Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the Member that we have considered and we had given 100 percent preference to northern manufacturers. As long as the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has the ability to tender out the projects, we will honour those obligations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a recent letter by the manager of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to local suppliers, it stated the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has also supported northern manufacturers through the purchase policy. When will the Minister table the contract report that will provide: the total value of the contract; a list of the northern businesses that were used in the contract; and the amount of revenues generated for each of the listed northern businesses used in the contract for every transaction made by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation outside of the Northwest Territories in the past five years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work is presently underway to provide all the definitive answers to the question the Member has asked. We will get that to him as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be waiting for that information to be tabled. I would also like to ask the Minister a question regarding the government and the Business Incentive Policy and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Could the Minister tell me...he made reference that our policies do not apply because of the NAFTA agreement. Can the Minister explain that comment? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will try to answer that as best I can. According to my information, the Government of the NWT can call for tenders from northern manufacturers if they issue tenders. If the tenders were issued from the State of Alaska, then we do not have any authority over how they govern themselves and their procurement policies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment regarding the investment that this government is making in training for pre-employment in the diamond industry.

In measuring the results that come from that investment, it was an issue that was raised during the election campaign, and more recently, one of my constituents is concerned and frustrated that, while she has taken this training, she has been unable to get employment in the industry.

My question, Mr. Speaker, are the graduates of directly related employment projects tracked to determine the success rates of graduates in obtaining employment in areas relating to that training? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To answer the question directly, I am not familiar with whether we track graduates of these particular programs. We have a pre-employment training program offered at the Aurora College campus here in Yellowknife, and I believe there were 12 graduates last year and some 12 or 15 this year. Many of them, I understood, had been offered positions immediately following their graduation. I am not familiar with this particular individual who has not been able to obtain employment, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering to what extent the department or Arctic College works with industry to design training specific to the needs of the employers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a pre-employment training program for the diamond industry. It covers areas such as how diamonds are mined and the makeup of diamonds. It gives the students an opportunity to move into either the mining field or the cutting and polishing area. There are also the polishing plants or occupational training of their particular plants where we provide assistance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To return to a comment the Minister had about tracking the results, it is certainly something that we have been exploring in our budget reviews.

Will the Minister advise of any commitments that he has to track the results of graduates from these programs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, I am not sure what tracking mechanisms are in place, but I will commit to ensure that we get that information and report back to the Member on that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and it relates to northern manufacturing. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask, first of all, does Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development have a policy financially helping northern manufacturing businesses develop in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.