Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Ministers' statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to give an update today on the issue of surviving spouse benefits in the Workers' Compensation Act. At the present time, the surviving spouse of a worker killed in the course of his or her employment is entitled to workers' compensation benefits. However, these benefits are terminated if the surviving spouse remarries.

Similar provisions have existed, at one time or another, in all jurisdictions in Canada. Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was passed, questions have been raised about the constitutional validity of these provisions. Governments and workers' compensation boards across Canada, and here in the Northwest Territories, have been struggling with appropriate responses to these concerns.

Mr. Speaker, although there have been concerns, there has never been a decided court case on the issue of whether such provisions are constitutional. Since the question of surviving spouse benefits has been raised by a widow from the Northwest Territories, the Board of Directors of the WCB has decided to obtain a court ruling on the constitutional question. This will then help clarify the need for legislative amendments to deal with the issue. The WCB will be seeking a declaratory judgment on all issues related to the constitutionality of these provisions, Mr. Speaker. In order to get a full hearing of the issues, the WCB will fund all reasonable legal costs and disbursements for one party to argue in favour of the constitutionality of the provisions and another party to argue against their constitutionality.

Once the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories and the Nunavut Courts of Justice have ruled on the matter, the WCB Minister for Nunavut and I will be asking the WCB to provide recommendations on what, if any, legislative amendments are necessary. This appears to be the quickest route for resolving the question of surviving spouse benefits on remarriage. Mr. Speaker, it is the intention of the WCB to be fair to workers and their families. I look forward to the results of this court hearing and to a resolution of this issue, hopefully by the fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr.

Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise and announce that the Inupiat Development Corporation, of Alaska's North Slope, has agreed to buy six housing packages from the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. These six homes will contain elements manufactured in the Northwest Territories. Materials will be bought through NWT suppliers and shipped to Alaska down the Mackenzie River on the barges of the Northern Transportation Company Limited. All of these activities create jobs for our constituents. It is expected that contracts for these six housing packages will be signed in the near future following final design changes. The packages should hit the beach at Barrow this July with construction carried out by local labour.

The sale is the direct result of the Corporation's efforts to open new markets for NWT products, designs and services. This is work that has been ongoing for more than a year. Mr. Speaker, when I was an Ordinary Member, I accompanied representatives of the Housing Corporation on a trade mission to Alaska and the Russian Far East. This trade mission was followed by several visits to Alaska by representatives of the Housing Corporation. At that time they presented to the Alaskans, the high level of design and logistics expertise developed over the years by the corporation. To put it simply, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation showed the Alaskans that it could provide homes for a lower cost than their suppliers in the lower 48 states.

--Applause

Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in early February, this government released the much anticipated Economic Strategy Report. We know from discussions of last summer that the contract to develop the strategy had a hefty price tag, some half million dollar figure was bandied about. It was initiated and was to be directed by the former Finance Minister, Mr. Todd.

When the strategy was released, the document was handed over from the Finance Minister to the Minister of RWED, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Kakfwi has made it clear that after he had received the document, that as far as he was concerned the document was only a discussion paper. Although this economic strategy was to cover Nunavut as well, we found out that Nunavut was not waiting for the document and had in fact gone ahead with a process of developing its own economic strategy.

In March of this year, I asked a number of knowledgeable constituents and business people to provide me with feedback on the economic strategy document. They came back with comments that referenced what we started with and where we ended up. In the original request for proposal several specific terms of reference were outlined:

-that two strategies were to be developed, one for the east and one for the west;

-that specific priorities for investment be outlined;

-that measurable goals and ways for measuring performance be detailed;

-that roles for all stakeholders be clearly defined;

-that the strategy document be developed with and supported by key stakeholders;

-that a communications plan for each strategy be included.

