There is certainly an understanding from my point that the Minister has a very difficult portfolio and one with a lot of challenges. There is no question about that, I think, by any of the Members here just to address his comments. But the area that I am concerned about is just the area the Minister referred to in his latter part of his comments. There has been identification of problems out there. What I am concerned about is, is the Minister creating this forum to rationalize the decisions that need to be made and in other words, is he asking the forum to make these decisions for him, rather than him sitting here saying yes, these are the problems and this is what we can do about it. We are going out to the public again, saying, okay, tell us what all the problems are, but how many of those do we already know about? Really, the decisions need to be made by Ministers. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree that the Minister is the final point of the decision. But as we have heard in this House, since we have come together as the 13th Assembly, how we are being an open and transparent government and working with the people of the territories. No longer is there the day where, in this Assembly alone, decisions are made without the input of the people. Mr. Speaker, I agree fully once the decision is made, it will be made from my level. But at this point, I feel that it is necessary to go out to the public and in the areas that we have heard over a number of months to a year and the concerns of health and social services and the delivery of programs, that we inform the residents of this territory of the extreme pressures that we face and the staff face at their level. As well, the cost factors involved with delivery of services in the territories and help them understand as well as the department, to understand from a bottom-up approach where the concerns lie and where we can make adjustments within our system to better deliver the programs of health and social services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not think there has been a lack of consulting across the territory. We have had a number of areas where people have been consulted over the last several years. A strategic plan was developed from that. I do not disagree with the Minister that it is vitally important to consult people, but when we already know that we have problems, in certain areas, is the Minister not in agreement with me, that we should be making those decisions and implementing some changes? Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The area as I feel it is my responsibility is, that the information that the department has and, has received and heard the concerns throughout the territory, is enough to cause me to say we need to go out there. There are other concerns I am sure that we have not heard and have not been brought up in this forum. For example, if we are going to implement the strategic plan as it comes through the previous reports, then we need to fully bring up to speed the people in the territories as to what that might take. As well, in the day that we are in, where we have, for example, block funded the health boards and they have the responsibility to carry out the duties that we once carried out from a central headquarters department, we have changed that structure significantly since the 13th Assembly has taken power and we want to ensure that with all the change that we are first and foremost looking at the services we provide to the people in the Territories.

As I said earlier, I believe that when it is time to make the decision, we want to make the appropriate decision and inform the people of the territories. We also want to inform them of the concerns and the cost-drivers that we face in making the decisions that we do today. I believe that once we have that information out there, people will see and understand probably a little more clearly, the pressures that we face as a department, as a government and especially those in the communities, the people who are front line, the nurses and the social service workers, when they go into their offices and request consideration for one of the programs or services that we deliver, they will be better able to understand the pressures that they are under to meet their needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

The Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have said that we believe the mine is still viable at least on the short-term and we would like to see the private sector along with our government and the federal government, look at ways in which

we could see the possible ongoing operation of Giant Mine. As a business, we have also said that the arsenic that is stored underground is a public concern. We have assured the public that there is no danger to the public whether the mine continues operating or is closed. What we have also indicated to the federal government is that we must work together to see what ways can be found to take the arsenic that is stored underground and remove it and ensure that it is turned into a product that is harmless or marketable for use in other places. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Speaker, there is still an understanding that as a stand-alone operation Giant Mine is profitable, it can make a profit and it does employ well over 200 people full-time. It is still, in our view, a viable business operation and it should be allowed to continue. We have also said that there is some urgency to the federal government addressing the issue of what to do with the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of arsenic that are presently being stored underground. We have continued to pressure the government to come up with some suggestions as to how that could be cleaned up as well as to clarify who is responsible for the environmental liability. We do know that the federal government receives through taxes alone, somewhere in the neighbourhood of over $9 million per year. That potentially could be set aside for potential use towards the cleanup and stabilization of the arsenic trioxide. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The mine is continuing to operate, as I understand, today under the authority of the receiver that was appointed by the courts and the receiver will look at ways in which to deal with the operations at Giant Mine for instance, whether or not the private sector may pick up the property and continue to operate it. There are, I am sure, a number of possibilities that could happen and the receiver, I believe, is working on that . The federal government has announced it is interested and supportive in looking at options as well and is working with the receiver to look at the variables. It is not our intention as a government to put money into the operation at Giant Mine at this time. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is clear that the Giant Mine, if it was to start today as a new operation, would have to change their mode of operation because the roasting mode of deriving the gold from the ore would no longer be an acceptable way to operate, that is certain. Also, some of the other modes of operation, the emissions, would no longer be acceptable. That is clear, but what we are trying to do, is to make sure that the mine is not shut down without due regard for the impact it would have not only on the city of Yellowknife, but on, for instance, the grant you receive from the federal government to operate as a government because there would be an impact on the amount of money that we receive through our formula. There are a number of factors which compel us to look at ways in which we could support the ongoing operations, at least in the short term, while solutions to the fiscal difficulties of this government, the environmental concerns, are looked at by both governments and there are avenues looked at to see what role the private sector could play, not only making sure it continues to operate even on the short term, but also in clarifying by whom and how the environmental liability would be owned up to. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Morin.