Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two people, Julien Landry, he is the chair of the Deh Cho Education Council and a great supporter of the education system. I would also like to recognize another member of the Auditor General's staff, Roger Simpson, an acquaintance for some years now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the concern raised by the Member. We have a file with some extensive documentation. At this present time there is no funding in the department's capital plan for any new facilities.

The new hospital in Inuvik has had an additional eight beds added into the design which will bring the total of 32 beds in the Inuvik region for long-term care. We are however looking at expanding the home support services and supported living programs that we deliver across the North where I think there is room for us to help accommodate the intent of the people of Fort McPherson to keep elders in their home for as long as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have established those facilities in other communities in the Northwest Territories. With this program, we have the Minister of Health and Social Services along with the Minister of the Housing Corporation who both together have to move on these initiatives.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned a couple areas where he is looking at transferring different programs such as the Home Care Program and Community Wellness Program. We have a lot of programs being delivered in the community of Fort McPherson right now and I believe that we do have the capacity in the community to deliver these programs for our seniors.

I would like to ask the Minister, have you consulted with the Minister of the Housing Corporation to look at the possibility of establishing a new seniors' facility in Fort McPherson with the opportunity to consider taking on this responsibility down the road?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Housing and I have had preliminary discussions. If it is the wish of the community to have issues addressed with the existing seniors' facility in terms of the deficiencies and inadequacies then that is clearly an existing program that is there to be looked at.

If it is, as I understand it to be, a request for a long-term care facility then that is an issue that falls within, at this point, the mandate of Health and Social Services and as I just indicated, there is currently no funding in the capital plan for any new long-term care facilities in the Northwest Territories. We are looking at trying to, as I indicated, expand our home care and supported home living programs which is where I think there will be room to try to accommodate the interests of the people of Fort McPherson. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I mentioned in my statement that the facility in Fort McPherson is some 30 years old. It was built back in those days when we did not have the luxury of having good accommodations for an area for the family and community to get together. All it is is a bunch of rooms that facilitate individual members, but there is no room there for couples.

I would like to ask the Minister, would he consider looking at the possibility of a replacement of the existing facility in Fort McPherson?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do remember touring the facility with the Member when we were in Fort McPherson and I can appreciate and I recollect the state of the facility and the concerns that the Member raised.

I will commit to revisit this issue with the Minister of Housing to see if it is an issue of improving or trying to address deficiencies in the current facility. We will see what is possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the Minister is going to look into this but I just would like to remind the Minister that there is a financial cost to a renovation of this facility. I believe the cost we are looking at is somewhere around half a million dollars.

I would like to ask the Minister, under the financial restraint we are in, would it not be appropriate to replace the facility with a new facility rather than strictly renovating the existing facility? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct, there are financial restraints that we all must deal with and as I indicated there is no money in our capital plan for any new proposed long-term care facilities in the North.

My discussions with the Minister of Housing will focus on what is potentially possible in terms of improving the current structure that is there and the program that is currently being delivered there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, an unofficial survey of municipalities taken in 2000 indicated that there were very few persons with disabilities that would qualify for a fossil fuel subsidy. It is a difficult thing for municipalities to quantify.

However, in 2000 the municipality of Fort Smith had six people that would have been eligible, Inuvik had one person, and Hay River, to the best of my calculations, would have had less than a dozen. We are not dealing with a large group of people, Mr. Speaker, but we are dealing with a very large need.

I am aware, Mr. Speaker, that the Minister for Disabled People and the Minister for Seniors is Mr. Miltenberger. I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

I would like to ask the Minister, what programs does he currently have in place dealing in the area of a fossil fuel subsidy that could be accessible to persons with disabilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a good subject. What may not be available to some individuals is the possibility of accessing income support, Mr. Speaker, in the event that individuals have inadequate income they can then apply for income support to assist them and through income support, we provide income support clients, they receive fuel payments and housing costs, Mr. Speaker. That is an opportunity for individuals to access should they wish to do so. It is a financial means test on it. Thank you.