These were just some of the key requirements the contractor was to deliver in the final product of the economic strategy. The report does not provide us with all of these things and it gives us a discussion paper rather than a strategy. The economic paper is full of economic policy declarations and much repetition. There seems to be no guidance in the paper on how to achieve the policy ideas, but this is exactly why an Economic strategy contract was awarded by this government, to provide us with directives that can be implemented and measured. The people that replied to me tell me the document is difficult to read. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Yellowknife Centre is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do I have any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Ootes, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people that replied to me tell me that the document is difficult to read. They also stated that it is full of jargon, run-on sentences and convoluted ideals. Minister Kakfwi has said that the document will serve as a basis of discussion and he has emphasized that. He has also stated that he feels it is now essential that this document must go out and he must meet with aboriginal leaders, federal government representatives and business organizations to find out if they can buy into the idea of creating an Economic strategy and to get feedback on the report. It sounds to me like we are back to square one and asking, do we need an Economic strategy? Mr. Speaker, that should have been the first step last summer before the Economic strategy contract was even awarded. It was also in the terms of reference of the Economic strategy contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have recently heard in the media that a former government employee within the Fort Simpson region has been charged with receiving some sort of remuneration in return for the award of service contracts in the Fort Simpson area. As a former engineer with Municipal and Community Affairs, I am going to be very curious to find out, Mr. Speaker, how the department was involved in this investigation. It would be interesting also to know whether these contracts were publicly tendered or negotiated contracts because it strikes at the whole issue of contracts in our government, which has always been a source of much debate and consideration. I will be curious to know what kind of values were involved with these contracts. These contracts apparently were awarded within a specific time frame so, I am also concerned about this because companies in my community rely on the ability to bid on and win the contracts in this area. This may be evidence to us of how widespread this practice may be within the government departments who are responsible for awarding contracts.

Mr. Speaker, it is not only unfair to other potential bidders, but it is also an irresponsible handling of public funds. One would think, Mr. Speaker, that if these are service contracts that are multi-year contracts, we need to know not only about the employee who received remunerations from the government, but also, we need to know about the companies that were offering this as an incentive to receive these contracts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. As a reminder to Members and the House, if any matter is before the court or judiciary system we are not allowed to debate it in this House. Please keep that in mind. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Members' statements. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize one of Inuvik's most treasured elders, Mrs. Martha Harry. Miss Martha Simon was born on January 12, 1918. She met and fell in love with Mr. George Harry and they were married in Aklavik on March 17, 1939. The couple had 12 children. Five of their children are still alive. They are: Mr. Leonard Harry, Ms. Lillian Elias, Ms. Valerie Steffanson, Ms. Susan Peffer and Mr. Harold (Ebun) Harry.

Mrs. Harry is well known for her drum dancing. Her great aunt began teaching her to drum dance when she was about four years old. Her son, Mr. Leonard Harry, says that children were taught the dances as a part of their education. Mrs. Harry knows the dances of long ago. She was happy when she and her husband were approached in the late 1980s to see if they would be willing to teach drum dancing. That was when they began teaching drum dancing sessions in their own home on Co-op Hill in Inuvik.

When they first began, there were only a few people that came to their house for the sessions and they were: Mr. Wilbert Papik, Ms. Debbie Gordon-Ruben, Mr. Leonard Harry, Mr. George Harry and Mrs Harry. Mrs. Harry would drum on a piece of cardboard or a garbage can lid and Mr. George Harry would teach the dances. Ms. Gordon-Ruben knew some of the dances, Mr. Papik was very shy and Mr. Leonard Harry liked to yell out during the dances. Mr. Leonard Harry made about 40 phone calls asking if people were interested in learning to drum dance and invited them to come to his parents' home. Everyone he contacted said that they were interested, not one person said no. They began with about five people, soon their home would be filled with people and sometimes there would be no room in the living room because so many people wanted to learn.

Mrs. Harry has travelled to Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, British Columbia, Rankin Inlet, Kugluktuk, Whitehorse and Point Barrow, Alaska for drum dancing. She has met many people in her travels because of her interest and desire for teaching drum dancing. Mrs. Harry is a permanent and honoured member of the Inuvik Elders Committee and was given an award from the ICC Elders Committee in 1997 during a workshop. She was named the Elder Role Model of the Year for 1997. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Inuvik is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do I have any nays? I have no nays. Mr. Roland, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. On one of the stamps that Canada Post has recently released, we have this wonderful opportunity to show this treasured elder, Mrs. Martha Harry. These stamps are a part of the 1998 Scenic Canada Highway Stamp Set. Mrs. Harry is shown drum dancing and behind her is the Dempster Highway. The stamps are now available and the people of Inuvik are very proud to have Mrs. Harry representing them.

