Representation with a different objective. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I would like to welcome everyone who has come to watch the Legislative Assembly. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my Member's statement earlier today, I wonder if the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services could respond on the lack of human resources to operate this very important CT scan machine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to tour Stanton Hospital and see that very impressive piece of equipment that my colleague refers to. Very clearly, the Stanton board and the Stanton Foundation have done a fine job. Through the budgeting process and the program delivery component, the Stanton board and their very capable staff address those particular issues.

As we are now moving into the business planning process for the upcoming year, I am sure that issue, if it needs to be addressed, will be in there. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I gather from the answer the Minister has given that he is basically leaving it to the Stanton board to make this decision. As I stated, I think I have given a lot of facts there that should alert the Minister to really look at this and pay extra attention. Does the Minister not agree with that, Mr. Speaker?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am paying very close attention to that particular issue, as I am with all the authorities as they look at the appropriate budget for all the health and social services systems across the Territories.

I would also like to point out that this particular piece of equipment has a radiology technologist and an imaging clerk employed to operate and support the operation of a CT scan. They also do work elsewhere when they are not engaged there. We have worked with Stanton to make sure we have the resources available. The O and M costs for this machine are about $365,000 per year. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think what I need to reiterate to the Minister is the fact that this machine is saving, by conservative measure, millions of dollars for the government. We also know that the Stanton board is one of the many boards that is experiencing a deficit and they may not be able to handle the resources from within.

If that is the case, will the Minister consider giving extra resources to this money-making operation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Stanton hospital is a territorial resource and it does provide services to all of the residents of the Northwest Territories, along with access to the CT scan machine. We are working every day with the authorities across the Northwest Territories health and social services system to deal with budget issues, to listen to the concerns raised in this House in terms of adequacy of funding and where there are service gaps.

We have a machine in place that is providing a valuable service. We will continue to see that it is operated and used and provides the effective service it is now doing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are support staff there but the fact is there is only one person who can operate this machine. The RCMP does not even post one person in their facilities. Will the Minister not agree that he must put extra resources into this? This is for the benefit of everyone in the government.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree there is a need to work with the Stanton board and the rest of the authorities to ensure that all of the services we provide are adequately resourced, and that the services are there to provide uninterrupted access to the very important services they provide. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, in the area of pipelines, following up on my Member's statement.

Mr. Speaker, when the issue of pipelines comes up in the Northwest Territories, there is much discussion. A number of different options seem to come to the table. I would like clarity on this issue and ask the Minister responsible to provide some information.

For example, the Mackenzie Delta Producers Group, they are looking at a standalone system from the Delta down to northern Alberta. When they talk about Alaska and Prudhoe Bay, they will be two separate systems. Is that not correct? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, my information is that even if both projects were a go, we would see two lines down the valley. Is that not correct?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.