Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am disappointed to hear the Minister cannot commit to that, but will the Minister ensure funds to continue the Working Together Program are put in the interim supplementary bill as part of the department's appropriations, as he said the previous government should when he was an Ordinary Member?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am getting repetitive here, but as I said, the money actually was found and provided by the Financial Management Board, not from within the department, and therefore, consideration has to be made and discussions have to take place to see where the money could be found if it was to be considered. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we are all well aware of the process, Mr. Speaker. What I am hoping to find is a commitment from this Minister that he will do his utmost to ensure that this program can be announced as proceeding when we come back in this House in March. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will do my utmost to work on this particular issue. As I said, I am well aware of the importance of this issue, with the students coming back to the Northwest Territories. Employment is needed. I think it is very important.

I should also make mention of the fact that the government's Summer Student Employment Program, where the government itself hires students, is meeting in early March. We hope to have a database of students set up by early April so we can position students within the government for casual placements where possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment regarding student employment within the government of the Northwest Territories.

The Minister said yesterday or the day before this is a centralized service out of the Executive for all of the Northwest Territories. Does that mean that every summer, those students who want a job, be it in Fort Smith or Sachs Harbour or Colville Lake, has to send their resume to someone here in Yellowknife, who will then make a decision or coordinate this? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure of the answer, but I will undertake to ensure this can be applied through their communities or central regions, and then it comes into the database in Yellowknife. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to ask the Minister to clarify that. What is he saying, that they can apply, and then look for jobs in the government? They can apply in the regions and the region can make decisions to hire? Or do they have to apply in their region or community and the resume then goes to Yellowknife for final determination? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, I do not have the complete answer to this question. What I will commit to do is ensure that students can at least submit their applications on a regional basis so there is more access for students.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to know more clearly, since meetings have already been held and April is upon us, are students going to have to apply to some centralized body, some small window where there is a civil servant in Yellowknife that is going decide who gets jobs in the communities? Are they going to have to do that? Are we going to have that centralized control back in Yellowknife? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Honourable Premier, Mr. Stephen Kakfwi.

Mr. Speaker, the Summer Student Employment Program is going to continue this year as it has in the past when Mr. Miltenberger was part of the Executive. There is going to be no change from when he was a Minister of this government. It is centralized. All the students that apply will be submitting their resumes to a central location, which will be here in Yellowknife. The resumes and the names of the students will be made available to departments, boards and agencies that require them, and they will be able to hire these students. It is going to be coordinated from Yellowknife. It is no different from the way it was done in the past, except that this year we hope that we can upgrade the potential to have internet access to the database for people. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will address my supplementary then, to the Premier, Mr. Kakfwi. I am still not clear. I do not recollect the decisions for hiring summer students are not made in the regions by the superintendents, by the departments that need the people, but rather by some person sitting in the Executive office in Yellowknife as opposed to a coordinating function that disseminates the resumes?

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Honourable Stephen Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Students that are eligible send their resumes into the Government of the Northwest Territories, and these are put together here in Yellowknife. Their resumes are made available to all the regions, communities, boards, and agencies that are within the government, and these people do the hiring. Their resumes are just made available through this central database. Thank you.