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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, part of the supplementing or subsidizing that the territorial government was doing to the tune of $1 million per year under this program came as a result of changes to the NIHB program, so people who would be on the ground here in the Northwest Territories overseeing this would be making approvals based on a change in the program as they knew it. The federal government would then disallow those expenditures and we were unable to recover them. The problem with the administration of it was that we were vulnerable and we would pay it up front and be required to recover it. If a disagreement arose over eligible costs, then we would be the ones who would be left holding it.

It is a contractual arrangement on a year-to-year basis, and we are hopeful that with the additional financial support for the administration of this program that we will be able to continue to deliver it. We will probably have a much better idea of that after one year of operation with the additional administrative support that Health Canada has agreed to provide. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this afternoon is for the Minister of Transportation. On this Heritage Day, when transportation was particularly singled out and the importance of ice roads to the Northwest Territories, I wanted to ask the Minister if the government is still interested in pursuing ownership and management of the Lupin ice road system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the answer is yes. I am still proceeding with talks with stakeholders and with the federal government in particular regarding our ability to take over this road.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, that is good news. I am not particularly sure right now whether or not it is a good idea for this government to assume that, but I am interested in looking at the advantages. I am wondering if the Minister could explain what kind of criteria this government is interested in in order to take this facility over? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the main objective is to allow for northern control of this particular road. At this time, some of the stakeholders, in particular the mines, have not indicated that they are in favour of the government taking over this road. Most of it is related to regulations and exactly what regulations would apply, so they are a little concerned about that. Also, management in relation to costs, how we would establish the authority that would govern the route, because the intention is that this is going to be at no cost to the taxpayer. It would be a full cost recovery by the users of the road, in particular the mines. That is the general idea or approach in taking over this route.

Of course, it is related to the fact that we believe that the major operators should go from this Territory rather than from Nunavut, as is the case right now. That is the major reason why we are involved at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It does seem to be very appropriate for our government to set criteria. I wonder if the Minister could advise on any timeframe. Is there a definite window here that the government and the present owners are negotiating in? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, probably the major factor governing the timeframe for a decision is related to the fact that Indian Affairs gave them an extension to the existing permit for three years. Within that timeline, we expected some consultations to take place as to the future management and control of that particular route. As a government, we did put in an objection to the original application, which was for a ten-year extension. We objected to that with the thought that we would take over the route. So I suppose the major factor here is that Indian Affairs has another two years, roughly a year and a half left whereby they would have to make a decision because this permit would run out.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot help sliding this question in. I am wondering when a company is using an ice road, the Lupin Ice Road, if the Government of the Northwest Territories was to take it over, would they be subject to the proposed toll that the government is proposing for highways in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intent is for the road to be self-sufficient. Therefore, there would be a toll similar to what exists right now on the Lupin road. The toll is administered by Echo Bay Mines, I believe. They charge the trucks the same as we proposed on our highways. They generate enough revenue a year to maintain those roads. That is the basic idea of what the management authority would be in the future. The management authority would decide what the toll would be in relation to the cost. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding her statement of February 16th about the Health and Social Services System Action Plan. There are two areas that I have concerns about.

On page 1776 of the unedited Hansard, where she states:

"I have been increasingly concerned with a number of problems that have been brought to my attention by the department, by health and social services boards, by members of the health and social services professional community and by Members of the Legislative Assembly."

She goes on and lists the different challenges that are out there on page 1776 at the bottom:

"In addition to those financial and administration issues, there are pressing concerns about the delivery of core health and social services programs for a number of reasons. Some of our health and social services board are having difficulty delivering all the core programs which they have been funded and some programs are not always being delivered to standard."

Then she goes on:

"I do not take those concerns lightly. As Minister, I cannot ignore concerns about the quality of service delivery for which I am ultimately accountable."

My question to the Minister is this, in light of those statements, could the Minister tell us exactly which programs are core programs that we have funded these different health boards for that were not carried out?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as most Members are aware, we are awaiting the results of a system-wide review which is being undertaken right now. We do have some information that we are already aware of, but we are expecting a more in-depth report in some of these areas.

Just to give the Member a few of the ones we are aware of now where there may be some gaps in the system, there are things like home care programs, TB surveillance, services to adults with special needs. It is not that they are necessarily entirely missing. It may be an issue of standards which need to be applied to these things. Immunization programs...it is things of that nature when we talk about core programs for which we fund the boards and then we are concerned about either them not being delivered or when they are delivered, they are not being delivered to standard. That is the kind of very specific information we are waiting to receive as a result of the Cuff review, which is system-wide and is being undertaken right now. Thank you.

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