Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to advise the House of the passing of a great educator yesterday in Yellowknife.

Mr. Cliff King of Inuvik was a dedicated teacher working for more than 30 years in Inuvik at the Samuel Hearne Secondary School. Mr. King will long be remembered as a teacher with a keen sense of humour who cared for his students, his profession and his community. He was a part of the school community, giving of himself in ways too numerous to mention. Many people in Inuvik will remember the 25 years Mr. King dedicated to his hockey teams and those he coached.

He demonstrated dedication not only to his students, but also to his profession. Most recently, Mr. King served as a vital member for the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association, in the current collective bargaining sessions here in Yellowknife.

His passing will be a great loss to our teaching community in the North, and for the community of Inuvik.

Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife Jodie and sons David and Jason. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Indeed our condolences go from this House to the family. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, as well, would like to rise today and speak on the passing of Mr. Cliff King. Mr. Speaker, I had opportunity to work with Mr. King in my role as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and his involvement with education as a teacher on the negotiating team. But even before that, Mr. Speaker, I had opportunity to deal with Mr. Cliff King as a young student at Samuel Hearne Secondary School as he taught me a couple of courses in accounting, and his commitment to our community is one that will be missed. It's difficult to express the loss that members of the community and his family would feel. Our prayers go out to his family for their loss at this time and to the rest of the teachers that he's dealt with and his friends back home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge a major milestone of aboriginal people and the Government of the Northwest Territories. They are reaching a goal set forth in Towards a Better Tomorrow. The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Government of the Northwest Territories ensures the participation that will give aboriginal governments more success in the business sector.

Mr. Speaker, the aboriginal people being the majority of the population in the Gwich'in settlement region, it is only fitting that they benefit from economic development through public sector contracts, providing employment, capacity building for communities and for the region. The seasonal work being considered as sole income for a lot of our residents and also for the North, has caused much delight, knowing the government has taken the steps Towards a Better Tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, this partnership will guarantee that both partners are working for the people and the residents of the NWT to ensure that the jobs, employment and economic opportunities stay within the local communities and the regions. With a more accountable system, the Gwich'in Nation would surely benefit from communities having ownership of the economic resources in the area they are serving. Mr. Speaker, the MOU intends that Gwich'in businesses be awarded 50 percent of public contracts for a five-year span. The GNWT contracting policies and procedures remain in place to ensure maximized local, regional and northern employment in business opportunities. This ensures that aboriginal ownership and work towards self-government in the Mackenzie Delta region is a success that allows for an economic footing in the developments that take place in the Mackenzie Delta and in the Gwich'in settlement region. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish the parties all the best and I look forward to the next five years of a fair footing for the people of the Mackenzie Delta. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that every citizen of Canada, including Northerners, has at least two fundamental rights, that being the right to access quality education and the right to quality health care. By way of this Member's statement, Mr. Speaker, I would like to help rattle the federal government's chain once more on behalf of all Northerners. Mr. Speaker, I fully support the northern Premiers' stand against the federal government. It is high time we tell Ottawa that we won't be their puppet on a string anymore. The critical state of our northern health care system demands that we do nothing less. Mr. Speaker, the recent decision by the federal government defining health care funding on a per capita basis has effectively taken away our right to quality health care based on the proposed amount of funding that we are to receive.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have to remind everyone that of the proposed $12 billion offered to the provinces and territories over the next five years, the NWT's share would amount to $15.6 million. Mr. Speaker, this paltry sum offered by the federal government is absurd and a slap in the face to all Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, we need to keep the pressure on Ottawa to adequately fund us to reflect the reality of providing services in the North. Residents of the Northwest Territories have the worst health care statistics in the country. In addition, we have the highest health care costs in the country. Yet, we are slated to receive the smallest share of the pie. That really goes to show where the federal government's priorities are.

Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat encouraged by recent developments that have come to light since the three northern Premiers took their stand. I am honored that the Premiers have a meeting scheduled this coming Thursday with the Prime Minister. I truly hope that the Prime Minister will do the right thing to ensure that Northerners have access to the same quality of health care as other Canadians. I find it extremely sad, Mr. Speaker, when I hear Canadian taxpayers saying that the only time the federal government makes any attempt to listen to them is at election time. It appears this is sad, but true. Mr. Speaker, as I deliver my Member's statement in this House, Finance Minister Handley is getting ready to deliver the federal budget in the House of Commons.

