Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the new Minister of Health and Social Services. The other day, Members of this House had occasion to meet with the Northwest Territories Medical Association and we talked about the nurse practitioner program and some of the problems that have arisen.

It started out and we all had very high hopes for this program, but there has been some problem with buy-in from physicians and others. One of the problems has been the issue of joint liability as it relates to this collaborative care. As legislators, we can certainly go forward on some legislation that might govern nurse practitioners and deal with some of these liability issues. I am wondering if the Minister is prepared to do that and can give me any indication at this time if it is going forward. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have had this portfolio for about 16 hours, but the issue the Member raises is a good one. I support the nurse practitioner concept and I will commit that as we do the briefings and as I meet with all the Members and do the work to move this agenda along, that will be one of the issues we will look at in a serious way so we can come forward with some options of how we can address the issues that were raised at the briefing. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am hoping the Minister will also commit to some consultation with the Northwest Territories Medical Association. It seems to me that a logical fit might be lumping this legislation governing nurse practitioners in with the Health Care Professions Act. I am hoping that the Minister will commit to meeting with the Northwest Territories Medical Association to have discussions on this issue. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger. It is in regard to the Aklavik Health Centre. Mr. Speaker, the community of Aklavik agreed to allow the new health centre to be built on the existing ball diamond. A lot of work and effort went into developing the ball diamond. A lot of it was volunteered.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Aklavik's understanding at the time was, with the occupation of the ball diamond with the new health centre, that they will also have the resources to build a new ball diamond.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Aklavik, along with myself, would like to know what the status of the situation is and where the resources are to replace the ball diamond that is presently being occupied by the new health centre.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ensure my colleague that I am very interested in playing ball with the Members opposite and will make every effort to be to be as responsive as possible.

With regard to the Member's question, I thank him for asking it yesterday to give me time to check that the money is in the budget. It would appear that construction season is probably gone for this year in terms of ball diamonds. I know the Member had some suggestions of alternative use, which we are prepared to look at. However, I understand the money is in the budget. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.