Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, and is regarding my Member's statement and the concerns by residents of the Mackenzie Delta about the lack of an environmental health officer in the region to ensure that the health of the residents of the Mackenzie Delta is being looked at.

The concern I have is more with regard to the water quality. As we all know, there is a high trace of THMs, or trihalomethanes, in Fort McPherson. There are also chemicals in other communities, such as Aklavik, with H. pylori, which is another carcinogen that has been traced in their water system. In the last number of months, there have been some high traces of iron, magnesium and the colouring of the water in the community of Tsiigehtchic, which in most cases is pretty yellow. Trying to drink that every day is a concern.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Health exactly what is her department doing to ensure that we have people who hold senior positions, such as environmental health officers, on site. What do you do when someone resigns, quits, or whatever, to ensure that there are people out there looking after the health and well-being of the residents? Can the Minister answer that?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Departments of Health and Social Services; Public Works and Services; and Municipal and Community Affairs have taken initiatives to improve the coordination and delivery of water-related services. These three departments together have reviewed the roles and responsibilities of all organizations, including government departments, water boards and communities involved in the provision of drinking water.

The review was completed in April. Public Works and Services is now focusing on the provision of small water system operator training and certification, with particular emphasis on the training and certification of the uncertified operators in the smaller communities of Aklavik, Tsiigehtchic, Jean Marie River and Lutselk'e. The training certification session has been scheduled for May and June in Yellowknife and Inuvik. Those are some of the initiatives we have undertaken to try to address the issue of the quality of water supply. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it sounds great coming off a piece of paper, but actually the problem we have here is that we have a senior person within the Department of Health and Social Services, an environmental health officer whose responsibility is to ensure the health and well-being of our residents is being looked at. In the case of Inuvik, they have not had an environmental health officer there for some three months, I believe.

With the shortage of nurses in our communities now being compacted with this, what is the department doing to ensure that the health and well-being of our residents is being looked at to ensure that the quality of water and the health in our communities are living up to the standards they should be?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the staffing of the position of environmental health officer for the Inuvik region, I would have to undertake to speak to the department to find out: what the status of that staffing is; if it is not occupied, why it is not; and if there are any prospects on the horizon for someone to fill that job, and then report back to the Member. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this issue is urgent. We have shortages of doctors and nurses in our communities. This position falls in line with a doctor or a nurse, and I think it is important that when we have these vacancies, where you have people who are responsible for the health and well-being of our residents, that those positions be filled.

In this case, the Minister said that she would get back to me. I have spoken to the director of the health and social services board in Inuvik, I have spoken to people in Public Works. Public Works has not received any direction to do any water sampling in the last few months, so who is doing those samples and ensuring the analysis is done to ensure the water is safe in our communities?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly the environmental health officer does have a role to play in terms of the monitoring that is ongoing. As I stated before, the only thing I can do to respond to the specific information that Mr. Krutko is providing, that there has been a lapse in the monitoring of the water supply, is to take that information and ask my department to check into this to verify whether this is the case or not. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Before I go into the next supplementary, Mr. Krutko, I just want to remind Members that questions should be short and to the point, and answers should be short and to the point, within reason. The Chair has been quite lenient, but the time for question period is going very quickly and we are not going anywhere. With the number of people who are on the list, please keep your questions short and to the point, and answers short and to the point. This is according to your rules.

Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is there anything that the Minister can do to find someone, either in Yellowknife, who may have surplus staff and have someone else out there to fill this position in the interim, to get someone up there right away and check the status of our drinking water in our communities? Can the Minister commit to moving on this right away and find people who can be in the region taking a look at the quality of the water in our communities?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Based on the information that I will get from the department on what the status is of the sampling that is required to be done by the regional environmental health officer, pending the outcome of what that information is -- and I am not disputing that the Member may be correct, I do not have that information with me - if this is the case, there are some things we can do to address the information in the short term and perhaps in the longer term.

There may be some resources here where we could have people go in. That is not the long-term solution. The long-term solution would be to have that position staffed. There are also things that we can do for the department in terms of our recruitment and retention unit, which may help the Inuvik region identify a person for this position. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. It concerns the area of same-sex benefits. Two of the constituents in my riding of Great Slave, a same-sex couple, are concerned about the security of their family. They are seeking to have legal recognition of their rights and responsibilities to share equally in the raising of their family.

My question for the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is that in light of the response that they have had from the director of adoptions, refusing them this right under our present Adoptions Act, is the Minister prepared to bring forth an amendment to the Adoptions Act to allow same-sex couples to adopt? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is right that our definition of spouse in the Adoption Act does state either of a man and a woman who are married or cohabitating. It does not provide for same-sex couple adoption.

This has resulted in the lobbying and the information on the constituents that Mr. Braden refers to being made public. It would appear that courts in other jurisdictions have made decisions already with respect to these matters.

We probably have more legislation within the government that relates to the same subject. What I am hoping to do is have a discussion with my Cabinet colleagues on this so we might take a comprehensive and coordinated approach, not just to the adoption legislation on a piecemeal basis, but also review what other legislation may not be in keeping with new legal precedents which have been established in other jurisdictions. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, given, as the Minister has referred to, the fact that other jurisdictions in Canada and indeed the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the definition of spouse must guarantee under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, freedom from discrimination against sex, is the Minister saying that this government still has to consider whether it will consider this amendment? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is, as I said, an issue of legislation that covers more that one department. It is an interdepartmental issue. What I have said is we believe that our legislation may not be presently up-to-date and in keeping with precedents that have been set in other jurisdictions. Cabinet needs to decide what the appropriate course of action is to take at this time in relation to that matter. This is something we will discuss and identify where our legislation may be out of step. Thank you.

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