Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the funding is approved through the Financial Management Board to return this to a traditional tendered project, it will then be up to the Department of Public Works and Services to put out proposal calls. I do not have a timeframe with me today. I have a chronology of the history of this project, the dates and the different things that were done on certain dates, but I do not have a projected timeline in great detail. I could get that and provide that to the Member once the Department of Public Works and Services has been given the go ahead.

On the previous question, as to whether or not we can use information that has already been compiled regarding this project, I believe the answer to that is yes. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope we will not have any more delays when we go back to calls for proposals. This thing went through a rigorous process. It went through the P3 process and there were calls for proposals. I would like to ask the Minister what her department is doing to limit the timeframe to ensuring there will be an actual tender document prepared, so we do not have to go through the same process and we can make use of the information that is already compiled. 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, during the lead up and the preparatory work that was done on the P3 project, the Financial Management Board Secretariat, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Public Works and Services worked very closely together on this. They were all parties to a P3 implementation team. Because of that fact, much of the information has already been shared. Now it is a formal process of turning the management and securing of this project over to the Department of Public Works and Services.

They have a lot of background knowledge, and they are also aware, and I cannot speak for Mr. Steen's department, but they are aware of the urgency and the desire on the part of the government to move this project ahead as quickly as possible. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in line with the cost of the hospital, which is $25,440,000, I would like to ask the Minister what role is the regional health board taking? They are the ones calling us and asking us what is going on. Can the Minister allow the Inuvik Regional Health Board to take more of a controlling role with the replacement of this hospital? 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, I cannot inform the Member as to what formal process the Inuvik Regional Health Board would participate in, but I can assure you the Department of Health and Social Services will work very closely with the board to ensure the parameters of the project and what the health board recognizes as the needs, services and facilities to be incorporated in this project are met. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is addressed to the Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen. It is a follow-up to my Member's statement. We have a situation where this government has spent millions on a critical recruitment and retention initiative for nurses in the North and northern nurses. Yet we find in my constituency, I have an aboriginal nurse who has been rejected and turned down for education leave to go back and get her degree. At the same time, this department has lapsed $820,000 in the retention plan.

I would like to ask the Minister if she would consider personally looking at this issue and making sure that, given the amount of money that has been lapsed, she would look at this particular situation and reconsider. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am familiar with the case the Member refers to, with respect to an applicant from Fort Smith who, as the Member says, has worked for the department for a number of years, is an indigenous aboriginal Northerner and precisely the kind of candidate we want to see expand on their training. People who will be investing their careers in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the funding that is available for nurses and professionals on education leave to enhance their skills does not come out of the recruitment and retention funding Mr. Miltenberger referred to as having $800,000 lapsed. It comes out of the department's O and M, and there is a set, prescribed amount of money available under this program.

Unfortunately, for this particular applicant, the monies had already been committed for other candidates. I want to assure the Member that there are a number of other sources of resources for someone like this to return to school. We would be happy to work with Mr. Miltenberger's constituent to make them aware of these other avenues of resources. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am amazed at the rigid attitude the department appears to be taking. If this is not a retention issue, I do not know what is. We have already had a case in Fort Smith where a northern nurse picked up the phone and was offered a job with a signing bonus down south because she could not get a job up here.

Mr. Speaker, they lapsed $800,000. They lapsed $400,000 in the public service training fund. They lapsed $400,000 in apprenticeship training, and they tell me there is no money to train northern nurses. I cannot believe the department cannot find the flexibility. I will ask the Minister again, will she reconsider, given the amount of money that has been lapsed and the millions you are asking for to retain northern nurses, to look at this case? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not certain as to what kind of latitude a Minister has to reprofile and reallocate funds. We are talking about recruitment and retention, which is the lapsed funding Mr. Miltenberger refers to. I do not know how pleased Ordinary Members would be when they go through budget processes and are involved in allocation of funds if that kind of latitude was granted.

However, let me say that I do agree that if we have northern nurses, we want to expand on their skills, and, who are being rejected for education leave... the issue of the amount of money available in this fund does need to be examined so this does not happen again.

I also want to assure the Member that there are two times per year under the collective agreement when employees can apply for this education leave. Those times are in January and September. People who have previously applied are given priority. We would certainly encourage and invite another application from his constituent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am getting the polite slag-off here in terms of being willing to look at this. This is a retention issue. This is a northern, aboriginal nurse. The government itself has defined it has a critical shortage in terms of the professional need. They have lapsed hundreds of thousands of dollars, Mr. Speaker.

I want to inform the Minister that I will be extremely critical of the department's budget if that is the attitude they are going to take to training northern nurses.

I would like to know how many other northern, aboriginal nurses received funding last year under that one program? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do know that affirmative action rules do apply to this education leave program. I know the department had made a commitment to other students in this program. I do not know how many, and I can get back to the Member with that information. It is important that once they have begun to participate in this education leave, that we do not withdraw that support in favour of introducing other people into the program. I could find out how many applicants were accepted under this program in the previous year. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister define what is covered under the retention part of the recruitment and retention program, given the fact that it has lapsed hundreds of thousands of dollars, they sent a crew of people off to the British Isles to look for...

Mr. Miltenberger, would you please ask the question?