Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I find it difficult to understand the Minister's comments. The information I am using is material published from his own department. The stats I am using is his information. However, my final question to the Minister would be out of the 13 access roads, the Hay River Reserve ranks as the third lowest when it comes to maintenance with only seven cents in annual maintenance costs per vehicle being spent. How does the Minister justify that?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not clear on the question. Could the Member either rephrase it or repeat it?

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Mr. McLeod, perhaps you could ask a shorter question and I will redirect it for you. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will rephrase my question. How does the Minister justify the fact that out of 13 access roads noted by the department's own 1999 summary of maintenance, the Hay River Dene Reserve ranks the third lowest with seven cents in annual maintenance costs per vehicle kilometre?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to ensure the Member gets the proper information, I am going to take the question as notice and pass it on to the department to respond.

Thank you. That final supplementary has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Premier. Earlier today, I spoke about a private member's bill, Bill C-203, which has been introduced in the Parliament of Canada. This bill would ensure that people receive their salary and pensions before ordinary creditors in the case of a bankruptcy. I was wondering if I could find out if this government will consider letting the federal government know that we support the passage of this bill?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Deputy Premier, Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of this government having taken a position at this point in time on the bill that the Member refers to in the federal House, but we will certainly undertake to research what it is about and make a decision about whether or not it is something we can support. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this is an important bill. I appreciate the Deputy Premier's offer to research the bill and then make a determination about support. Will the Deputy Premier commit to a timeline that would see this House being advised before we recess on March 6th about whether or not the government will support this bill?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can indicate to the House that the Premier has been concerned about the issue of the Giant Mine pensioners here in Yellowknife. He has undertaken to communicate with Minister Nault on this. He has been advised by Minister Nault that there is also a review of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which is in the process of holding consultations. This is another act in the House of Commons which would address the protection of pension plans as well.

I am aware that the Premier has undertaken these communications and is very concerned about this matter. Yes, we would commit to researching this particular bill that may be before the House now and get back to the Members before the end of this session. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Questions orales. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to advise the Member that wood stoves are a standard option in home ownership programs that was reintroduced as far back as 1997 and it continues today.

Also, in light of the question regarding the high fuel costs, the Housing Corporation has looked at a number of other heating sources. We have looked at heating that is very fuel-efficient and low-cost maintenance. There are a number of other options that we have been considering in the last year. We hopefully will continue to introduce that to potential homeowners across the Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated that it is an option. I think that my point is the people who do not presently have wood stoves in their homes and who depend on a furnace as their heat source. Is there an option that they could possibly put in wood stoves to assist, to bring down the high cost of heating their homes by using wood as an alternative source? Will the Minister consider looking at people who presently do not have a wood stove having that option to put in a wood stove to try to find a way around the high price of heating their homes at the present time?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, definitely we will look at it very closely. I believe we are forced to consider those options because of the high cost of fuel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.