Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that the funding is based on historical funding patterns. The Member for Hay River North raises an issue and along with looking at the budget to see whether there is adequacy, another question that I will be asking is why funding levels are the way they are. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Family Support Centre in Hay River and other shelters throughout the North previously worked closely with two violence prevention consultants that were employees of the Department of Health and Social Services. I say previously because as far as I am aware, these positions have not been staffed since July. Can the Minister please indicate when he anticipates having these positions staffed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is a fairly specific question in regard to personnel, so I will have to take that one as notice. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you. That question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today goes to the Minister of Transportation and it is following up on his statement and my statement and the answers that he provided to my colleague for Great Slave.

Mr. Speaker, I must say a chill went down my spine when I heard the Minister is contemplating hiring a consultant to revisit this issue or make it better on how to -- I do not know what exactly he is going to consult about. Mr. Speaker, the Governance and Economic Development Committee has gone up and down the Valley. We listened to the people. We wrote a report. I know for a fact that his staff went out to the communities before us -- his staff came with us. The conclusion is this is not a workable option. People just cannot take it anymore.

I need to ask the Minister, what is he expecting the consultant to get from studying any further? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there were a number of different messages that came forward from the consultation work by the committee and by the department. The department is reviewing all of these suggestions.

There is no doubt that there are many people, as the Member suggested, who just do not feel this is a viable option. However, there were some suggestions that something has to be done now, regardless of whether this is a popular option or not. Hopefully, some other form of funding can be identified in order to pay for the cost of reconstructing our highways and bringing them up to standard.

There were suggestions put forward, Mr. Speaker, that possibly, provided we switch from an axle configuration to a full weight option, that the truckers may be more satisfied with this method of regulating and charging for the use of the highway.

There was also a suggestion that there should be a sunset clause. Those are two prime options that we thought we could do something with in the short term. There are many long-term suggestions, Mr. Speaker, including going to the federal government, including the option of resource revenue sharing but unfortunately, the department does not see those as short-term options, but rather as long-term solutions.

Eventually, these may come into play but meanwhile, we have to deal with highways as they are. That is where the department has a problem and a dilemma as to how exactly to proceed with this. The plan was not to apply a tax. What we are suggesting is not a tax and we would not be considering it as a tax. We would be applying a system that did not affect the general public as they use the highway themselves but rather as heavy truck traffic was using the highway. In other words, people with light vehicles would not be paying a fee. That was the plan. It still is the plan.

Mr. Speaker, as the Member suggested, there are many people who do not feel there is any way we can proceed with this plan. The department feels we do not have much of an alternative and we are putting it to the people again with the suggested amendments to see what we come up with by February. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not mean to be rude and I want to make it clear that I support any way to find money to improve our roads but, Mr. Speaker, I do not think I have heard anything from what the Minister has said that would require a consultant.

Mr. Speaker, I could tell him that changing this thing to a weight configuration will not help the situation. From what I understand, the department will have to build weigh scales all over the North at a cost of $1 million to facilitate this. He does not need a consultant to tell him that the sunset clause may be a viable option but that is only if people could accept the option. He does not need a consultant to tell him this road needs work. Mr. Speaker, I do not understand why he needs a consultant.

Perhaps what he should do is talk to the Finance Minister and Cabinet about prioritizing. Would the Minister not agree with that, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Before I go to the Minister, perhaps the question period can go back to question period, a little bit less of the statements there. The questions are too long, the answers are too long. We have a full list today. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am trying to keep my answers short. First of all, this is not a Department of Transportation initiative alone. This is a Cabinet, government initiative. The Minister of Finance is involved. The Minister of Finance knows the whole situation and is aware of the amount of money and resources needed to bring the highways up to standard.

I would like to point out one thing, Mr. Speaker. The Member suggested that 43,000 people could not stand a tax of this nature in order to bring the highways up. Nowhere in the proposal is there a suggestion that this is a tax on the people. This is a fee applied to trucks that are using our highways. That is the way we are looking at it. We are not trying to tax 43,000 people. We are trying to make this apply to the resource sector because they are not paying taxes in the Northwest Territories, as we see it. This is a way of trying to collect from them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I take your warning and I will try to keep my question as short as his answer over there. Mr. Speaker, from where I sit, and I give this advice without charging him a consultant fee, what I see is that the Department of Transportation has been very badly served by the budget process. It has not kept up to their capital budget at 1991 levels. It has gone through so many cuts it just cannot do it anymore.

I think the Minister has a very good argument to make to the Cabinet and say if we say this road is in unsafe conditions, it is hazardous, it cannot go on anymore, Cabinet has to make the decision. Would he not agree with that, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the suggestion of no need for consultants, well, the department will take that as a cost-saver. That is fine but I have another Member on the other side of the table here who is suggesting we do something like that. We have to take everything into consideration here and try to keep everybody happy.

As far as whether or not this proposed plan is going to result in more revenue, more capital for the department, as the Member has suggested, it is a recognized fact that capital for the department has been reduced almost on a yearly basis. This is true. We are just not keeping up with the impacts on our highways.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to give notice to the Minister that if he brings this bill back again, he should go on the public hearing process because I do not want to go back again with a third bill and get beaten up by the people who do not want to see a cost of living increase.

Mr. Speaker, the answer is very clear from the people. You cannot get blood out of stone. Would the Minister please make a commitment to talk to the Cabinet to see if they are being true...

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, I am afraid I will answer the question there, can I get blood out of a stone? I am sure going to try.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

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