Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to see and hear that the Premier has recognized that there is a problem there, as he very well knows as he represents the smaller communities also. I also would like to ask if he is willing to assess the communities? Would he be willing to look at the concept we had formerly where we had field service officers in each community? Would that be part of his consideration? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government, the previous Legislature had to undergo some massive reductions in services and make some drastic cuts in the organization and the employees that were available to serve people in the communities. One of the positions that was done away with is the executive field officers and regional directors.

We are prepared to look at how we can reintroduce these in some capacity. We have offered to do that with existing resources in the Beaufort Delta because of the pending self-government agreement that would compel us to provide some coordination function to see that initiative supported. We are prepared to do that in the Beaufort Delta, we are prepared to argue and try to advance those in the upcoming budget exercise and see how far we get with that.

It is currently something we have considered. There are limited resources, but we believe there would be a demand in the Deh Cho, there would be a demand in the Sahtu, there would be a demand in the Tlicho area, the North Slave and we are prepared to give that serious consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of finalizing the recruitment and retention options paper to take to Cabinet now that we have had a chance to review it with the committee and we have sat down with the union, and we are going to sit down with the nurses as well.

We have some options in there that we believe will help offset some of the costs, maybe not directly to the housing but will add some incentives in terms of remissibility, in terms of staff training, service agreements. It would help people to pay off their student loans and student debt.

I recognize the issue that my colleague has raised. We are also in a very preliminary stage of looking at some options specific to Yellowknife for housing that we hope will bear some fruit at least as they deal with new nurses on a short-term basis to find housing while they find more permanent housing.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister give any better indication as to when we might expect to have this finalized and made public? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my hope to have it in to Cabinet staff and FMB staff for analysis and through Cabinet before the end of next week. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, can I get a clarification from the Minister that he understands that our benefits are not competitive and that he acknowledges that we have to do something more to retain and recruit health care professionals in Yellowknife? is this paper based on that assumption? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very clearly across the North, including Yellowknife, there is a recognition that we need a competitive pay and benefits package. The reality is that we are having difficulty staffing critical positions like nurses and doctors. One of the issues involved with that is pay and benefits.

I am very clearly aware of that. I have spent the last year travelling across the North. That point has been reinforced to me in every community that I have been in so the answer is yes, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate a very clear answer from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister then at the same time, because part of the problem is that when these people go to the recruitment and retention office to inquire about that benefits package that they might have, they are getting less than 100 percent service. Would the Minister advise his staff to be more cooperative and open-minded about some of the questions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the concerns of the Member have been noted as we speak and the issue of being very responsive to potential nurses and doctors and other allied health professionals is a critical one and it is a point well made and a point taken. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is about the country club that is being built here in Yellowknife, the correctional facility. Mr. Speaker, the facility will contain two classrooms, a library, a gymnasium, three group programs, a spiritual room, chapel, arts and crafts room, aboriginal skill room, medic area, administration discharge and on top of that, the units for beds and whatnot which people are in custody.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister regarding the cost of this building, knowing that the original cost was at $35 million, which is now almost $50 million. I would like to ask the Minister, when discussing with the Department of Public Works the design of this building to eliminate some of these program areas, why was the Department of Justice's position not to take out those program delivery areas such as rooms for classes, libraries, spiritual room, chapel? Why did the department take that position?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I may put fact before figure, I would like to extend to the Member that this facility, if I may, was prefaced by a report which was tabled in this House in November of 1998 identifying a number of considerations based on the fire marshal's report, for instance, to close down the current facility and also look at some other important components to the overall facility in terms of how we look at restorative justice, as well as other cognitive skills, training and the need for modernization of programs.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult for ourselves other than to follow those recommendations and to begin consulting with Public Works and Services on the design and construction of the facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.