Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All petitions that I receive are normally sent to the staff to make sure that it is handled properly and filed, so that it can be tabled in this Legislature. I hope that is what is being done. We still have two days left in this session to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier, knowing the outcry of the community of Aklavik and the comments he heard while he was there, as the Premier of this government, I would like the Premier to state, will he be responding to the community of Aklavik regarding their concerns on this particular matter?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Chair is not comfortable with the question the way it is being asked, because it is not a document that is before the House. I would just caution the Member that you are speaking to the Premier on an issue that the Chair is unaware of. Mr. Krutko, maybe you should phrase it a little differently. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the meeting I am talking about, for which the Premier and I were present, was a public meeting. The Premier and I are aware of this matter, so he does have knowledge of this meeting. I would like to ask the Premier again, exactly what will his government do regarding the concerns raised by the residents of Aklavik regarding the meeting the Premier and I attended, about the issue of the assistant deputy minister?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I received a petition from the community at the time of a tour with the Member for the Mackenzie Delta. We are going to be tabling that petition and responding appropriately. I will not be responding to the community, as to discussing and negotiating in a public forum, matters between the government as an employer and individuals within its employment, and the nature of the relationship and the way we deal with our employees. It is not the proper forum and I would not want to see it politicized any more than it has been. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Premier hit the nail on the head when he said the way this thing was handled, because it definitely was mishandled from the word go. I, for one, made it clear at the meeting the Premier was at that if nothing was done prior to this House resuming, I was going to ask for the resignation of the Minister of Education. I, for one, feel that the Minister and the Premier have a responsibility to ensure, not only to the people of the North, but to the civil servants who are in our government, that there has to be some directive given that the way this was handled does not happen again.

I would like to ask the Premier, will there be a change in the directive in regard to how you deal with employees who are laid off with pay because of conduct or whatever happened within the department? Is there anything that is going to be coming down on this matter from the Premier's office?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government is committed and will always try to do its best to treat its employees in the most fair and professional way that they deserve. It is also a relationship that has two sides. We expect our employees to also adhere to a certain mode of conduct, be professional, rational and level-headed, with consideration for everyone involved. That has always been the basis on which we have tried to deal with our employees.

Of course, no one is perfect. The government is not, nor are our employees. We try to take that into account when we are dealing with one another. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently in discussions with the department on this I became aware that there was a 9 percent administration fee.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister aware that there has been a major increase in that administration fee, which is now 16 percent, a 7 percent increase with respect to the administration of those water and sewage service agreements, which will be...

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been given to understand that Public Works reduced the administration fee to 6 percent from 9 percent. However, we included those costs that are associated with the projects, other than the administration aspects of it.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister clarify, are we are talking 16 percent? We are not talking 5 percent here. The increase is 16 percent with regard to the costs associated with this contract.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Public Works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that for the sake of accuracy I am going to take the question as notice and respond to the Member in writing.

Thank you. The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. Item 7, written questions. Item 8, returns to written questions. Item 9, replies to opening address. Item 10, petitions. Item 11, reports of standing and special committees. Item 12, reports of committees on the review of bills. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.