Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for Minister Handley, in his responsibility for the Workers' Compensation Board. I recently had occasion to write to Mr. Handley in late August and ask him if they would consider opening an office for the Workers' Compensation Board in Hay River because of the South Slave region's needs for various services provided by the WCB have been increasing because of the increase in the level of economic activity in the South Slave, particularly in the oil and gas and construction sectors. Mr. Handley kindly responded to my request and has passed this on to the WCB.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know if Mr. Handley can tell us what kinds of considerations the WCB would be making in considering a regional office in Hay River? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, following the receipt of the letter, the WCB I believe have done an assessment of the workload. I have not seen the results of it from the Hay River/South Slave area, and they are meeting this week. I am not 100 percent sure it is on their agenda, but all of these requests they would look at seriously.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister could give me any assurance that, when considering the number of trips that WCB officers have to make into the South Slave region, if he would be considering a level of activity in the expenditure of time and resources there for all the communities in the South Slave, not just Hay River in considering a satellite office in Hay River? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, certainly we will look at all of the communities that are within the South Slave area and nearer to Hay River than other communities, but WCB is looking at this right now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in Mr. Handley's letter, he indicates that in 2001, there was an office established in Inuvik with a single safety officer position, so this would provide more effective safety inspections in that area. Is this a regional office as well, serving outlying communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes it is.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, an office in Hay River for a single officer may not seem like a lot, but in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, I think that the WCB would find this very effective. I would just ask the Minister if he would support Hay River as a location for a regional office. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I will support the Hay River, or any other centre, if it makes good economic sense for the WCB to have a safety officer or other staff located in that community. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question goes to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. It is in regard to the Member's statement that I made earlier.

Mr. Speaker, I do believe that he is aware of what I am talking about. The concern that I am raising with this Member's statement is that before and after this decision, I received communication from the Minister, not only in a letter but in a reply to a question in this House as well as a copy of a letter that he sent to another person, which seems to suggest that this board decision is not something that is permanent or that is applicable in all similar cases. I want to confirm with the Minister that in fact this is the law that they will follow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The board, I believe, overturned the decision not to fund, if I am correct in that. Pardon me, they overturned that decision, correct. The policy of the department needs to be looked at in light of that decision, Mr. Speaker, because the process of funding for programs that are not at colleges or universities for student financial assistance has generally been to only recognize those that are recognized. We get that from other jurisdictions across the country. There is a consistency of approach there. So the policy is what needs to be looked at, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I took it for granted that he was aware of the details of this case. What he is saying is quite contrary, Mr. Speaker, to what the board decision entails. The board decision did not speak to the policy. In fact, it was interpreting the act and regulation under which the students could get assistance.

May I ask the Minister to review this decision and review this case and get back to me as to what he intends to do about that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think under the circumstances, it is best that I do so with Ms. Lee, if she could provide me with the information. We no doubt at the department have the information as well. I may need more information on this. Thank you.