Thank you, Madam Minister. Second supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of a circumstance where an advertisement may have been placed in a southern newspaper very shortly after one was placed in a northern newspaper, for a request for proposal. Will the Minister commit to making sure that funded agencies are aware of the policy that all contracts must be advertised in the North and only if an acceptable contract cannot be let to a northern firm that they will then be advertised in the south?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to ensure that boards funded by this government under the Department of Health and Social Services are made aware and, perhaps, reminded of the policies for contracting of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Oral questions. The Chair recognizes the Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to briefly follow up on the issues and concerns raised by my colleague, Mr. Bell, to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. Given the fact that this is a sensitive program, are there any contingency plans currently being developed by the department, given the much delayed budgeting process, so that some fall back will be in place for students that will soon be getting off the plane for work? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable Jake Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, this has been a very successful program that has positioned about 1500 people over the years that it has been in place. It has been accepted very well by both the students and employers. A review was recently done on this to assess the success of the program and it revealed that it was extremely well accepted. At the moment, we have not finalized any plans with regards to the future of this program and it is part of the difficulty of getting a budgetary process going. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Am I to understand that in fact nothing is being done? That students can come home expecting the well is dry, the cupboard is bare and they are going to be at the mercies of whatever they are going to stumble across in terms of employment? That we will stand up and say it is in the budgetary process and that we will let you know by June and maybe September? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have mentioned, a program review was done on it and it was found to be very successful. Plans have not yet been formulated to address the issue of how to fund a new program. The program was sun-setted this year, as the Member may know. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It sounds like a eulogy for a good program. The question to the Minister, which has not been answered, is has there been anything done or is anything going to be done for students? Are they going to at least be notified that they should not count on the territorial government looking to support employment and education for graduate and post-secondary students? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I plan to see if I can co-ordinate the efforts with other government departments to identify opportunities for students and youth for the coming summer. We will also continue to co-ordinate our territorial initiatives with those of the federal government, so that we can maximize the benefits and youths. We are looking for an opportunity to support student and youth initiatives through the business planning process. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we hear talk of governments coordinating and doing all this coordinating together, it means that the staff will be busy, but it means that there will be no resources for the students. Is the Minister going to vigorously pursue funding before the business plan is through its process? Or is he going to stand up and tell students that for this employment year over the summer, there are no funds and if we have none by September, that is unfortunate? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

As I mentioned Mr. Speaker, I plan to co-ordinate my efforts with the other departments to see where we can identify possible areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. Item 7, written questions. The Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three written questions. The first one is to the Premier. It is regarding Nunavut contracts.

For each government department, board and agency, the Premier is requested to provide information identifying all the contracts with the Nunavut government, including the contracted services that are not being charged for the contract, the number of full time equivalent positions involved in the contract delivery, the end date for the contract, and any plans to negotiate an extension.

Also to the Premier, Mr. Speaker, in regards to energy costs. I am asking for the fiscal years of 1997/1998, 1998/1999, 1999/2000 to date that the Premier provide the total cost for all government departments, boards and agencies including housing authorities, education boards and health and social services boards for all the fuel, electricity and other energy costs.