Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is addressed to the Minister responsible for NTPC. Earlier in the House the Minister of Finance indicated that Cabinet and the Minister were interested in a transition arrangement with NTPC that would allow for an orderly move to division similar to the WCB. That has come to be known as plan B. Plan A being the initial position put on the table by the Minister responsible for NTPC where he indicated Plan A is, we would like to keep one Corporation. I think that the move to plan B is a wise one. I just asked the Minister if he could elaborate on that particular shift in light of the delicate nature of the negotiations as the Minister of Finance indicated earlier. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, as my honourable colleague, Mr. Todd said earlier, negotiations are at a delicate stage on the future of the Power Corporation. The government's position remains that we would prefer to see the Power Corporation as one entity following division. Given the status of negotiations and the timetable we have before division takes place, we felt that it was prudent to begin the work of preparing a document that could be considered a transition document, should we prove to be unsuccessful at advancing the Power Corporation as one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, of course, fully support the idea of a very careful even-handed move toward division and the reality that there is a possible need for that kind of transition arrangement similar to WCB. Could the Minister, in fact, confirm whether his transition document will, in fact, be similar somewhat to WCB where you will have a split but the opportunity will be left wide open for the two new Legislatures to, in fact, to possibly have a merger or to carry on with a more formal separation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is too early in the negotiation process to answer that question. I would hope the parties will agree that we could leave the transition document open enough so that such an action could be contemplated, should we get to that point. I want to reinforce that we are still hoping we will be successful at achieving consensus on a process that will keep the Power Corporation together after division. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister at least indicate whether in fact the transition document in his mind, would be either a transition document keeping the corporation whole or a transition document looking to some sort of division with a possible re-connection later by the two new Assemblies should that be the wish of the people of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it is important to state and restate that there has not been any discussions with the stakeholders east and west. Early thinking sees the document leading to an orderly division of the company over the course of two or so years. During that time, obviously, if two new Legislatures were to choose to change the approach, they could do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to readdress some questions again to Minister Todd regarding the collective agreement. Specifically, with regard to the process if the government is successful in its Court application to have a mediator appointed. Can the Minister tell us, will the mediator deal strictly with the collective agreement or will the mediator deal with both, the collective agreement and the pay equity dispute?

When the government has the mediator appointed, can the Minister tell us, will the mediator deal with the question of the collective agreement in isolation, or will it be both, the collective agreement and the pay equity dispute?