Oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister could update this House as to the status of the services that are being offered by the northern medical centre in Manitoba to the Keewatin. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that an interim agreement between the northern medical unit and the Keewatin regional health and social services board has been reached and that agreement runs effective of September of this year until March 31, 1999. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell the House exactly what are these services and the length of the contracts involved.

Thank you. Minister Ng. Two questions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had indicated that the current interim agreement is from September of this year to March 31, 1999. Those services are for general practitioner services and for specialist services. At the same time, there are some ongoing negotiations that continue between the University of Manitoba, the GNWT and the Nunavut department of health along with the board in trying to reach a longer term contract of approximately three to five years. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister can update this House on the status of the senior positions that have been vacant for the last number of months with the Keewatin Health Board? Thank you.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the position of executive director for the regional health and social services board has now been filled and an offer has been made. The individual is not on site yet so we continue to have an interim executive there from the department. It is also my understanding that some of the other senior positions within the regional health and social services board and in particular the director of corporate affairs, director of social programs, manager of human resources and the senior nursing officer positions have been filled to date. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The Minister of Finance. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all let me clarify my honourable colleague it is this government that is doing the economic strategy and Mr. Bailey and Associates are the consultants we are using for one part of that study. The economic framework we outlined last year really was just explaining to northern peoples the impact of certain aspects of the economy. What we are doing here, is trying to put a coordinated approach and to build the case for a new fiscal relationship with the federal government that will allow a new Western Territory to generate more revenues as it relates to the non-renewable resource envelope. It is a significant initiative, Mr. Speaker, that requires a certain amount of substantiation that Mr. Bailey is working on that requires a certain amount of work Mr. Dent is working on that requires the involvement of Mr. Kakfwi and Mr. Antoine in all aspects of this important initiative we are doing. The difference here is that we are preparing the case for the discussion with our federal counterparts for renewed and different fiscal relationship with the federal government. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am confident as I said in this House on a number of occasions by questions asked by Mr. Ootes and Mrs Groenewegen, the strategy we are putting into place is both short and long-term. It is fundamentally necessary to do it. I am going to say again the long term revenue projections for the west flatten out into the year 2000. You simply have to find a new fiscal relationship with the federal government to ensure you are going to get the additional revenues necessary to deliver the

kinds of services and economic activity that your constituents expect. That is what this initiative is all about.

Perhaps I should have called it an investment north strategy. We just happen to use the word economic strategy. That is what we are endeavouring to do here. All aspects of the territory west and east will be covered in this initiative. Hopefully, it will be a blue print that both this government can proceed with into March 31st, that the western government can proceed with until October 31, 1999 and the new governments can see the benefit after that. I am telling you now as the Finance Minister, you simply need a new fiscal relationship. You need to spend some time in determining where you are going to get new revenues. If you are going to maintain the level of services that our constituents have become accustom to. That to some extent is what the strategy is all about.

At the same time there is clearly a need to re-examine the programs we are currently doing. I think self re-examination is a good thing. The primary focus for me, as Finance Minister, is to prepare the case for the discussions that will be undertaken with our federal counterparts the need to get into the revenue window to continue to increase the levels of service our constituents have come to expect from us. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do recognize my honourable colleague's frustration as he has expressed it many times in this House. I do appreciate it and I am trying to explain to the best of my ability what we are trying to do here. I am sure there are all kinds of reports out there, the scone report, this report, that report, et cetera the previous governments have put forward. I do not see what we are doing here in that light. I see it as an over all initiative, to build the case for a new relationship with a federal government because you simply must have it.

You simply need to find a way in the long run to find new revenues to maintain and increase the level of services to your constituents. Thank is what this is all about. I do not have today the cost of previous governments' expenditures in economic strategies. I do not have that. I am sure the previous governments as other governments have done these kinds of things. What I am trying to do is to put together a blue print, a road to new revenues. To build the case, to defend and to discuss with Mr. Martin the Finance Minister and Ms. Stewart the Minister of Indian Affairs the fundamental need for a new fiscal relationship with the territories so that we can get into the revenue window as they say and do something constructive about it.

If I may Mr. Speaker, I want to remind everybody 75 percent of the monies we spend come from the federal government. Seventy five percent, we need to find a way in which to be less dependent. That is what this is all about. Nothing more, nothing less. Now I cannot answer my colleague's question today about how much money has been spent by previous governments on previous economic strategies. Thank you.