Thank you, Minister Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister indicate to this House what the political factors were that drove the Minister to make this kind of political patronage appointment, flying in the face of all the other accepted processes we have as a government for hiring Northerners in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

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

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately I believe that most of the Minister's response was auspicious. There are political, direct appointments for the right reason that take into consideration the experience, as he said. Then there are political, direct appointments for the wrong reasons, and that is what this is.

Mr. Speaker, there are many other aboriginal Northerners, educated women out there, degreed women out there, some who even applied in this competition who did not even get the dignity of a reply when they had an interview.

For them to say that they have chosen an individual from the bottom of the interview process and are moving her in, bypassing everyone else, it makes no sense. Mr. Speaker, if political patronage is going to be the order of the day, then God help the civil service and God help the hiring practices.

Mr. Speaker, the question is how can the Minister do this and put the program in jeopardy for such a politically motivated reason?

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question follows in line with my Member's statement on the government's practice as we see the strategies that are underway, the planning, the consultants doing work, whether they are from southern Canada or those from within the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I made reference to a specific document. It is on my binder here. It says Towards a Better Tomorrow: A Non-Renewable Resource Development Strategy for the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, we have heard of documents being considered living documents. I would like to ask the Premier what is his definition of a living document? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many of the documents we have developed, the strategies, the agenda, are considered living documents simply because it is the prerogative of Members of the Legislature, who put it together in the first place, to change it as they see fit and when it is necessary and proper to do so, that nothing is cast in stone. We are living in times of rapid change, tremendous opportunities that need to be seized when they present themselves. The fact that some people, I will not include myself so much, but some people have used the term living document to reflect that. I am in agreement with it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My concern with what is being termed as a living document is that although you have a document and you are reading it in one hand, they are changing it over in left field and they are spending dollars before it gets officially approved. I would like to know from the Premier that if there are changes to any of the strategies or planning or implementation programs that are going on, if there are changes, that Members of this Assembly will be notified before they are implemented and dollars are expended? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, when we think it is necessary to make fundamental changes, all Members of the Legislature should be made aware of it. As I said, sometimes there are hiccups. We do overlook occasions when we should be doing them. Whether we are obliged to, aside from that, I believe that politically, we have made a commitment to work as closely as we can with Members of the Legislature. We will continue to try to live up to that commitment.

At the same time, as a Cabinet and as Ministers, we have the responsibility and the authority to manage the business and the portfolios that we have been assigned to the best that we can under the legislation that provides that to us in the best interest of the public. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier inform Members -- as they feel it is politically correct to do -- of this House before they make changes and expend dollars on programs, when Members already have a document that they feel is under advisement and under review? Will they inform Members before they expend dollars on that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have made a commitment to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight to look for ways we can improve our relationship with Members of the Legislature. They have set the agenda for this government with us as Ministers.

As Ministers, we are tasked to carry out and manage the affairs of government in a way that best reflects the agenda that we have agreed to accept on behalf of the Legislature.

So where there are changes made to the course of action that we understand we have taken, where possible, as quickly as possible, yes, we will try to keep the Members informed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Speaker, where, if, when... there is a lot of loose terminology in there and it is like saying that we can park the USS Enterprise underneath the living document Towards the Better Tomorrow. We still have the galaxy out there. It looks very big and bright, but we cannot get into it, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, things are changing on a daily basis. Will we have firm commitment from this government that they will inform Members before expending dollars on programs before those changes happen? Let the Members know. We understand the emergency cases, Mr. Speaker, but the ongoing political decisions made, all Members need to be aware of. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.