Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there are a couple of points that I should respond to as I think there is some misapprehension by the Member in how he understands the current process. We have a transition agreement between the Government of Nunavut and the Government of the Northwest Territories so that the actions of one government cannot affect the operation of the Power Corporation. The board of the Power Corporation is responsible for running the Power Corporation, not the governments. The governments do not provide direction and the transition agreement quite clearly sets this out. There should be no worry that the actions of one government will affect the return on investment by shareholders in the other territory.

Second, the negotiations are between the Power Corporation and the agents representing the employees. The Government of Nunavut and the Government of the Northwest Territories are not involved in the negotiations directly. The negotiations are being conducted by the Power Corporation management and they are being conducted between unionized workers in the Northwest Territories as one bargaining group, and unionized workers in Nunavut as the other. Should they reach different settlements in each territory, Mr. Speaker, by the terms of the operation of the Power Corporation, there is no cross-subsidization and, in fact, the cost of operation in each community must be recovered from that community, so there is no cross-subsidization even between communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have already stated earlier today, this cannot be a quick process. There is nothing that can speed it up. I am no labour lawyer, but I would suspect that if we were to agree to make a change in the structure of the regulation of labour in the Northwest Territories, that would not necessarily preclude a change in representation happening in mid-contract. I would be extremely surprised if we were able to respond in the life of this Legislature with the new legislation. The requirement for consultation, and looking at how labour laws would have to change because of the implications to other areas of the public service, this cannot be achieved quickly, however, the process has commenced to seriously look at it. Mr. Speaker, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. Recently in Hay River, a contract was awarded by the Power Corporation to a southern company for the provision of workshops and seminars we put on for employees with respect to proper posture and things that could help them in that way. This contract was awarded to a southern company, I believe out of Vancouver, and it was not put out to tender or any proposal called in the Northwest Territories to allow people with that expertise in the North to bid on that contract. My question to the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation is, what is the policy of the Power Corporation with respect to contracting for services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly encourage the board of directors to support northern business as much as possible. They do not have a Business Incentive Policy, nor are they required to follow the Business Incentive Policy of this government, because they are not funded by the government. I do believe that, in general, they attempt to give as much business as possible to northern suppliers. The Member brought this issue to my attention some time ago and I believe that, in consultation with the management of the Power Corporation, there has been an agreement that, in future there will certainly be an opportunity for local companies to bid to supply this kind of service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, indeed I did speak with the Minister about this previously, but subsequent to that, the contract did go ahead and it went ahead not only in Hay River as a community but the same service was also provided to employees of the Power Corporation in other areas. It turned out to be, what I would suspect, is a fairly substantial contract and it was not halted after it was brought to the attention of the Minister or to the board. I was wondering, could the Minister tell us, for clarification, the NWT Power Corporation is not guided by the same purchasing principles as the GNWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, they are specifically excluded from the requirement to follow the Business Incentive Policy or the purchasing requirements set out for government agencies, so they develop their own policies and I would be happy to provide the Member with information on what their purchasing policies are.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister also undertake to provide me with the details of that particular contract and what the dollar value was associated with it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On both questions, I will ask the board to provide that information to me so I can forward it to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member raises a key issue that was talked about at some length during the debate on the budget and that is the critical role of the family and parents on the education of their child or children. This issue, as well, was raised by the forum and it is a community issue that we, as a department, along with the DEAs and DECs, are going to be working on. Are there specific departmental programs such as the Member referenced? Not to my knowledge. Thank you.