Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to an Oral Question asked by the Member for North Slave on June 6, 2001. The Member asked why the Department of Transportation considered highway maintenance records confidential, and I replied that I would get back to the Member with the information at a later date.

The short answer to the Member's question is that the department's highway maintenance records are not confidential. The department's maintenance staff keep daily logs, including a highway surface report that, like a weather report, records the condition of the highway surfaces on the beat for that day.

In the coroner's report resulting from an accident fatality on Highway No. 3 of August 4, 2000, the coroner directed the following recommendation, amongst others, to the Department of Transportation:

"Road maintenance records be available for future use.

Rationale: The coroner felt that access to road maintenance records was inadequate. It was felt that such records should be readily available for review by investigators."

In his investigation of the August 4, 2000 highway fatalities, the coroner met with the department's director of highways on April 27, 2000. In their conversation, the coroner and the director discussed many aspects of Highway No. 3, including its maintenance. The coroner asked for the highway maintenance records for Highway No. 3 and the director agreed to provide them. The director did not sense any urgency in the coroner's request, and did not attach a high priority to collecting and forwarding the maintenance records. Neither did the coroner make a subsequent request for the records to remind the director of his commitment.

As it was, the coroner's office completed its investigation of the fatality and released his report on May 24, 2001, without the benefit of having received the requested maintenance records.

The department had not intended to withhold the maintenance records; it simply did not appreciate how soon the coroner's office expected them and did not provide them as promptly as it might have.

This misunderstanding and the recommendation in the coroner's report had nothing to do with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act or the confidentiality of highway maintenance records. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on June 12, 2001, the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake asked whether the creation of new positions planned for or currently working in the Intergovernmental Forum Secretariat in relation to the regional reorganization initiative have been approved through the budgeting process.

Mr. Speaker, there have been no new positions created to coordinate the regional reorganization initiative. The Intergovernmental Forum Secretariat was created at the beginning of the 14th Legislative Assembly to coordinate this government's participation in the Intergovernmental Forum process and to assist in building stronger intergovernmental relationships with emerging aboriginal governments. At its inception, the secretariat consisted of three positions; a special advisor to Cabinet, a policy advisor and an administrative support position.

With regard to the regional reorganization initiative, the director of regional relations was tasked with coordinating this initiative at the beginning of the 14th Legislative Assembly. This position was also established at the beginning of the 14th Assembly to coordinate other regional initiatives, such as our work in support of the Beaufort Delta Political Accord. In order to provide the appropriate level of direction and support for this important initiative, the position now reports to and receives administrative support from the Intergovernmental Forum Secretariat.

Mr. Speaker, in summary, all four of these positions were created through the 2000-2001 budget process. Furthermore, no new positions have been created within the Intergovernmental Forum Secretariat, nor are any planned at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by Mr. Miltenberger on Thursday, June 14, 2001, regarding linkages between regional reorganization, regional governance and the recently released Report on the Health and Social Services System of the Northwest Territories.

As Members are aware, the Department of Health and Social Services is seeking public responses to this report. The responses received will be an important factor in helping shape the implementation action plan. In addition, department and board staff are analyzing the recommendations and consulting with other government departments to ensure that all relevant factors are considered.

Two critical components to be considered in this analysis are the work that is currently underway regarding regional reorganization and regional governance issues, particularly as they relate to aboriginal self-government. These will provide the context within which specific recommendations are considered and around which an action plan is developed.

At this stage, we are unable to be specific regarding details of timing but will ensure that Members are kept informed of progress. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago I had an opportunity to speak about Tom Eagle and I would like to recognize him in the gallery today. I have known Tom for many years and I have admired the work he does and what he stands for as an individual. Please help me welcome Mr. Tom Eagle.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Welcome to the gallery, Mr. Eagle. No stranger to the Legislative Assembly, he has been here many, many times. Thank you for coming. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a special visitor from Ontario today who I would like to recognize. This is Mr. Jim Taylor, the father of April Taylor, the director of communications in the Department of the Executive, who will be getting married on Saturday of this week. Mr. Jim Taylor.

-- Applause

Welcome, Mr. Taylor. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to recognize someone who has served our community extensively. I would like to recognize Mrs. Josie Gould. Josie recently retired with 33 years of public service to various departments including that of the Commissioner; Personnel; Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development; Legal Aid; and Safety and Public Services. Josie was one of the founding members of the Union of Northern Workers. Indeed, her involvement goes back to 1970 when she was the first secretary treasurer of Local 1.

In her 33 years, she has made a tremendous contribution to our community, our public service, her union and volunteer organizations. We wish her well in her retirement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Welcome, Mrs. Gould. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize two people from my constituency, Blake and Violet McSanna. Mr. Speaker, Blake is a mechanic by trade and is now employed in Nunavut. Violet Pukus-McSanna is a member of the RCMP and served for many years in the Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik area and is serving now in Nunavut as well, I believe. I would like to welcome them to the Assembly.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Welcome to all of the folks who have come to take the time to see your Legislative Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for showing support for the department's expertise. The department has been applying its expertise, I might say, all along. However, we have to take into consideration -- and I am sure the Member will take this into consideration as well -- the fact of the amount of traffic on Highway No. 3. There are also a number of occasions when the weather is so wet that it causes a lot of problems for the maintenance of Highway No. 3.

The department does try to counteract this impact of the environment on the highways and increase the amount of maintenance on this particular stretch of highway to offset the impact of the weather. It is not always possible for us to do this in a manner that the public would prefer to see because we do have other sections of highway to maintain as well.

In short, the department is applying its expertise on an ongoing basis. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe what I meant by that was that we allow managers to manage. It would not be appropriate for me as Minister to go down there and start supervising the maintenance of Highway No. 3. We have people hired for that. I believe in letting people do their jobs, including my equipment operators.

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