Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. I think we can call detail on Education right now. Mr. Chairman, the significant concerns on this side of the House on the health and social services boards and the state they are in, I do not want to repeat myself or others who have already spoken on it. It just reminds me that we are here doing a budget. If I go into a bank and I say I am going to do this, but I do not have a plan for what I am going to do, but can I have the money now? It reminds me of that. I think we are faced with that very situation.

The health boards in the communities have been established -- and thanks for that extra time, Mr. Chairman -- to deliver programs and services on behalf of the territorial government. From day one, I have always said that it was almost set up to fail. The very first thing that was asked of me when I got elected was to help trim the board's budget by ten percent. My understanding is that the budget that was associated with the transfer of those responsibilities was never that healthy to begin with.

There are all kinds of questions pertaining to medical travel. There are people who travel without interpreters; inadequate services, you could call it, I guess.

I want to return back to the non-insured health benefits today. I asked the question yesterday: is there a transition plan? What do treaty Indians, Inuit, Inuvialuit do after April 1st if the territorial government transfers or reneges on their contract with the federal government in delivering non-insured health benefits to the said people? What do individuals like myself who are treaty Indians do when I go see a doctor or when I have to go pick up a prescription drug or if I need a pair of glasses or get some dental work done? Are we going to be seeing rotten teeth, blind-eyed Indians and Inuit in the Northwest Territories? Those are some of the questions that I have. Is there a transition plan? What is the transition plan?

The one question that I have asked is what kind of services has the federal government not paid or stopped paying in 12 years that the Government of the Northwest Territories has been under contract and delivering the programs and services under the non-insured health benefits derived by treaty Indians and by Inuit? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.