Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that some of the special events come very quickly, but I do know the board had at least a week to consider this application.

The other side of the concern is that one of the operators in Yellowknife did not get a response until Friday night for something that was supposed to happen on Sunday. I am talking about giving enough notice so there can be some leeway for operators to respond.

Would the Minister commit to relaying that information to the board? I think it should be both ways. People should be expected to apply as soon as possible and the board should respond as soon as possible.

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

Yes, Mr. Speaker, the Member has a good point and I will get that message to the board. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the big budget, the main budget, flows through the Inuvik Regional Health Authority and they in turn make arrangements with the NGOs in the various communities. They make the decisions in terms of what they want to fund and how they want to fund it.

We, the government, monitor how funds are spent, and that the legislative mandate is adhered to. Do we comply with all the other statutory obligations of the programs that we have under our purview? At the level the Member is talking about in terms of a decision made by a local group to bring in some type of traditional knowledge healer, that is something that would be dealt with at the community level. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, without the benefit of the detailed information regarding the types of traditional healing that my colleague is referring to, I am unable to give a real definitive response. The whole area of traditional knowledge, traditional healing, is one where there is no black and white kind of description.

If the Member would share that information with me I would be very willing to follow-up on that. I would also, just by virtue of the fact that it has been raised in this House, be raising that information and passing it on with people in Inuvik. 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 question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services in regard to my Member's statement.

Mr. Speaker, the department has put out a request for proposals for the administration of the Metis Health Benefits Program. Mr. Speaker, his predecessor, Mrs. Groenewegen, clearly stated in a letter she wrote to the Metis local presidents that before any changes take place, consultation will take place with all Metis communities and Metis councils before any changes to the Metis Health Benefit Program are considered.

Yet, Mr. Speaker, right now there is a proposal out there. I believe it is still open for the next couple of weeks. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, why is it that he has put out this call for proposals knowing that his predecessor has, through a letter to the Metis locals, said that consultation will take place before any changes happen? Why has that not happened?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this particular request for proposals is just part of the daily business of the Department of Health and Social Services. The contract for the payment of Metis claims has been with Blue Cross. That particular contract expires March 31st, 2002. It was only deemed to be good sense to put out a request for proposals to ensure that we could continue the payment side of this very important program.

It has nothing to do with the eligibility or who gets benefits. All they do is process the claims. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the call for proposals, was there consultation with the Metis organizations that there was going to be a call for proposals to allow for the private sector to deliver the Metis Health Benefit Program through this proposal?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the fact that this particular function was seen to be purely administrative and part of making sure that there was no lapse in the contract and the service delivery, it was not deemed to be a change in any way to the Metis health benefits. It was dealt with strictly as an administrative matter, hence the request for proposals in the paper. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, was the reason for the call for proposals because the South Slave Metis Council asked for the ability to deliver the Metis Health Benefits Program for their membership?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me restate very clearly, if I may, that the current contract arrangement with Alberta Blue Cross expires March 31st, 2002. That was the reason there was a request for proposals put out. It had nothing whatsoever to do with any possible interest expressed by the South Slave Metis Tribal Council in terms of the administration of the Metis health benefits for their own members. Thank you.

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