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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a department, I want to say that we are very committed to removing obstacles to northern-trained -- not just northern-trained, but nurses who are from the North. Any way we can see to improve our ability to attract, recruit and retain northern nurses, we will seriously look at. If our policies could be updated and changed based on precedents set in other jurisdictions, we would be pleased to look at that. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

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

Mr. Speaker, no, we have not reviewed that, but we are looking at the whole area of seniors' needs and requirements. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for that answer. I would like to ask the Minister what kind of time frame can we expect some results from his investigation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we are also looking at areas of persons with disabilities at the same time. I think we probably will need several months in order to gather appropriate information. We are probably looking at some time late fall. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I thank the Minister for his answers. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider including a mechanism that would allow for automatic adjustment for the threshold limits for the fuel subsidy, rather than having to go through this process every time there is a problem with that program? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we can certainly undertake to look at that possibility. We are looking at that for income support, the food basket area, doing an annual adjustment and an annual survey. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Finance. It is about the tax credit he announced would be coming forward. I am concerned about the highway toll and the actual cost of it. Some groups are now starting to come out in support of it, thinking that the cost will be offset by the tax credit. I tabled a document the other day in which Mr. Handley says, "The net increase for average citizens in the North should be nil." I am worried the department will move to a position of, we recognize the credit will not entirely offset the cost, but it is reasonable to ask residents to contribute to this highway infrastructure because they will get the benefits. Will the Minister confirm that the net should be no increase for the average citizens of the North?

Mr. Bell, I regret to inform you that the question you are asking may be out of order because of the nature of it. It is apparently on the order paper for today. We will disregard that question. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement, I addressed the concern citizens have about the arsenic situation in and around Yellowknife, specific to the Giant Mine work. I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development what involvement and what initiatives this government is taking in terms of that long-term management process? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for the arsenic situation at Giant Mine rests with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, with the federal government, as a condition of the sale of the mine. They hold the responsibility. The Government of the Northwest Territories participates primarily because as a government for this Territory, we have great concerns about what the department may or may not be doing, what their plans are, what they may be in the future and so on. We do not have an official role or responsibility. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of clarification. My understanding is that indeed it is the federal government's responsibility for the underground areas, but this government does have some involvement for managing things on surface and for reclamation there. This is where I would like to find out specifically what involvement and what processes this government has responsibility for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, this government's responsibility is for clean up and reclamation on the lands that are not covered by the water licence. There is still some debate between our department and DIAND on exactly where that begins and were it ends. We argue that, at minimum, DIAND is responsible for everything from the mill and its impact to everything that flows down from there, including the tailings ponds and reservoirs and so on. Our responsibility is for other structures that may be sitting on the mine property, but not directly connected with the water licence. Thank you.