Mrs. Harry and her children are well known throughout the Delta for their warm laughter, their friendly smiles and especially their kindness. When sitting with her and her family you will hear interesting stories, fond memories of her late husband, their grandparents, and always, always hear their laughter. Thank you, Mrs. Harry, for giving us so much to be proud of and for your willingness to share more knowledge of the Delta tradition and culture. We appreciate all that you continue to do and for being the wonderful person that you are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Premier.

Returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize my daughter, who is up here visiting me in Yellowknife today, Jillian.

At this time I would like to recognize a former Member of the House, Ms. Lynda Sorensen.

--Applause

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I made a statement today regarding to the economic strategy document and I have a number of questions in that area for Mr. Kakfwi. My first question for the Minister is, to the Minister's best knowledge, did the contractor fulfil all the guidelines and terms of reference as stipulated in the contract agreement? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the former Premier had given direction that the former Finance Minister, Mr. Todd, take the lead in developing the economic strategy. I believe a call for proposal was made sometime in the early months of 1998. I was not involved as a Minister in that initiative and the definition of it. I am unable to answer the question. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister tell me what department may have paid for the economic strategy?

Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Speaker, I am not able to answer to answer that question either. I will take it as notice.

Thank you. The question is taken as notice. Oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for Mr. Steen and I will take into account your comments with regard to matters that are being considered before the courts so I will try to make the questions of a very general nature. Mr. Speaker, what measures does the Minister have in place to ensure that contracts awarded by the department that he oversees, are not affected by bribes and kickbacks? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have that information at my fingertips, I will take the question as notice. Thank you.

The question has been taken as notice. Oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

The Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, I am not. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member's offer. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

The Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last three and a half years, my experience with lawyers would cause me to say I have no idea what it would cost, but it would probably would be in the five to six figures. This would just be a layman's guess. I can indicate to the Member that there are significant amounts of money sitting there waiting for widows. That and fairness in this area is what is driving this issue. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue before us with the Workers' Compensation Board, is the fact that the current legislation precludes us from paying widows should they choose to remarry. We are looking for a way, an expeditious way, to address that issue. Now that we are two jurisdictions, legislative changes are significantly more time-consuming to enact. We have limited time as an Assembly to do that. We are hoping that by choosing the route for seeking a declaratory judgement from the court, to indicate that, yes, our current legislation which precludes us from paying widows who remarry is unconstitutional will give us the leverage to move ahead in a timely fashion to address the issue. Other jurisdictions have in fact taken that step. We are aware of the situation, but we do not have the legal means to honour the need to address the issue of widows that remarry. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize if I have not been clear in my response. The current legislation precludes the board from in fact doing that. This has been checked into and what is required is a change in legislation. We are not in a position at this point to bring forward in a timely manner changes to legislation. A way to speed that process up in our opinion, is a seeking of a declaratory judgement which would give us the legal basis to move ahead with paying spouses. As it now stands, our legislation, which is outdated, does not give the board that authority. They would, in fact, be contravening their own legislation. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker. There has been a thorough review of this issue across Canada and in all other jurisdictions. All other jurisdictions at one point or another, in the past or the recent past, have taken steps to ensure that the legislative basis upon which the WCBs in their jurisdictions operate reflect the need to address this issue. Our legislation does not at this point. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Morin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There will not be anything specific that we will do regarding the Business Incentive Policy or the Manufacturing Policy. We will be talking with the Nunavut Government to ensure that the relationship that we established will see that we treat our businesses and our companies in a way that would benefit both territories. We are interested in ensuring that we continue to do good business, even though we are now two separate territories, business in a way that would mutually benefit both business communities. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is work underway now to look at the Procurement Policy of the Government of the Northwest Territories and under that we will be looking at our policies such as the Manufacturing Policy and the Business Incentive Policy. We will be looking at it in terms of the overall Procurement Policy that this government has. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

Thank you. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be reviewing that. As the Member suggests, we are contracting for services with the Government of Nunavut, a substantial number of services are still being provided by our government to the Government of Nunavut, and we will be taking a positive role in ensuring that Nunavut residents continue to get good services as they are setting up their government. We will continue to work with them to ensure that there are economic opportunities and ways in which we can interact with them in a business relationship and economically, we will explore that and those discussions will continue. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

Thank you. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have said, we will continue to work with the Government of Nunavut. There are meetings being set up, the Premiers are planning to meet very shortly, for instance, and there will be an agenda and I am sure the items that the Member has raised will be part of the discussions that are ongoing right now. We are paying attention to the issues that the Member is raising. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow up to Mr. Morin's questions, and somewhat in relation to them, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation how much was budgeted for the MDAP program? Thank you.

The Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The initial amount that was budgeted for the MDAP when it was announced, was $2 million, but I would have to check back to the information and make sure I have that accurate. I know it has gone above that since we extended it. It was initially to end March 31st but we have extended it to the end of June, so I know the numbers have gone above that. I think we are in the area of over $3 million into that program now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. The Minister answered what my second question was, and that is how much have we spent today, approximately, on the MDAP program, and he has answered that it is around $3 million. Is there going to be a cap on the amount of dollars expended by the NWT Housing Corporation on the MDAP program? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that initial amount that was put out there, we did go back and have approval for a limit. If we go over that limit, then the Housing Corporation will have to start using it from its existing resources, so there will not be any new money, for example, being appropriated for this one. The program was announced in the previous year, I believe supplementary funding was given for the program. Anything that would go over that would come from within and, in speaking to the president of the Housing Corporation, he did raise that concern, if we were getting close to our limit we would have to relook at that program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am curious about how that was budgeted for, but that is a whole other subject we will have to take up on another day. My concern is, Mr. Speaker, we have heard a little bit about some of the economic benefits of the MDAP program. I believe the previous Minister alluded to them, but I am just curious, based on what it costs on average to build a new home in the Western Arctic in a community, how many houses could have been constructed with spinoff to contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, shippers, craters, local employment benefits to small communities had these dollars been spent on construction in small communities where the need for housing is the greatest? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the MDAP has created other economic development in communities where people have bought new homes and have further gone into repair, so there has been other activity created by the purchase of homes where new owners would go in and if it is renovation, if it is a kitchen area, if it is replacement of windows, and so on, so there has been the creation of some economic spinoffs because of this program. Just to be a little more clear, right now, in the areas throughout the whole territory, before we split off, this is as of March 15th, the numbers were at, for total

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is it the intention of the Minister and the NWT Housing Corporation to do a post-mortem on this program? I hear him allude to the benefits by people upgrading homes and so on, but we are well aware of the benefits of new home construction. We may not be as aware of the benefits of remodeling, if required. I am sure many homes that were purchased did not require any upgrading, so is a post-mortem going to be done on this to determine whether or not this was good value for money at $3.9 million? Also, whether or not this money was equitably spread over the Western Territory, because I do believe that there were only a few communities that really benefitted from this program when, in fact, perhaps it could have been a little more equitably distributed so that some of the other communities could have benefitted as well. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member did hit on an area that is one that does stand out. When we reviewed the numbers, there have been a number of communities that have accessed this program and it has definitely been accessed more heavily in the larger areas, for example, Yellowknife, Hay River, and to a certain degree, the community of Inuvik, have accessed this program more than the smaller communities. I do know that, again, as of the middle of March, the amount of funding or house sales in the Western Territory is around the $40 million figure, so it has generated a fair amount of spinoff from that investment. But, as I say, we are concerned that we will go over our limit and we will have to look at that because as we know in these fiscal times we have to be very careful with where we expend our money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had questions earlier in regard to the Economic strategy and I have some different questions on the Economic strategy for the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi. I wonder if the Minister could tell us, when the Minister received the document it had become a discussion paper and the Minister felt it appropriate to do consultation with stakeholder groups, which I think is certainly warranted and should have been part of the original mandate to fulfil. In any event, I wonder if the Minister could tell us if he has initiated those steps to consult with the stakeholder groups, the aboriginal groups, the various municipal governments and the economic associations, such as the business organizations. Could the Minister tell us that, please? Thank you

