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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize for rattling the honourable Member. I did not mean to rattle him. I wanted to dazzle, not razzle. Mr. Speaker, to comment on the disappearing campus. The campus did not disappear. It was the last government that decided to take it out of the P3 projects. It is in the plan, as the Minister responsible for Education has told you. It was taken out of the P3 projects because we are going through a review process and it was pulled off that list. It was put back into the capital plan, as the Minister responsible for Education has already told you, I am just telling you some of the history you already know. It was put back in the 2003-2004 capital plan. It is there. It has not disappeared.

In terms of assurances, we absolutely assure you we will be open and transparent on our capital plans and any changes we make. If they are major changes, we will let you know ahead of time. If they are minor changes we will work through the system as we go. We are not trying to hide anything here. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard on too many occasions from that side of the floor of the work of the 13th Assembly. We are in the 14th Assembly, Mr. Speaker, and the Minister said that the P3 project was changed, referring to his response, changed in the 13th Assembly. I know for a fact that that was not the case. It was changed by this government.

Mr. Speaker, can he confirm, if he wants to be open and honest here, that, in fact, the changes happened during the 14th Assembly? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can tell the Member with all the confidence in the world that I did not make the decision to move that project out of P3 and into the capital plan. I can check to see exactly what the process was for moving it. It was not a decision that I made. That decision was made before I became Minister responsible for Finance.

Further, I know I have referred back to the 13th Assembly on a number of occasions. I will be really pleased when we get further down the road and I develop our main estimates and I do not have to drag that bag of commitments the past Assembly has made along behind me, and we can have a budget that is totally my own. Thank you.

-- Applause

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier mentioned yesterday during question period, we are not the only government here. If we try to push ahead alone on our own on making some major changes that affect other governments, particularly aboriginal governments, our chances of success are reduced.

As we look at the regions, then we have to work with the aboriginal governments to make sure we are doing it in a way that is viewed positively by them. When it comes to realigning with the North Slave region, then yes, that is certainly an issue. We are looking at how can we realign ourselves to fit with all of the claim areas. That piece is a complicated piece because you have to work with the governments. Some of the areas are not settled yet.

That is something this government is definitely looking at doing. Can we do it for the June budget? It is a pretty short timeframe because we are now working on the main estimates to be tabled in June. Those will be made available to the AOC and the standing committees, I believe in early May.

Realistically, I would have to say to the honourable Member that I do not think we can do it in time for June, but we will commit to working on it as quickly as we can. Thank you,.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could commit that we are ready to do that kind of realignment as soon as we have approval to do it, with most of the aboriginal governments and with this House. I think when we do it, we cannot do it by isolated region by region. We have to do it as part of a much bigger plan which realigns all of our regions.

Would it be part way through a year? That is possible, but again, we need to work closely with the aboriginal governments and the House to make sure that everybody is on side with the changes we are making. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was glad to hear the comments from the Minister responsible for Transportation the other day. They based their budget on traffic volume, which forces me to add to the growing list for chip seal. Mr. Speaker, my constituents have voiced their concerns regarding the condition of the road from the Fort Providence ferry crossing to the Fort Providence winter road crossing. Concern regarding the dust that is raised now, not only from the spring and summer seasons, but also during the winter due to the fact that we have an increase in traffic volume. So much so, that in the last couple of years, it has become a hazard for the drivers and also for the people that utilize the area. We have approximately 20 families that have cabins along that stretch of road and activity in the area increases during the spring months as the weather warms up.

When the ferry becomes operational, we have an increase of traffic flow from the tourists and from the fishermen from the south. We can all relate to the dust and the hazards that can be created from it. We can also relate to the unattractive appearance the landscape along the road can take. I understand that several years ago, this was a budget item, to chip seal this stretch of road. I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Transportation if he can inform me if there are any plans in the future to chip seal this road? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently put the question to the department and I received the response that we do not have any plans at this time to chip seal that section of road. We are aware of the dust problems there. The department plans to use calcium on that highway on both sides of the river, the eight kilometre stretch on one side and the two kilometres on the other side. Both sections will be calciumed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he can foresee any potential to chip seal the road in the next few years?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like I said, I am not even aware whether it is in the five year capital plan at all, but I will put the question to the department. I am sure that by the time we develop our business plan, we will be able to address this situation as to whether it is in the five year capital plan at all. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen, Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.