Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health board, to my understanding, was involved. I am sorry, the Member is indicating the question is to someone else.

The indications I have is that it was directed at Public Works and Services, but the acting government leader has the prerogative of taking the question, and I assumed that is what he was doing. I will ask the Member if he will redirect the question. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Health regarding the decision for the Department of Public Works and Services to oversee or manage the project, the construction of the Inuvik Hospital.

Was there any consultation with the regional health board on that decision?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the proposals came in, when it was still a P3 project, the proposal was evaluated by the P3 implementation team, which included a representative from the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in light of the change in the scope of the project, which is no longer a P3, I would like to ask the Minister exactly what role the Inuvik Regional Health Board will play on the construction and design of this hospital?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in reference to this question previously, I said I was not aware of what formal mechanism would be set up to engage the involvement of the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board, but I will undertake to find out how that will be established and how that communication will be ongoing to receive their input. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it is essential that the Inuvik Regional Health Board plays an active role in the construction of this facility. They know what is going to be needed in the new hospital. They have been working on this for several years. I want to ensure the department ensures the Inuvik Regional Health Board plays a full and active role in this construction.

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 agree with the Member that this hospital is an old facility. It is being replaced. The facility which is established will be in place for many years to come. We want to make sure it addresses the needs of the region as accurately as possible. We realize communication with the region is necessary to assure that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me if there is a possibility the Inuvik Regional Health Board oversees the construction of this project?

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 am sorry if the Member was led to believe that the Inuvik Regional Health Board would be overseeing the project, if that is what he said. The Department of Public Works and Services will be carrying out that function on behalf of our department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The time for question period has expired. Item 7, written questions. Item 8, replies to written questions. Item 9, replies to opening address. Item 10, replies to budget address. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the opening address, I, for one, am glad to hear what I am hearing. After being here for five years, much of what we hear and what gets done are two different things.

Pardon me, Mr. Krutko. We are on item 10, replies to budget address. You stated opening address.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am dealing with the budget address. With the different areas, I feel we have the potential in the Northwest Territories, especially in our non-renewable sector, oil and gas, mining and also tourism.

I feel we have to do more to take advantage of these developments, especially in the area of making sure we have trained people and we allow the business community to benefit fully from these opportunities.

An area I have concerns with is the way we have seen the expenditures of this government in the last number of years, we have taken a lot of dollars and resources from human resources development. We are looking at health care cuts, cuts in the area of education. Now we are seeing cuts in the area of adult education in a lot of our communities. I feel there is no need for these cuts. If anything, we should take the challenge and consider putting more dollars in those different sectors.

We have to ensure we have the opportunities where we have the challenge of high unemployment, low-education levels, social conditions and health concerns we have in many of our small, isolated communities.

Looking at the strengths and weaknesses we have, one of our strengths is the resource sector. One of our weaknesses is our human resources. I feel we have to bring them on par with each other to take advantage of it.

The other area I feel is essential that we, as a government, be open and honest, especially when it comes to the financial situation we find ourselves in. We may say we are sitting with a small deficit, yet that deficit can become very large, especially with unforeseen circumstances we find. We have to resolve the negotiations with the UNW. I feel there are a lot of resources that are going to be spent in that area, since we have set the precedent by settling the negotiations with the teachers. Many of the benefits they arrive at will be asked for by the UNW.

Regarding where we are going financially, I feel that as a government, we have to start taking new initiatives. There are avenues we can look at. One of them is tax revenues. I feel we have to seriously look at the tax regime we have and see how we can fill some of those loopholes by finding new revenues and resources that presently flow to southern Canada to the federal government.

We have a young population in the Northwest Territories, yet when it comes to the challenges, the education level of our population is very low. We have to do more to invest in that sector and ensure that we have trained, qualified education people in our workforce, so they can take advantage of these jobs and opportunities that come along.

The other area I have many concerns about is the capital infrastructure in a lot of our communities. We have seen what has happened with the water problem I have in my region, especially in Fort McPherson, and there are concerns in Aklavik about the water quality in those communities.

Much of the infrastructure that is in our communities was built back in the 1960s and 1970s, where they saw a large population growth in many of our communities. The infrastructure we have, schools, treatment facilities, utilidor systems, highways, roads and infrastructure in our communities, have outgrown or basically outlived their capacity and what they were designed for, which was a small population of some 300 to 500 people. Yet in many of our communities, we are having populations in the area of over 1,000 people. That has to be considered.

