Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the information I have is that in October, 2001, the then Minister and the Minister of Health and Social Services and the respective deputies, as well as the North Slave MLA and a MACA superintendent and municipal engineer, all attended a council meeting to review the water source option. It was decided that the...(inaudible)...for Marion Lake and Russell Lake be taken to cover a period of time over the whole year, whereby different turbulence would be able to be analyzed. As well, specific sites identified by elders as to where preferred sources would be located were also indicated.

The department has not moved away from this approach. We are still awaiting a Public Works and Service report from the consultants as to the results of these studies. I believe that some samples are still to come this spring, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the figures I have been given are three different figures. One was $1.75 million for the existing location, and $4.1 million for a truck from Russell Lake, and $5.5 million if it is piped from Russell Lake. The department's main concern is to bring safe water into the community. It is not the price. So whatever source is safe and meets the standards set by Health and Social Services and national standards as well, will be the deciding factor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Member that the department will keep in mind the expansion plans for the community, as well as keep the community involved in the discussions and the decision-making as to where the source would be, as well as the Member. So nothing is going to happen until everybody agrees on the source here. Thank you.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the role of the government is to provide the base funding to work with the communities and the health boards in the communities to make sure that core services are provided and that programs that have traditionally been funded, such as alcohol and drug programs, are funded.

In terms of dictating to the community or telling the community exactly how things are to be structured, that falls within the purview of the health boards. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so if the position for the director or the program coordinator has been vacant for almost a year, and if this government is providing funding to the health board to fund that particular position, is the Minister still saying that has been the purview of the health board and he has no ability to intervene in that situation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very clearly, now that the issue has been raised and brought to my attention, I will be following up with the chair of the board in Hay River, and as well with the department, to find out the particulars of this situation raised by my colleague and the detail that she has put before this House in terms of what has happened and transpired with those specific positions. Thank you

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What support is the Minister in a position to offer through the resources of his department to ensure that this very important position is staffed in the very near future? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very clearly as I indicated, the issue has been raised and brought to my attention. I will be following up with the appropriate authorities in Hay River. It is clearly the role of the health board in determining the structure of the services provided in the community. I will definitely be discussing the concerns raised here by my colleague, Mrs. Groenewegen. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, for the benefit of my constituents who have raised a concern about this issue, what happens to the money that is funded to the health board when a position remains vacant for almost a year and that money is obviously not spent on the purpose for which it was provided to the board? Does that money just become discretionary in the hands of the board to do with what they will? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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