Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the formula finance agreement is up for renewal in a year. Can the Minister advise the House whether or not negotiations for a new formula financing deal have yet commenced?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes. Discussions with regard to the new financing formula we are hoping to negotiate have begun at the officials' level and I have had some discussions with the finance Minister as well.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in line with the questioning and the theme of the day about per capita transfers, has the Minister reminded the federal Minister of Finance that the federal government unilaterally cut our funding in 1996-97 and for subsequent years. Has he demanded that that funding be reinstated outside of the formula financing deal?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I have raised that issue on a number of occasions with the Minister of Finance and his officials. We are concerned that that five percent cut was made to our base. It is certainly one of the items on the agenda as we proceed with our discussions on the new formula.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it may be early days in the negotiations, but since the Minister has raised the issue with the federal Minister of Finance, can he advise the House what sort of reception he got on that topic?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, we certainly haven't gotten anything conclusive from the finance Minister or from his officials on the five percent. That is one item. We are also looking at other items that all inter-relate and will be part of the formula that achieves a balance for us. Those other ones are per capita and the provincial local expenditure ratio between us and the other provinces and the other one is tax effort adjustment. So as we look at the five percent, all those factors we look at as a package to see what mix would give us the best rate of return on the investments in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we haven't seemed to be very successful getting the federal government's ear in the recent past when we are talking about infrastructure funding or health funding. What approach is the Minister planning to ensure that the message about the per capita basis of funding not being acceptable gets across through these negotiations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, we have made a lot of progress in the last year as a government and getting the federal government to understand the opportunities that exist in the North and the need for us to have some investment money. So with the work that the first Ministers, Premiers, were doing last week, I think that has helped a lot. We have continued to work with the federal government on those formula items I have referred to already. As well, we have been looking at the infrastructure money and how that might best be built into the formula. So, Mr. Speaker, it's a very complicated process. We intend to complete negotiations hopefully by the end of this calendar year or early into the following one, but we need to continue to work together to get the best deal possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I made it a practice since being elected to this House to have a constituency meeting before session to hear the views and concerns of the residents that I represent. In keeping with that practice, I had a constituency meeting last week. I want to ask a question to the Premier. Most of my meeting was taken up on an issue that came to light and that was the memorandum of understanding that was signed with the Gwich'in. Members at my meeting were very concerned what this MOU means and businesses that have been established for a long time feel they may be losing out on opportunities as we go along. I would like to ask the Minister who is involved in drafting of this MOU and how many Members of this government were consulted and agreed on this MOU before it was signed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Premier, two questions there.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work and the lead on the completion of this particular piece of work was the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, so the details are to be provided by the Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think I got an answer to that question of who was consulted and who was involved.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Premier has referred the question to the Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.