One of the areas I feel we have to do more in is considering the health needs of our people. I raised many issues in the 13th Assembly about the alcohol and drug programs in our communities. We talk about community wellness. We talk about healthy people. We as a government have to do more to ensure we assist in those areas for people to be able to make a decision that they do not want to drink and they do want a healthy lifestyle, but they have to have the resources and the ability to access these programs and facilities that this government is presently responsible for.

We have seen some downturn regarding closures of alcohol and drug facilities, family facilities, the Tl'oondih Healing Society, Delta House in Inuvik and other areas where we have seen some major cuts. The alcohol and drug programs here in Yellowknife have taken a major slash in the last number of years, yet the demand from the public for those facilities is still there, especially when it comes to the younger population.

We can see by the statistics that there is something wrong with the system. When we have the number of cases of family violence, the high crime rates, jails are overflowing, passing the capacity they were designed for.

The problems we are seeing with fetal alcohol syndrome, FAE and FAS, in the children who are in the different systems, and that is a cost to this government. In order to offset those costs, we have to make an investment to ensure the public and the people in the Northwest Territories are able to make good decisions, but have the resources there and the facilities in place to assist them when they make that change or challenge that they would like to move on.

The other area I have identified as an area of concern is how do we improve the social well-being of our people in the communities? One of the areas I have a lot of concerns with is the high illiteracy rates in many of our aboriginal communities. If you look at society in general, and the cultural breakdown between aboriginal and non-aboriginal, and a lot of statistics you can pull out of it is that people's abilities to get jobs, get a good education, get good health programs where you live... I feel that should not be a barrier on how we deliver programs and services.

By not seeing those results in the communities, such as the aboriginal communities where we have high illiteracy rates, very low graduate rates and very high health problems in our communities, especially regarding cases of sugar diabetes and cancers and what not, I feel it has a barrier on the lifestyles and conditions that those people are living under.

I think we as government have to take a good look at that and put more resources into making sure we have the services which are funded so that they are able to carry out what their responsibilities are. I think that is something that this government has to do more to improve.

The other area I feel that this government has to do more in is developing economic potentials that we have in all our regions in the Northwest Territories, not just the "have" and "have-not" regions. We have to look at areas where there is no economic potential but there is a real resource sector where people can depend on the wildlife, the caribou, the fish, the moose and also to be able to take advantage of the eco-tourism potential that these communities have. We have to do more to stimulate those economies, even if it means we have to establish special programs for those particular areas. We have to do more to encourage this government and the government departments to realize that there are differences between oil and gas and diamonds on the renewable side and the renewable sector, where people can make a living on that area if we promote it right, by doing more to stimulate that economy.

The other area I would like to touch on is the area of working with aboriginal First Nations and government to improve our relationships with the First Nations people of the land and the economy of the North, so we can clarify the uncertainty that is out there and start work to develop an economy, a government and a better life for the people we all serve, not just as government but as First Nations people.

We have seen the steps taking place with regard to the Aboriginal Leaders Summit. We have the initiatives by the aboriginal groups to working together to find ways of getting the benefits that will be flowing from the economic development that are taking place with oil and gas, pipeline and the diamond industries.

Yet I feel there is still a real challenge out there from governments to really say what they mean and not just say it for the sake of hearing themselves say it.

I have been involved with the aboriginal organizations in the North for some 15 years. From the Inuvialuit Claim to the Dene-Metis negotiations up and down the valley, to being the vice-president of the Metis Association, to working with the land claims groups with the Dene-Metis Secretariat, the Gwich'in Sahtu organizations. Yet through those negotiations, everybody was under the assumption that life was going to improve and that there will be a change in how things were done from the past where governments will realize that they have an obligation to First Nation's people, and they have an obligation to carry out responsibilities they have in land claim agreements.

The Minister responsible for Finance has made us aware of the potential that we have as Northerners, but in order to harness that potential, we have to realize we have some commitments and obligations under land claim agreements, especially the social and economic chapters that are in the agreements. We have an obligation to negotiate First Nations people in the Northern Accord. There is an obligation under the agreement to make amendments to the Wildlife Act. I have been waiting for some five years to see those amendments come to this House, yet nothing has been done to date.

