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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Finance announced that the surplus for last year was $8.9 million, that he anticipated a surplus for 2002 of $1 billion, but that included a $3 billion contingency fund, and that for next year, it would be up as high as $3.1 billion. In the same statement, he also was clear that any of the surpluses would be used to pay down the national debt. Although he talked in the paper about northern...developing Canada as a northern tiger, he did not make any commitments at this time that would directly benefit the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Minister Manley noted that this was the fifth annual surplus that Canada had achieved. He talked about the importance of reducing debt and balancing the books because, as he said, keeping the budget balanced and reducing debt are crucial to achieve a better standard of living and quality of life for Canadians.

I cannot help but contrast that with recent comments from the Minister of Finance for the Northwest Territories. When does the Minister expect that we will be returning our books to a balanced budget?

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

Mr. Speaker, given the priorities of our government, which are primarily to support the economic development and the opportunities we have, and to continue to meet the social development needs of our people, then I expect that we will continue to see demands on our resources outstripping our revenues. Now, we want to turn that around as quickly as we can, but we are not going to be able to do it within a year or two. It is probably going to take us several years to see us move to a positive budget. The formula we have with the federal government, the financing formula, ends in 2004. We are in the beginning stages of negotiating that. I do not expect that we are going to see a turnaround until we have a better financing arrangement with Canada. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Minister Manley said in spite of the plan to put the surpluses to bring down the debt, that would not stop new government spending. What they would do is review the effectiveness and efficiency of existing policies and programs and ensure they are cost effective. As he said, governments of all levels must constantly reinvent themselves and strive to find new ways to meet the needs of Canadians in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

What is this government doing to re-examine the programs and policies that it has to ensure that they are cost effective and still meeting the needs of Northerners?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a deputy minister who is responsible for looking at all of our expenditures and at some potential revenues for our government. There are a number of areas he and a team of deputy ministers are working on, both looking at making our government more efficient and cutting down on the cost of delivering the services that we have.

Mr. Speaker, that has been an exercise that has been going on for several months and will continue. I think we will be pleased to provide regular updates as the efforts progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is this review a desk sort of review, or is there going to be a meaningful cost benefit analysis of some of the programs and services that the government has been providing over the years to ensure that they really are still cost-effective and meeting the needs of Northerners.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think where there appears to be a need for a good, thorough cost-benefit analysis, then that will be done. This is not just simply a desktop review, but I think one that is seriously aimed at finding more efficiencies in government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger, regarding an issue I raised in this House about a young gentlemen, about six months old, Mr. Donovan Arey Junior. He was diagnosed with a serious heart disease back in August. He has been in Edmonton for some time, and then the family returned home to Aklavik. The direction that was given by the doctors in Edmonton is that the family has to relocate to Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, the challenge that they are having is trying to find accommodation for the family. The family encompasses six people; four children and the mother and father.

I have been working with the Premier, the Minister of Finance, and also the Minister of Health and Social Services in trying to get some movement on this. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services exactly what is the status of the emergency request by the family to relocate them to Aklavik.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very reluctant to stand in this House and discuss specific issues. There was general concern raised while we were talking about specific families and their children and medical situations. I would like to ask the Member that he is aware of the work we are trying to do but I am not in a position to discuss it in this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, this is a medical emergency. All I am asking of the Minister is, what is he doing to ensure that this medical emergency is being dealt with? How soon can this emergency be enacted by finding accommodations for the family to be able to move to Yellowknife and have access to the hospital here in Yellowknife?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Before I get to the response, Mr. Minister, if you will just permit me, the Chair is very concerned with the angle of the camera that is in the gallery. I would ask the camera to be removed from the House. The camera was looking down straight onto the Minister. Thank you. The House will resume again here. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this particular situation has been given immediate attention as we speak. The department, the authority are working with the family, myself and the deputy minister on this particular issue, to try to make sure that it gets resolved in a timely way.

We are looking at the steps that are necessary, at least on an interim basis to make sure that the folks are close to the required medical attention. We are also going to be searching for a longer term solution. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister give us an idea of the timeline? What are we talking about here? A couple days, a couple weeks? It is an emergency, how soon can we deal with this matter?