Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are going to be dealing with this with considerable dispatch. We want to do it carefully and in the right way. We want to make sure that people are duly informed. I want a chance to look at it. I want a chance to look at it with the department. I want a chance to look at it with the Stanton board, as well as Cabinet. Once we get the report we will lay out a plan and hopefully it will not take very long to do this, Mr. Speaker, so I would assume some time in November we would be moving forward on the recommendations. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today goes to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services and it is with regard to the shortage of staff at the Stanton hospital. Mr. Speaker, back in September when I raised the question with the Minister regarding the shortage at the hospital, the first response from the department and the authorities was a denial of the existence of a problem. I believe that, as I stated elsewhere, the way in which the Minister has gone about addressing this issue has been as much of a problem as the difficulty in finding a solution.

Mr. Speaker, at that time the hospital had about 16 shifts over 10 days not filled for October -- this was back in September -- and there were about 13 shifts not filled for November. It is my understanding that they have been filled at least for October, I do not know what is happening in November.

I would like to know from the Minister, how has he been able to fill these shifts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has never been a denial that there are staff shortages affecting the health and social services system in the Northwest Territories. What was said is that we are maintaining service levels and providing services so that no Northerner is without appropriate health and social services.

Mr. Speaker, the board and the staff at the Stanton authority work on a daily basis to ensure that all shifts are covered. They use overtime, they bring in casuals, they use locums. There is a constant review being done to make sure that all those shifts are covered and being provided.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the record will show that the Minister has denied that there were... but I do not want to get into the debate about who said what and where.

What I am concerned about is the extra costs of the tax payers that the government is incurring as a result of a lack of hiring and long-term planning that should have taken place and the government has ignored for many, many years.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister just mentioned that these shifts are being filled by overtime, casuals and locums. I would like to know if the Minister knows how much this is costing, what the dollar figure is in the accommodation and extra wages being paid, and travel for all these additional staff that are being brought into the Territories to fill these shifts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Stanton Board and the Stanton staff are working within the budget they have allocated.

If there are extraordinary costs, they will be considered forced growth and we will look at those costs to make sure we are providing the services necessary to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Minister's response to me, regarding the same issue of shortage of staff, he has written to me to say that he is expecting that 26 new nurses will be put into the system; 26 new graduates from the college. Does he have a plan as to how these new nurses are going to be incorporated into the specialized area of ICU or emergency responses that are highly specialized? What is his plan to incorporate these nurses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is our intention to hopefully sign return of service agreements with the graduates. We recognize that experience will be a factor in some cases so we want to look at mentorships, we want to make sure that we have the offer open for those who want to work in Yellowknife but we are also trying to recruit outside of Yellowknife, those communities that are short nurses there as well.

We want to make use of specifically mentorships, and we want to make sure that we at least have a job offer for the graduates. I know many are from Yellowknife and the requirement for 26 nurses is not there right now, but there is a constant need as we have seen for casuals, so they will be part of a casual pool that will help give them experience. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister talks to those who are actually in the front line, they would tell him that these extra measures that are being taken by the Minister will not be the answer in the short term or in the long term.

Mr. Speaker, they would also tell him that this review is nothing but an exercise in vain. Mr. Speaker, the Minister indicated that he will have this report of the review by the end of October. Now it is conveniently in November.

Why is it that we cannot have any kind of debate by this delay tactic?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the main reasons is that we have ended up interviewing far more people than was initially planned for and we do not want to deny anybody the opportunity to come forward and provide their feedback.

So we are taking the little bit of extra time that is necessary to make sure that we do not deny anybody that access. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I expressed my concerns regarding the lack of attention being given to the Hay River Centennial Library building maintenance and repairs.

I would like to ask the Minister, why were these essential repairs not embarked on in the previous year's budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we had to do an assessment because the assessment that was done previously was dated, so we had Public Works and Services go in and deal with the issue of the condition of the building.

That report was received. Basically it said that the building was in good shape other than the roof and the air circulation system, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the roof was no good five years ago and was in urgent need of being repaired, it kind of stands to reason that five years later it is still going to need to be repaired because nobody did anything to it in the last five years. That is a brilliant deduction.

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister now be in a position to seek this work on the Hay River Centennial Library to commence immediately, in order to maintain the condition of this very valuable asset? This is a real key centerpiece in the downtown core of Hay River.