Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister then indicate whether he will be addressing issues like the need to resuscitate regional tourism associations that we basically killed and gutted prior to division? Do we need two major tourism associations, one in the east and one in the west? I know over in the South Slave, and I think in other regions, that is a significant issue. I know it will be an issue that will be brought to him. Will he be in a position to address that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, certainly encouraging regional capacity building is important. Whether it is done as a regional zone or what kind of regional organization would be set up, I would like to leave a lot of that up to the regions. Yes, I will certainly be encouraging regions to plan, to work together, to make sure that they are able to take advantage of every opportunity they have within their regions. I, for one, do not believe that tourism has to be exactly the same for every part of the Territories. What is good in the South Slave might be a little different than what we may do in the North Slave or in the Delta. So in that sense, yes, I will be referring to the matter. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, Mr. Speaker, one of the big issues that will invariably arise as we talk about tourism and the need to do more things and better things in areas of the Northwest Territories is going to be the issue of resources. Could the Minister indicate whether he will be able to speak in a definitive, positive way to that particular question which I am sure will arise, especially in light of the hotel tax and the proposed money that the Minister has indicated should be available if all goes well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I will not be getting into the budget of next year or anything like that for the South Slave region. I certainly will be making reference to the need to find ways of generating more revenues, particularly in these times when our fiscal situation is not as healthy as you might like. I will also be making some reference to the hotel tax, although I am not going there to speak primarily about that. Yes, we do need resources. I agree with the Member and I challenge people tomorrow to help me find ways of getting the necessary resources for this important part of our economy.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This issue of resources is probably going to be one of the more critical ones in our strategic planning. I would ask if the Minister could elaborate. Does he have any possible suggestions of other creative ways, or suggestions that he may be able to put on the table for communities in the South Slave? I do not want to belabour the hotel tax, but are there other areas where there are some creative possibilities that we as a community or as a region may not have thought of that he would be bringing to us tomorrow? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes. I do have other thoughts about other ways that revenues might be raised. Certainly some of them are more popular with some people than are others. I continue to look for creative ways of doing it. I realize that every time we want to spend money we have to raise it from somewhere. I do not expect tomorrow to lay out five other options, but I hope that at the conference tomorrow and on other occasions I will be hearing back from all sectors of tourism operations on ideas that they might have as well. I am open-minded on that matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. As I stated in my Member's statement, Mr. Speaker, the South Slave Divisional Education Council has been problematic for Hay River and area for a number of years now. The total student population in the South Slave educational council district is, as of October 1999, 1,869 students. I would like to ask if the Minister could inform me as to how the total funding for the South Slave region is based and how it compares to the student ratio in the total South Slave area?

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The funding is done through the district education council according to a formula. It is done by the number of students, and then the allocation is made according to the number of staff that are required and so forth. That funding is allocated by the district education council to the district education authorities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the problem areas that Hay River has is in the distribution of funds. The Hay River area represents just over 50 percent of the total student population. Examples of how the funds are distributed unfairly are in an Older Workers' Pilot Project that was budgeted for $48,800, Hay River's distribution was $9,760; aboriginal special funding, $97,000; Hay River received $19,000; alternative government funding, total budget of $50,000; Hay River received $10,000.

I would like the Minister to give me his impression of how that distribution of funds can be a fair distribution in the total South Slave area, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes. I do not know whether that was looking for an opinion or something concrete, but I will allow you to answer it, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The funding formula for the school system, as I mentioned, is done similarly across the Northwest Territories. In the case of funding outside of that, it is done on the basis of regional application of funding. I do not have the specifics of those that Mr. Delorey referenced, but generally if you are talking about the school funding, it is done consistently across the Territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, far too often, the funds distributed are based on voting. There are five different communities in the South Slave area that have voting power. Hay River represents 50 percent of the population, and they have one vote, compared to other communities who only have five or seven percent of the population with the same voting power.

In the document we put out, Towards a Better Tomorrow, goal number one: "Healthy, educated Northerners making responsible personal choices for themselves and their families." Under that first goal the first bullet: "Communities having one-stop shopping access to comprehensive network of support programs for community-based wellness." Also, Mr. Speaker, in the document that was put out in 1994 by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, it states:

"We see a community where people work together to develop their own vision for learning in the community, and where they continue and nurture that vision and make it a reality, where they develop the programs and services they need, hire their own staff, keep an eye on results, and change things when they need to be changed."

I was wondering if the Minister stands behind those statements and if this is a good reason for looking at the South Slave region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue has been raised in terms of an application for a different governance system for Hay River. An application has been made to my office to set up a district education council. I believe some of the concerns that Mr. Delorey has just raised have roots in that. I advised the chairperson of the Hay River District Education Authority today, Mr. Speaker, regarding the petition I had received from them for removal from the South Slave Divisional Education Council. Today I responded that I am directing my department to do more work on that to look at the possibility of the financial impacts, and how it affects other communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.