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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the pay and benefits authority in one of the boards has been revoked and has been handed over to the Financial Management Board Secretariat. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister prepared to inform this House as to which board that would be?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to meet recently with the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Board and advise them of a joint action plan in order to address some of the concerns that have come to light as a result of recent audits and reviews that have taken place with respect to that board. It is the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Board that has had the pay and benefits authority transferred to the Financial Management Board Secretariat. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the statement today called into question the commitment to boards. I have been told that the federal government insisted on explicit support from aboriginal governments for the transfer of health to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister advise the House if one of the conditions aboriginal governments set for their support required the establishment of regional health boards of administration in the Northwest Territories?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was not involved with the government at the time that Health and Social Services was transferred from the federal government to the territorial government. I do not know if that was a requirement. Mr. Speaker, I am not prepared to make any comment to pre-empt the outcome of the system-wide review we are doing right now. Although the Member is making suggestions that we have prejudged the outcome, that is not true. Any question about the outcome of the boards and the existence of the boards as a result of our review is absolutely premature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. Questions orales. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister stated that we will be ending this fiscal year with a surplus, a rosy picture indeed. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. I would like the Minister to state whether or not the department had frozen spending in communities during this fiscal year?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has not frozen spending, but they have put in place a spending restraint plan. The department found that with the extensive development, particularly in oil and gas, as well as demands in other areas, it has caused them to come close to spending their entire budget allocation before the end of the fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so not frozen, just put on hold. Can the Minister inform us as to what took place that brought this on? Was funding running out at headquarters or in communities? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not familiar with all of the detail of which areas of the department program responsibilities may have been running short on dollars, or which regions may have been. I can assure you that it was a combination of programs and services we offer. Certainly the money available for business development grants was used up very early in the year. We also found that some regions ran into unexpected demands on their budgets. Quite likely, there were some divisions within the department's headquarters function that found themselves in the same circumstance. The spending restraint program was a measure to limit spending in order to maintain an overall rebalance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister inform us as to whether there was any money pulled back from communities and regions and used in headquarters operations? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very likely there was. That is a common practice in departments. If there is any free money in a program or an area and a shortfall in another one, then it is very often the case that the deputy minister will do these sorts of internal transfers. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister inform us when this process started? When did they start slowing spending down, not freezing it, but cutting back? Thank you.