, for example, diamond mine regulations. We will continue to work with them to streamline the regulations. We as a government have taken the initiative to try to deregulate and get rid of some of the red tape for our businesses in general, including the mining industry. We have also done the mine training committee in the Northwest Territories and the new college programs to train people to work in the mining industry. We do have tax credits. Mr. Speaker, there is definitely a difference between the Northwest Territories and Alberta, for example. The difference is, the Albertan people are in charge of their own resources and in the Northwest Territories, we have Ottawa in charge of ours. That is the biggest difference.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question to the Premier is, he has talked about consultations with the Department of Indian Affairs. Has the Premier had any consultations with the mining industry to ensure that he will be mirroring some of the concerns that they have with regard to making the Northwest Territories a better place for development? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I have said it once, I have said many times, I believe in partnerships. I believe in the people of the Northwest Territories working together to seeing us move ahead. We have the greatest potential in this country in the mineral development field. Our partners in developing those minerals are the aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories, the mining industries, the stakeholders, and all the people in general in the Northwest Territories. We do have a partnership with the federal government that, hopefully, will move things along so that northerners can finally be in charge of northern resources. This is the ultimate goal, and when we accomplish that, then I think, we have done our job. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is, does the Premier have a formal structure in place to consult with the mining industry on a regular basis to ensure we are going along on the same path? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is the lead Minister on the consultation and working with the mining industry, as well as other stakeholders to make sure that we get our fair share of resource development, to ensure that we do move ahead in a timely fashion, so that we can develop our resources and northerners can make those decisions. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity a few years back to drive south and as soon as you pass the 60th parallel going south, there is very little room on the highways in Alberta. They are all full of oil field trucks, service trucks, logging trucks or maintenance trucks, but the highways are full, the people are working, the hotels are full and the minute you drive north, past the 60th parallel, everything dies. There is a reason for that and once again, I must say the reason for that is Alberta, Premier Klein and the people of Alberta are in charge of their own resources. They make their own decisions and they know how they want to develop. In the Northwest Territories, who do we have in charge? Bureaucrats out of Ottawa. It is a shame. Here we are, 1998 and there are still some bureaucrats sitting in Ottawa making a decision on a diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.

--Shame! Shame!

That has got to change and we have to work together to make sure that changes, so we bring those decisions home as soon as possible, rightfully, where they belong. Thank you.

--Applause

Oral questions. Mr. Barnabas.