Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health, and it is difficult to know who to address this question to. I have asked similar questions to the Minister of Education, about the testing and diagnosis of special needs. As I mentioned earlier, it can take quite a while to get special needs testing done in Yellowknife. I imagine even longer in some of the smaller communities.

Education, Culture and Employment identifies the kids who need testing and then, as I understand it, Health and Social Services conducts this testing. Can the Minister tell me how long it takes to get testing done in Yellowknife? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of testing and diagnosing special needs is not as simple as the title would suggest. There are a whole host of different issues that could be contained in that particular heading of special needs, so it would depend on the type of special need as well as where it is being done in Yellowknife. That would be dependant on the type of special need we are talking about. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If, for instance, the school identified a child with a learning disability, who was then referred for testing to the Department of Health and Social Services, how long does it take to diagnose this learning disability? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, learning disabilities themselves are as well not a precise term, but I can tell the Member that access to specialist services and testing services is heavily subscribed to, to the extent that there are backlogs. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the significant backlog in this area, I wonder if parents choose not to wait and stick around for possibly up to a year on a waiting list, and in fact go south for testing, will we help compensate for the testing? Will we in fact pay for it? Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that for the most part, the intent is to use the services that are provided within our system. I know of other families that have gone south for testing of their children and have paid for that out of their own pockets. It is not an issue that I have a clear answer to. If the Member has a specific suggestion, I would be very happy to consider it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do have a suggestion and I am hoping that he would look into this. If in fact we do have a significant backlog, I am hoping that he would bring significant resources to bear to deal with this backlog locally. I am not suggesting we should get into the practice of paying for more and more southern diagnoses, just that we need to bring resources to bear to deal with this backlog now as soon as possible. Will the Minister confirm that he will look into this? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated during the review of the main estimates for our department, the $200 million we have in our budget is fully subscribed to. We recognize that there are pressing needs from all sides. We are working on a service delivery model and a core service document, and that will be one of the things considered; how do we deal with backlogs and access to specialists' services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I can refer back to my Minister's statement several days ago, we have outlined a number of actions we have taken since that news was released. We have had senior officials from the Department of Justice meet with the commanding officer of the RCMP "G" Division. They outlined a number of action plans and concurred with no cutbacks on some patrols. I do not have the specific details. They will also reinstate the DARE program and extend it into Hay River. We will continue to work with the RCMP "G" Division to look at additional funding and additional resources that we are continually being confronted with in terms of our budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate his answer and I am aware of his statement, but I did not hear anything in his answer as to what specific things he is doing to address the concerns raised in Yellowknife. May I please have the Minister state that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the interim, we want to give the city and the citizens of Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories as a whole, the assurance that we are continuing to provide the same level of service until we can come up with a comprehensive action plan that will address policing across the whole Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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