Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Ms. Sandy Lee on October 7, 2003, regarding the Northwest Territories sport, recreation and physical activity system.

On June 10, 2003, I met with Mr. Abe Theil, the president of Sport North, and Mr. Doug Rentmeister, Sport North's executive director, to discuss the concerns that were raised by their membership during the Sport North annual general meeting held May 23 to 25, 2003.

Mr. Theil indicated that the primary concerns raised by Sport North members included the following:

• • The cost of implementing the proposed Northwest Territories recreation and sport board, and the concern that it may take resources away from programs;
• • The addition of an extra layer of governance to the system;
• • The future role for Sport North in the system;
• • The process for selecting the representation on the new board;
• • The consultation process used to develop the recommendation on the establishment of the new board. Sport North members were specifically concerned about the lack of available information on the resources that are available for communities and sport and recreation partners;
• • The important role of volunteers and volunteer burnout and frustration; and,
• • The government's commitment to supporting sport and recreation.

At the meeting, I was able to respond directly to a number of Mr. Theil's concerns:

• • I provided a breakdown of funds that are currently spent by all sport and recreation partners in the Northwest Territories on administration, and indicated that rather than taking money away from programs, combining resources should help free up funding to reallocate to programs.
• • I clarified that the intent of the proposed changes was not to add a layer of governance, but rather to provide a forum for sport and recreation partners to share resources and programs.
• • I clarified that there is no intent to replace Sport North or any other partner, but rather to create the opportunity to allow them to work more closely together to achieve common goals. I offered to consider a mechanism to ensure the protection of existing organizations within the new body.
• • I reminded Mr. Theil that Sport North was an active participant in developing the recommendation for the creation of the new board, and was a signatory to the report that was submitted to me in March 2003.
• • I assured Mr. Theil that the department appreciates the important role that volunteers play in the sport and recreation system, as evidenced by our lead on the development of a volunteer support initiative.
• • I advised Mr. Theil that the department's plans to introduce changes to the Western Canada Lottery Act regulations were designed in part to generate more revenue to support the sport and recreation system.

As a result of this meeting, Sport North agreed to continue to participate in the interim coordinating team process that was set up by the sport and recreation partners to finalize the design for the new board, and to work towards solutions to the issues identified by its membership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.