Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Without having talked to my staff, I expect I can have the information, and I am sure it will satisfy the Member, by early next week. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to clarify, I made a mistake, and it was actually Mr. Braden who gave me that final comeback. Mr. Speaker, will you be tabling that document in the House or will you and I be discussing it in a more personal tête-à-tête? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be happy to have the tête-à-tête first if you want, to explain the information and how we arrived at it. I would be happy to do it either as a Ministerial statement or to table it in the House. I will do it one way or another, but we will get it here. Thank you.

-- Applause

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister responsible for Finance with respect to the high fuel costs. I realize that the Government of the Northwest Territories does not have control over fuel prices, but I must raise this question because I have been asked to do so by my constituents, who are suffering a great deal because fuel prices keep rising. I wonder if the Minister could advise the people out there as to what the cause of this is, and what, if anything, he is doing about it. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have not done any thorough assessment of the total cost of the fuel increases to the general public, nor have we even finished it for our departments. We do know that the fuel prices have risen dramatically in the last while. Internally in the government, I expect any department's that need additional money in order to carry on their responsibilities, whether it be to deliver fuel, something like transportation, where they will use a lot of fuel, that they will do that assessment department by department. They will bring that forward in time for the main estimates.

In terms of the cost to the public, the fuel prices have increased as a result of increases in world crude prices. We do not know for sure how much more the price will continue to rise, or whether it will level off, or possibly drop down. Our tax on fuel is one of the lower ones across Canada. There are eight jurisdictions that have higher taxes per litre than we do. I do not think our taxes are causing a great burden like this.

When we start doing things to try and alleviate the pain that people are feeling as a result of a fuel price, we have to be very careful we are fair to all people. Some people who use it in their livelihood, other people who use it for pleasure, and other people who simply maybe have a problem because of heating prices. It is a very complex question. We are monitoring it very closely. I think if there is something we can do, I expect the department will be giving us advice on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister eluded to the taxation on the fuel price, I wonder if the Minister can explain whether or not the portion of tax that the Government of the Northwest Territories charges on fuel costs has remained constant from the time of the rise of the fuel price. I do not know if the Minister understands my question. I just want to know if the tax that the Government of the Northwest Territories is charging on the fuel has remained the same?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the tax that we charge for fuel has remained the same. The tax we have on it is 10.7 cents per litre for gasoline for on highway use, and 6.4 cents for off highway use. That amount has remained the same. At this point, I do not have any intention to raise it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to get clarification again. Is the taxation a percentage of a base price of the fuel or is it a set dollar amount? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the tax on fuel is based on the per litre, it is an advelorum tax. It is 10.7 cents per litre for fuel that is used on highway and 6.4 cents per litre on fuel that is used off highway.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I am trying to get at is, I understand that we are all experiencing difficulties due to the high fuel prices. I want to let the public know that the Government of the Northwest Territories is not playing any role in adding to the hardship. My question is, the Minister mentioned the taxation on fuel is 10.7 cents and 6.8 cents. Has that amount remained the same regardless of the up and down fluctuations in the fuel costs? In other words, have we increased any of our taxation on the fuel costs?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really do not know when the last increase in the tax on fuel was. I can tell you that in the life of this government, there has been no increase on fuel tax. It has remained, as I said, 10.7 cents per litre for as long as we have been in government here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister responsible for Finance, regarding the Digital Communication Network. We have had various departments in the House tell us, Education for one, that the DCN is not allowing them to provide distance learning as they had originally thought it would. Mrs. Groenewegen alluded to the fact that Telehealth is not yet functional. Four years ago, I believe this government thought that by getting into this arrangement with ArdiCom, we would be able to achieve some of these things.

Certainly the system is under-performing. I do not know if it was ill conceived or if things have changed since four years ago. I am concerned about this. I think this government has to make distance learning and Telehealth a priority. With our small population, we simply cannot afford to have all the infrastructure everywhere. These are very critical issues. I am wondering if the undertaker responsible for Finance can tell us how he proposes to fix the problem. Thank you.

-- Laughter