Mr. Speaker, yes we do. There is a national test conducted annually. That is done by all boards. The choice is now whether they wish to go with the Alberta testing or the national testing. The national testing is done every two years. I believe it is called, off the top of my head, SATI -- I cannot recall the meaning behind the acronym but, in any event, it covers math, language and sciences, and it is done every two years, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Then is it my understanding that if there are additional funds required to implement standardized testing at the board level, the department provides those over and above the current funding? Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not have the answer to that question. I will have to get back to the Member on that.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would appreciate that response. I am also interested in finding out what it does cost the boards to implement this testing. I know, for instance, YK No. 1 implemented Alberta standardized testing at grades 3, 6 and 9 levels this year. I think that YK No. 2 is going to do the same thing. I would like a breakdown of what that is going to cost us by year, if that is possible. Thank you.

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

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I can provide that for the Member.

Thank you. 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. It is in the line of questioning I gave earlier.

I would like to ask the Minister, regarding the concerns raised by Metis organizations that consultation should take place before anything is done regarding the Metis Health Benefit Program, would he consider canceling the request for proposals at this time and have a meeting with the Metis organizations and Metis locals and councils to allow them to have input and give us clear direction on exactly where they want to go with the Metis Health Benefit Program? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated earlier in this House, I have already written to the Metis presidents to ask if we could gather in March to discuss the issue of Metis health benefits.

Even though it is strictly an administrative matter and there is a contract that is expiring, we will make arrangements with Alberta Blue Cross to continue the contract on a month-by-month basis.

I will agree to put the RFP on hold until we have time to have this meeting and put all these issues on the table and hope to get a consensus, so that we can continue on with this very important program. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister for that. As a government, I think we should consult on these types of decisions that have a direct effect on people's lives, especially in the area of health care and health care programs.

I would like to ensure the Minister follows up on his predecessor's letter and that we do have continuity when we have a change of Ministers, that they do check on what their predecessor was doing and the commitments they have made, so we do not find ourselves in this situation.

Will the Minister commit to ensuring that he follows up on his predecessor's commitments to ensure that this does not happen again?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was never any question that we were going to continue on with this program. We were seeking, through the Blue Cross contract, to provide continuity and practice good business sense.

The point is taken that consultation is very critical to the work we do as a consensus government and that is a commitment I have always had and will continue to have as Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not clear as to what specific program there is where, because of lack of infrastructure, a particular community is unable to capitalize on it. I am sure there are many of them, but I need the specific program identified.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. There seem to be two questions there, why and when. Mr. Premier.