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier has given the responsibility for developing an Economic strategy to myself as a Minister, in February. Since then, the Premier and myself have both taken up the work of meeting with various aboriginal organizations, regional organizations, the Aboriginal Summit, as well as business leaders, to lay out the approach we want to take. The approach is to ask for the aboriginal organizations and the federal government, in the first instance, to buy into the idea of developing one Economic strategy, that the aboriginal leaders could support and develop, that could be supported by this government as well as the federal government. Then to lay out a process whereby we could get community leaders, individual communities and regions, the business community, as well as other stakeholders to get involved in a process to help us develop a vision, and process as well as a timetable to develop such a strategy. We are still having discussions with various aboriginal organizations and stakeholders to make sure we have sufficient support to begin the process and within the next few weeks, hopefully, we will be in a position to say emphatically that we have agreement to proceed. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of areas that the Economic strategy should happen, perhaps did, but I think could have been more pronounced and focused in the Economic strategy. One of the areas, for example, is the oil and gas sector and the mineral sector. The oil and gas sector, by way of example, Mr. Speaker, there are 330 billion barrels of oil sitting on the Beaufort and that is, by the way, one and a half times what Alberta produced and reserved that they still have left. We exceed Alberta's by a far amount. The gas reserves are 126 trillion cubic feet Which is approximately three quarters of Alberta's reserves. That is an area of Economic strategy that should be part and parcel to this. Could the Minister tell us, in his consultations, if he will or is looking into this particular development, because that can be the salvation of this Territory? Thank you.

--Applause

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The sectors of the economy that involve oil and gas, mining and tourism at this time appear to be the sectors that have the

greatest potential for creating immediate economic activity that could be of benefit to the aboriginal communities, the territories as a whole, to the business community, as well as this government. Yes, we are prepared to focus very specifically once the aboriginal communities and regions and other communities within the territory agree on the approach. We believe that is exactly what is going to happen. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Yes, I certainly agree with the Minister that this can be a tremendous opportunity for the aboriginal groups to be the leaders and the driving force in and of great benefit to the aboriginal organizations and groups, as well as this government and business groups. In my understanding it was not delved into in great depth in the Economic Strategy originally. Can the Minister tell us if he is pursuing that in a more constructive way to identify? The Minister's group of people are well versed in this whole area. I wonder if he can tell us if he is going to capitalize on the knowledge that his group has to try and build that into the Economic Strategy and consultation paper because I think that is needed.

The Minister responsible for Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been working with communities in the Deh Cho, communities in the Sahtu and are keeping an eye on the potential activity that could return to the Beaufort in the oil and gas sector. We have been taking a very proactive approach in making sure we are abreast of the developments within the federal government in regard to oil and gas activity here in the Northwest Territories. We have taken the initiative to work with communities such as Fort Liard, Fort Good Hope, Tulita, Norman Wells and other communities that are interested and taking the initiative to get involved in working with oil companies and, working with these sectors to look at ways in which we can realize the potential for benefits from oil and gas activity here in the Northwest Territories. Yes, we have already been working with some of our communities.

The approach we would like to see is for more of the communities to indicate that they want to be taking part in the economic development of the resources and to discuss ways in which we can work as partners in making sure that the benefits, jobs, flow to our aboriginal communities, our northern communities, our businesses and to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, the Minister has a very experienced and capable group within his department that can put together a very persuasive package. I wonder if he is able to take that package and address it with Minister Stewart in Ottawa on the potential of the oil and gas and the mineral activity here in the Northwest Territories so that, while we have to ensure that the aboriginal groups are on side on this, I also feel at this particular time we have to ensure that Minister Stewart in Ottawa is very cognizant and aware of the tremendous potential that this can have on the country as a whole. Thank you.

Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that the Minister Ms. Jane Stewart is convinced, after three years or so of study by her officials that there is one thing that is absolutely clear, that none of the officials working for the federal government in Ottawa responsible for oil and gas and mineral activity in the Northwest Territory, that not one of them is interested one bit in working or living here in the Northwest Territories. We also know that they would be totally demoralized if it were even suggested that they have to live and work in the area where they carry out their responsibilities every day. I believe that the good Minister, Ms. Jane Stewart, will make a decision in the next few weeks that will see the moving of positions from Ottawa to the North so that the people who are responsible within the federal government for administering oil and gas activities, for giving out permits and exploration licenses, will finally have to live and work here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

--Applause