Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear to me, if I may step back for a moment and just take some time to try and answer my colleague's serious question. Let us step back. The formula financing agreement we had with the federal government was cut back $240 million over a four year period; $60 million on an annual basis. The forced growth aspects, and I will remind everyone of this

government, is somewhere around $30 million to $40 million a year that we have no control over.

It was clear to me early on that we need to take the time and the energy to try to develop a strategy and to spend more time on trying to determine where we can get revenues. Governments find it easy to spend money, but that is the easy part of governing. The hard part of governing is managing money in this part of the country and more importantly, trying to find new ways in which to generate revenues.

When you investigate and look real close at where we can get revenues, it is clear to me and to my colleagues that the non-renewable resource industry is the one that can give you the kind of levels you require if you look five or ten years out.

The current ability for us to find new revenues is very limited. Twenty four to 26 percent of the revenues we get in our overall budget, come from the territories such as alcohol, cigarettes, gasoline, et cetera. The large impact is in the non-renewable resource site. If you have some faith in this country, as I do, that we can actually move it forward in an aggressive strategy to be able to access our resources and ensure both aboriginal and non-aboriginal people benefit from it. If the diamond mine has done nothing else, it has demonstrated to us the magnitude of dollars that are involved.

We need to move in a very comprehensive way to develop this strategy to encourage and support the industry and parallel with that, discuss with our federal colleagues the need to get into the window that they currently have to make us less dependent on the $834 million we currently get on an annual basis in the grant. That is what this strategy is all about. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today Mr. Ng made a statement concerning the update on the P-3 projects and the hospital facilities. I would like to follow up on that statement and ask some questions concerning the functional program review. I am wondering if the Minister could give us some clarity on exactly what is involved with the functional programming?

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the functional program review is a review of the outlines of what the facility services is expected to provide for their service area. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the functional program has been submitted by the Baffin Regional Health Board to the Department of Health. I understand they have had it now for some time. I am wondering if the Minister could update us exactly what is the expectant time-line of the review by the Department of Health would be completed?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in trying to advance these programs in as timely a fashion as possible, our department's review of that functional program provided by the Baffin Regional Health Board has already been done and we have advanced back to the Regional Health and Social Services Board our initial discussions and position on that functional planned review. Now the next step is awaiting what their response would be to that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the response that the Minister speaks about getting back to the Baffin Regional Health Board, if in the best circumstances that response came back in the next two weeks let us say, would that mean that indeed the P3 project for the Baffin Regional Health Board or the Baffin Regional Hospital would be moving forward? Within the next couple of weeks, a month or what type of time-frame are we looking at?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are ready to proceed with it if we can sign off on a functional program that is acceptable to both parties. Right now, I must advise the Member, there is a huge discrepancy between what the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board is expecting in the tune of approximately $48 million which is what it has been costed out as. We are willing to provide $25 million so there is a big spread between $25 million and $48 million of programming and that is where the expectations have to become more realistic before we can proceed in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister explained earlier, the functional program design is indeed to see what is needed in the facility to be constructed and what that price tag would be. The Minister has referred to the $25 million envelope that has been originally outlined. I am wondering where the consultations with the health board are right now within the $25 million envelope and indeed to move it forward. Have there been discussions about maybe phasing the facility over the next couple of years to allow for the scope of the project that was called for in the program function design?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it has been quite clear right from day one in respect to discussions and the offers made to the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board that $25 million was what we were looking at initially. There were some discussions about phasing in some additional requirements and we are quite receptive to that idea as well, but quite frankly the functional program that was provided to us did not have any type of implementation plan in stages on how we could achieve this. That is where the difference between $25 million and $48 million has occurred and where it stands right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Mr. Steen.

The Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in order to supply the Member with a detailed answer, I will take

that question as notice. Thank you.

The question is taken as noticed. Oral questions. Mr. Ningark.