Thank you. The question has been taken as notice, and when a question has been taken as notice it ends the dialogue on it. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today goes to the Minister of Finance and it is in regard to the statistics we had on the census of the NWT population. As you know, Mr. Speaker, the census number is very, very important in terms of the amount of money that we get in transfer payments from the federal government and I understand that, I know and we are aware that the Minister has been working on this issue to clarify it. I wonder if the Minister could update this House on what sort of action the government has taken to recount the census. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, when we got the first census numbers, we realized there were some problems with them and our statistics bureau has been in contact with Census Canada since. We have, over the summer, done an assessment of the number of dwellings that were missed across the Northwest Territories. That first part of research has shown us that about 500 houses, occupied houses, were missed by Census Canada. Of course, that has a big impact on the total numbers that we will end up with eventually. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Minister could advise us as to when he expects the study to be done and what the changed status might be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, we are now going into phase two of our research, and that is to look right across the North at the number of individuals who would have been missed. That research started in the middle of October. I expect it will have pretty good numbers late this winter.

The Finance Canada people will use the final numbers probably in September 2003, and then do calculations back to whatever those numbers were at that time. We have a bit of time before the final numbers will be determined, and to the best of my knowledge, that will be September. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear the positive note on this, but I wonder if the Minister could confirm as to what is his understanding with Finance Canada. Does he have a clear understanding, an agreement with them that they will actually take this into consideration? Is that clear, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, clearly, under our financing formula, Finance Canada will use the adjusted numbers, and I believe those are available in September, 2003. So they will take the numbers, those adjusted numbers, and will then work backwards on our financing formula back to, I believe, the date when the census was done, so that would be in June, 2001, or roughly then. The agreement is they will work back and make those adjustments with the final numbers, which I think are September, 2003.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Minister could give us any indication as to he has already mentioned five extra houses. He foresees more. It seems that he may be able to get some more back, so some money back. Could he give an idea as to what dollar amount we are talking about? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I really cannot give a dollar figure right now, but we are looking at least a 10.8 percent adjustment to our population. Exactly what that translates into dollars, I really cannot tell you right now. The number, in fact, might be higher than that once we finish all of our research. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government is a party to the negotiations between aboriginal groups and the federal government to resolve outstanding claims and to seek clarification on the aboriginal rights of these respective groups. We have made a commitment to support the recognition and the settlement of these rights wherever we are party, and part of a process. This government stands behind the commitments it makes.

Specifically in address to this Member, it is my understanding that the Akaitcho, the Deh Cho and the Dogribs have outstanding issues to resolve. They are looking to this government to provide some leadership, some support, some assurance that they will be able to assist where called upon to resolve those issues. We are committed to doing that. We support the settlement and the conclusion of the T'licho agreement, self-government agreement. We also support the Akaitcho people and the recognition and the respect that should be paid to their claims and their rights through self-government, as well as the Deh Cho process. We stand behind these groups and we hope that they all come to a resolution of their issues together, working together to get that job done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have had meetings with the T'licho negotiators, discussions with the elders. I have also had meetings with the leaders of the Akaitcho, and have given my assurance, individually, and that of Cabinet, that we expect parties to work together to resolve these very, very difficult issues, to come together through some process, so that the rights of the Dogrib people, the T'licho people, and the Akaitcho people can come to be mutually supported by both groups, all outstanding issues resolved. The ancestors have done that. Their forefathers have done it. Every other group in the Territory in recent history have been able to do it. We believe, as difficult as it is, as difficult as the issues are, it is possible and we expect, in the next few months, for these negotiators and these leaders to come together and come to a resolution that we can all feel comfortable with and enjoy.

Let me just say that the pressure is intense. It is incredible, and everybody wants a guarantee, some assurance. It is not for anybody to give. It is for everybody to come together to deliver. Thank you.