Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister assure us the health boards are following the procurement policies of this government to ensure accountability on the public funds they do spend? Will the Minister make a commitment to ensure they are following government policies?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any evidence to substantiate that the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board did not follow policy on the awarding of this particular contract. I will commit to the Member, and we did commit in the last session as well, to communicate with all of the boards with respect to following the government's purchasing policy.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if she can intervene with the case regarding Chii Construction to see if they do have the opportunity to have an appeal process. I would also like the Minister to ensure aboriginal people will be on the committee that will review the application, so it is not biased and based on who sits on the committees, so it is not seen as a group of people who are not aboriginal. Will the Minister ensure that is considered and will she consider looking at the appeal? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once a contract has been entered into, it is not possible to intervene in the awarding that was made. The review mechanism that is set up by the board is determined by the board. That is something that could be taken up with the board by constituents who are concerned about the awarding of the contract.

As far as an appeal process is concerned, that is something that would have to be done on a broader scale as opposed to setting in place an appeal process for a specific contract. If an appeal process is going to be added to our contracting rules and regulations, that is something that can be done on a broader basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me if there will be a broad review on how boards and agencies operate, as well as the accountability of the boards and agencies to this government through financial audits? Will there be some means to measure the expenditures and processes that are used to put out contracts? What are the different avenues to deal with policies and regulations to ensure they are following the guidelines? Will the Minister consider looking at reviewing the Department of Health and Social Services' relationship with the health boards to ensure we have accountability? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a mechanism in place. Health and Social Services boards are required to provide financial reporting to the department.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen from Inuvik. It is regarding the problems with homelessness in Yellowknife and the overcrowding we have in a lot of the communities. A lot of people find themselves having to live in tent frames or out of the communities because they are evicted from public housing. We have a problem in Yellowknife and out in the communities as well.

I would like to ask the Minister what his department is doing to deal with the issue of the homeless in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to answer the first part of the Member's question regarding Yellowknife. Just to provide a brief background; the shelter was originally set up to assist long-term homeless people in Yellowknife. Unfortunately, the problem that was created is the original tenants were removed by other transient members.

I would like to talk a bit about some of the concerns. One I took a great deal of interest in was the statement made by Arlene Hache, which expressed some concerns about the homeless. She infers in her article that supports what we believe in, which is that the homeless shelter was being used for other purposes.

Secondly, we have made every attempt to address the issue of the homeless across the Northwest Territories by working with various Members of the House here and in our travels, to determine what those needs are. I am sure by May 15, 2000, we will be able to answer the majority of the questions and address the majority of the problems. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did not hear anything as to what the government is doing about the issue of the homeless. I will ask the question again. Can the Minister tell me what is being done to address the issue of the homeless people when it comes to housing?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have taken many factors into consideration. One of the important things about homelessness is that we are trying to deal with many of the municipalities across the North.

We are talking to community leadership to try to determine what is the most efficient way to deal with this particular matter. We are trying to determine where and how we can deliver good, secure homes, as I mentioned earlier regarding the article written about Yellowknife's situation. From community to community, we see an important step in trying to address those concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not too sure what the Minister's definition of homeless is, but I understand that in order to be eligible to get into a homeless shelter here in Yellowknife, you have to get on the income support list. In order to get on the income support list, you have to wait two months before you can get on it after arriving in Yellowknife. This is our capital. This is where anybody in the Northwest Territories should feel at home.

Yet the stringent guidelines they have put in place restricts the homeless who need a place to stay when they arrive here. They should not have to wait two months on the street in order to get into a shelter.

I would like to ask the Minister what he is doing to ensure the policies of this government dictate the needs of those who need shelter? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Housing, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will make every effort to answer the question. If we are talking specifically of Yellowknife, then we have other shelters such as the Salvation Army to deal with those problems.

From a territorial perspective, and I understand quite well that the homeless issue in Inuvik is a very important issue, not only in the community itself, but again with the aboriginal groups. We have worked within the system to accommodate this important issue. The idea is to try to alleviate all of these problems associated with the homeless. We will continue to work with other organizations to resolve these problems. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.