I believe we have to harness those potentials but also realize as a government, we have some legal obligations that we must fulfil with the different communities and the different peoples of the North, especially the First Nations people.

I feel we have to do more in light of the potential we have. We talk about the mining industry, the diamond industry, where we were able to take advantage of the secondary industries and put money in place so that Northerners can invest and develop the secondary industries in the North, like the polishing, evaluation and also jewellery making in the Northwest Territories. That for me is the encouraging part of the potential we have.

I feel the government has to do more so we become self-sufficient in the future by developing the manufacturing businesses, enticing industries to develop in the North and promoting their manufactured goods in the Northwest Territories. We should be able to start importing something like 85 percent of the goods and services from southern Canada, but when are we going to start exporting some of the products that we produce in the North and become competitive with other jurisdictions across Canada? Then we will see exactly how as a nation we can play our role in Canada.

We have to do more for the oil and gas sector. I feel the only real economic spin we can give to this is that we will be able to take the dependency of government from people. For those who want jobs, want to be able to fend for themselves and also to be able to feed their families without having to depend on government, that is through the private sector, either through the business sector, the oil and gas industry, the diamond industry and be able to take advantage of those jobs and opportunities that are there.

We have to be ready for these developments. We cannot have a budget in place where we have not identified resources. The potential that we have in the oil and gas sector will outweigh the potential we have in the diamond sector.

Yet very little is in the budget for the oil and gas sector, and it is already on our door step. In the next two months, we will see how many oil companies are really interested in developing in the North through the opening of the oil and gas leases, which are going to be announced August 8th.

I have already been in discussions with the oil and gas industry to see what demands they are making on us. They are looking for Northerners, northern businesses and the northern people to develop the infrastructure for them. They do not want to be in charge of owning buildings or having to take care of taxes and having to train people. I feel that could be done by Northerners and the dollars and resources for those activities could be done here in the North.

We have to have something in place and the dollars allocated to assist the oil and gas business sector so they can take advantage of the opportunities when they come, either through the entrepreneurs who are going to be involved in the seismic activity or the rig operators. We are looking at people in the different catering businesses for catering the camps. Basically, we are ensuring the equipment is there on the ground for them to carry that out.

Right now, there is a shortage of equipment in the Mackenzie Delta region when it comes to seismic activity and also for cats, trucks and what not. There again I see an opportunity for Northerners to take advantage of the developments by not only investing in that particular sector, but also developing it so that it is a northern-based business opportunity which is developed in the North for the North by the people of the North.

In regard to the pipeline down the valley, I feel more than ever that this is the most critical time in our history, where we as a government and as a people can take advantage and have a say in how these developments are going to take place. We can be involved in the benefits that will flow from those developments, either through ownership, through partnerships or through the construction of a major pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley.

The other area I have had concerns about is the way the government is spending money, especially capital infrastructure dollars for highways. I feel we cannot continue to tell the federal government that while we need more money for highways, we are not making sure that we maintain the infrastructure that we have now.

By improving on the infrastructure, rather than just concentrating on one highway system, which is Highway No. 3, where we are putting somewhere in the budget of almost $10 million into 100 kilometres of highway. I feel there has to be more fairly distributed dollars and resources to all major highways that we have in the North, regardless of whether it is Highway No. 1, Highway No. 2, Highway No. 3, or Highway No. 8. We have to fairly distribute those dollars. If we are going to the federal government with our hands out saying we need more money for infrastructure, yet we are not putting money into all of our highways, something has to be done for us to access federal dollars. We have to match dollar for dollar. I feel we do not have the flexibility to do that under the existing budget because we have allocated too much money into one highway system.

On another matter in the area of infrastructure, we talk about decentralization and building regional capacity, yet we do not see it happening in our regions. We do not see any major increases in human resource positions in our communities. We do not see any major improvements in facilities at the regional centres, like the Arctic College facility. That has been put off. The Inuvik Regional Hospital is somewhere down the line, and we feel we need that.

In order for communities and regions to be able to take advantage and develop their regional economies, they have to have an economic base. In order to do that, they have to be able to take advantage of those things. They also have to have the resources and facilities to do them so that they are able to carry out the responsibilities they have taken on.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Your time for the reply to the budget address has expired. Item 10, replies to budget address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

The other is a letter from Energy Wall and Building Products Limited concerning the certification of their construction method. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.