Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise the Members of this House that we have been developing a sport policy, a revised sport policy. We have done it in the context of our Sport North agreement. We have had a number of symposiums to address the key questions that have been raised not only by the Members of this House but by the public. Hopefully by the June session we will be coming forth to this House with a strong indication of the future of sports and recreation in the North, as well as youth. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is good to hear the Minister is reviewing the policy. I would hope it would be broad enough yet detailed enough to speak to the whole area of sports and recreation. Could the Minister indicate whether that will also include a detailed review of our current involvement in the Arctic Winter Games and a possible change in our undying commitment to this endless process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we have been working diligently to address the questions. It has been raised on several occasions. Again, I must advise the House that we are committed to participate in the Arctic Winter Games until the year 2004. I have concurred with many of the public's requests to look at changing the games format from two to four years. It allows us to develop areas across the Northwest Territories. I have committed to that philosophy. I recognize that it is a lot of work, as the Member has said in his Member's statement. It is cumbersome. It is long drawn out. Once the games are over, we start planning for the next one. We are definitely looking at changing it and changing how we approach sport across the Northwest Territories in that context. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is very gratifying to realize I am not the lonely voice I was in the 13th Assembly when I raised this issue. I would like to ask the Minister if he could indicate to this House the type of consultation that has taken place and possibly will take place as they finalize the document he indicated he wanted to bring to this House in June? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back in late May, the sports and recreation partners reviewed the legacy and the new direction. They held a conference in Hay River. That is the first step. We have also had, as Ms. Lee indicated earlier, a coaches symposium in Yellowknife just recently. Again, in the latter part of March, there will be another symposium held in Inuvik that will deal strictly with cross-country skiing and the impact the test program has had upon the Northwest Territories. Also, taking the comments of this House last February and which are ongoing from other Members, we need to definitely take some new direction in terms of sport and recreation across the North.

It is important that we acknowledge the input from yourselves as well as other Members and form a new direction as we see we need it here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister for a commitment that he will ensure there is community consultation on this very important issue, because that is where it is critical the attention be focused in terms of sports and recreation, and that the many volunteer groups who operate at the community level are consulted on what we need to do as a Territory to move ahead with a vision for the future of sports and recreation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to add on to the comments or the question raised by the Member, that I have been travelling to every community across the Northwest Territories, except for two or three in the Beaufort Delta.

I have been receiving back comments and that is where we are deriving the changes from. So if it requires further consultation then I would certainly consider that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are presently in negotiations with the federal government about our ability to administer this program on their behalf within the current financial arrangements that exist.

If these negotiations proceed as we expect they will and turn out favourably, we will undertake to continue to administer this program to status Indian and Inuit recipients, who qualify for it in the Northwest Territories.

We are hoping that the additional administrative support that the federal government has agreed to will enable us to do that without having to subsidize the cost. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The Honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the $1 million that we have referred to really relates to two issues.

One is the administrative costs that are incurred to deliver the program that we are not compensated for. The other is the actual disallowance of certain things, which we try to claim for.

We estimate that the cost to the government for the administrative functions, which we are not compensated for, is between $400,000 and $500,000 at least. There is a great deal of involvement at a number of levels of our government in terms of administering this.

As far as the specific areas in which there has been disallowances and we have not been able to collect, they include transportation, boarding home costs, ground transportation, the Larga Boarding Home costs, co-payments, vision care and dental care.

These, together, add up to the other portion of the unfunded amount from the federal government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.