Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can appreciate that an action plan is being developed and we decide what type of service delivery model we will use, but clearly we are so far behind in the physician to population ratio -- in fact, the worst in the country -- that this is really an emergency. I do not think the answer that this is really going to take some time is appropriate. We do not have time, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering if the Minister will acknowledge that indeed we have to address recruiting more physicians very quickly and we really do not have time to wait any longer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about the issue of by-law enforcement and the escalating crime rates and prevention in the communities and it was hard to decipher which Minister is responsible and who I should direct my concerns and my questions to. This issue does not recognize lines between the Departments of Justice and MACA. I will direct my question to MACA, however, because it is my understanding that they are the funding source to the communities for the positions of by-law officers.

In light of the statistics that are coming out regarding crime and the escalating crime rates, what are he and his department doing to assist communities to enable them to hire by-law officers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we can continue to fund the municipalities for by-law enforcement. I believe they are now called protection officers. The level of funding, I am not certain of. It has been a constant problem in the communities to provide certain protective services. Again, we need to review some of the community budgets, which we have begun in some communities, to see where we can improve that level of service. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, as this issue is something that does not recognize any boundaries, it crosses over many departments that may view having this responsibility, I would like to ask the Minister if he is working with any other departments to develop a coordinated approach to deal with the issues of crime prevention and by-law enforcement, specifically the Department of Justice?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must be fairly constant in my answer and I must say that no, we have not at this point. We have not been working with the Department of Justice. It is two different areas of the judicial that I am not familiar with. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my riding, I believe there is only one community that has a community constable and no other communities can afford a by-law officer. I believe the community that has the community constable is struggling to find funding sources. I would like to ask the Minister if his department assists any communities in the North with salary dollars to hire by-law officers or community constables? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there are some municipalities that do receive funding for protection services. How the communities administer that fund is entirely in their budget process and their administration but there is some funding to provide for protection services. To what degree, I am not familiar with.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The funding the Minister is speaking about is rolled into a general revenue fund. It is up to the community to decide what the priorities are. Many times they are forced to decide between a recreation worker, a water treatment plant worker, town foreman or a by-law officer. I would like to ask if this Minister is intending to increase the funding specifically geared towards by-law officers?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, I think all departments are under severe pressure and constant pressure, I might add, to review several budgetary items. I am sure each department, including my responsibility as Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, will review and see how we can lead the municipalities into trying to reprioritize some of their important administration. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, in my statement, I discussed aspects of a communication and consultation process. I would like to put a couple of questions to the Premier in his capacity as Minister responsible for the Executive and performing a coordination function for the government overall. I would like to ask, Mr. Speaker, does the government have a policy that prescribes the consultation process on legislative initiatives? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take that question as notice and get back to the Member.