Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the information the Member wants, but I do not have the authority to release it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister stating then that we do not have the authority to approve the budget today?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like the Member already knows, those fees are listed under recoveries and they have nothing to do with expenditures, although they are reflected in the money that was identified in the budget. However, it is my understanding that we are talking recoveries here. There is no requirement for approval of the recoveries in that section.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Your final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Even though there are going to be costs impacting on residents of the Northwest Territories, the Minister is stating that we are not approving that fact? If this budget was not approved, then we would not be approving the increases. Is that not correct? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that I presented a fee increase as part of the budget. It was simply there as recoveries showing the money that the department would be receiving. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address my questions to the Minister responsible for Transportation as well and they are in regard to the capital plan, the Highway Strategy as it pertains to Highway No. 5.

I was wondering if the Minister could indicate what the plans are for this coming construction season? I know there was money in the budget, and it is $500,000 this year, $2 million and then $3 million.

I would just like an idea from the Minister, could he just elaborate on how he intends to start this process? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to Highway No. 5 expenditures this year, I believe the department has a $500,000 figure identified and within this is a survey. 145 kilometres of Highway No. 5 are going to be undertaken in surveys, between kilometre 87 and kilometre 232, as well as production of granular materials and chip-seal.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister indicate whether the plans are to start early in the construction season? Are there any possible glitches, or is it all full speed ahead with nothing but smooth sailing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. There are two questions there. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the department is already putting together some plans as to how we are going to implement all the accelerated activities that we have identified. As far as I know, everything is on-line for Highway No. 5. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Education. It is in regard to the whole area of child care and providing good, secure child care. In a lot of our communities, mothers are not able to be there or able to meet the potential they have because of having barriers put in front of them. One of the biggest barriers in a lot of our small communities is having good babysitting services or some child care being offered.

I would like to ask the Minister, is the Minister or the department going to be looking at trying to find new ways to improve on the child care in our communities?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, at the present time we have three programs within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment that deal with early childhood areas.

We have the Early Childhood Program, which we put in approximately $867,000; the Healthy Children's Initiative of $1.9 million; and the Day Care Subsidy Program of $1.2 million. That is the area that the Member is obviously very interested in and very concerned about.

We are working with Health and Social Services, as we are all aware, to develop the Early Childhood Development Plan. Progress is quite good on that, Mr. Speaker, and one of the areas that we are dealing with, and one of the interest areas that I have, is in the area of day care services for the Northwest Territories.

We do provide subsidy programs for start-ups and operations and maintenance, but there are occasions when operations do run short of funding in order to accommodate the number of children who are in need of day care. We are working on that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is great to know that the Minister is working on these initiatives. The federal government has been trying to enhance this area, especially in early childhood development, preschool and what not. I also think we have to develop the facilities in our communities so that they can offer this service.

Is the Minister also looking at the possibility of accessing dollars to build facilities in our communities to house these operations? Thank you.