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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that communities can come forward and apply to the department. We do we have a policy in place that provides a framework, but we do not have any legislation. I think legislation is one of the key pieces that would allow us to have insurance and other things come more easily. Would it not make sense if we have the policy, we have the framework, Mr. Speaker, why no legislation? Can the Minister indicate why we do not have legislation yet? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are planning on working towards introducing midwifery legislation. We will work closely with midwives in developing such legislation. We will also rely on prototypes of legislation, which may be available to other jurisdictions. Thank you.

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

I guess the question that follows from that, Mr. Speaker, is how long will it take to develop the legislation. It seems to me that we could, as the Minister has indicated, essentially boilerplate the legislation from other Canadian jurisdictions, so how long, Mr. Speaker?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have a very busy legislative agenda for the Department of Health and Social Services, and even if we could, as the Member refers to it, "boilerplate the legislation", it still requires a fair amount of human resources and financial resources in the drafting and preparation of any legislation.

Certainly in the meantime, the GNWT Certified Midwife Policy provides an adequate framework within which boards could offer birthing services using midwives. If there is an interest in the communities or in the regions for this, we would encourage them to proceed under the policy and we will commit to the legislation as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you. The policy is there, Mr. Speaker, but as I understand it, without legislation insurance, providers will not provide insurance in the Northwest Territories. That is my understanding of the issue. Obviously it is a problem and certainly you are not going to have a situation where you have midwives practicing if they cannot get insurance. I am wondering if the Minister will commit to having this legislation come before this House in the next year. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will certainly take note of the support that has been shown by Members for this legislation, and I will have to inquire of the department as to whether or not it will be feasible to commit to the legislation within a year. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat. Can Minister Handley advise this House if the government still maintains a no layoff policy?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a staff retention policy, which achieves many of the objectives of the old no layoff policy. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the staff retention policy apply to employees of wholly funded agencies like hospital boards?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Handley.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. As long as they are civil servants, then it would apply to them. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So to the Minister's best understanding, an employee of the Stanton Hospital in the laundry, who has been a member of the civil service for, say 28 years and seven months short of a full pension on retirement, would have access to the staff retention policy?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, that is correct. The administration at the hospital would have to go through the same steps in the staff retention policy as we would for any government employee. Thank you.