---Laughter

---Interjection

Order, please. The time for your Member's statement has ended.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to continue his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Proceed, Mr. Delorey. Brief us on who is going to be the next Prime Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, as I deliver my Member's statement in this House, Finance Minister Manley is getting ready to deliver the federal budget in the House of Commons. I anxiously await what he has to say. This will give Northerners a clear understanding of exactly where the federal government's priorities lie. Mr. Speaker, after the Prime Minister announced that he won't be seeking re-election, he has spoken at length of what he wishes to leave as his distinct legacy for Canadians. Well, Mr. Speaker, it appears that if we, as Northerners, appear to have our distinct needs ignored by the federal government, then this legacy will truly be a legacy of neglect. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to revisit the subject of gun control as it impacts many of our constituents of the Northwest Territories. January 1st has come and gone, a date that should be of interest and concern to all Northerners who possess firearms. As all firearms were to have been registered by that date, firearms owners must have a registration certificate for every firearm in their possession. I previously voiced a concern that the offices of the Canadian Firearms Centre both in Yellowknife and Hay River have been closed. To date, there appears to be no commitment by the federal government to reopen these offices. This makes it very difficult for many people to access firearm registration information and registration forms. Firearms owners are being encouraged to register through mail-ins, telephone or the Internet. Mr. Speaker, not all residents have access to telephones or the Internet. Not all our residents understand what the consequences of not registering your firearms might be. Not all residents maintain English or French as their first language. Not all residents can read or write. Not all residents have access to someone who will assist them with their registration of a firearm or their gun. Penalties for not acquiring a licence can result in fines or imprisonment or seizure of the firearm. Mr. Speaker, possession of non-registered firearms can lead to charges under the Firearms Act or the Criminal Code. The firearms office has indicated it wants gun owners to comply with the law voluntarily, but is ready to enforce compliance if necessary. If this compliance is to be enforced, how many of our residents will become criminals for non-compliance? Mr. Speaker, during question period, I will ask this government this question. What action and support is this government willing to provide to the residents of the Northwest Territories to ensure they do not become criminals for failure to register their firearms? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very early this year, residents of Yellowknife got a long-anticipated review of the arsenic storage situation at the Giant Yellowknife Mine. This was a well-received report, Mr. Speaker. It was quite technical in nature, but for anyone who took the time to read it, it really presented the whole situation very well and I recommend it to anybody who has any interest in this very dangerous situation out there. But it's something I have a growing amount of confidence in, Mr. Speaker, because the science and the expertise being applied to research this issue and the way it is being communicated to the community, I think, is very good. I want to reinforce my confidence in the process to date, Mr. Speaker.

Now there is another briefing tonight at Northern United Place of the experts and officials from DIAND and the public is invited to this. Mr. Speaker, the message I want to deliver is that this is a situation that this whole community should be paying attention to, should be involved in. We are getting very good support from the DIAND people so far, but the quality and the depth of the understanding and the commitment we have to the solutions that are going to be eventually decided on are really up to this community. So I want to urge people to take in these opportunities to hear what's going on.

One thing I have learned, Mr. Speaker, is that we are not looking at something that is going to be solved in one potentially huge and expensive solution. We are looking at a perpetual management situation here at Giant Mine. This is going to go on for hundreds or thousands of years. The kinds of decisions that we make are very critical to how much this costs and how effective it's going to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

I would caution Members to be careful with the words they use in the House. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to conclude my statement that I was not able to finish yesterday. Mr. Speaker, as I stated yesterday, the current capital planning process and formula to determine how the GNWT capital investment is spent and which projects receive the priorities is not serving Yellowknife any better than it does other communities. While a more transparent and standardized process could help, I am not sure that getting more justifications of where the little money we have goes is going to make it any less painful for us to accept that some of us will inevitably and perpetually end up at the back of the bus. Mr. Speaker, I believe the fundamental problem lies in the woeful lack of funds we are putting into the capital investment pot. If we are really going to tackle this problem head-on as a consensus Legislature, we need to make some difficult choices together.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we want to make this a priority and agree that we need more capital investment in small communities for job creation. We should look again at what programs we currently have to meet that objective and how well we are doing at it. Perhaps we should look at reprofiling or channelling our money for that purpose. Mr. Speaker, perhaps it is time that we came up with a way to address the situations of rural non-tax-based communities, which are different from the tax-based communities that have capacity to raise some of the money for their infrastructure. Perhaps it is time because the needs of our cities and communities are so divergent and incompatible that two separate capital budgets with different standards and criteria need to be created. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, the reality of taxing the residents of Yellowknife is not as rosy as it might seem. The reality is that property taxes continue to go up year after year. Many of my constituents are paying more than $4,000 a year just in taxes, yet they continue to see crowded schools, inadequate recreational facilities and no land in the city to build affordable houses. Mr. Speaker, the reality still is that the presence of a territorial jail does not do away with the need for a school and an arena. Yellowknife still needs and should be entitled to its fair share of schools, recreational facilities, municipal infrastructure and land development for houses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't want to seek any more unanimous consents.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Maybe we can credit you for tomorrow. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Well, thank you, Mr. Nitah. Best wishes go with the athletes. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

I would like to recognize a long-time Yellowknife resident, Mr. Richinger. He's been here as a businessperson for many years and he is now retired in British Columbia and is here to help us for the next little while. Welcome back to Yellowknife and to the Assembly, Mr. Richinger.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my Member's statement, it is imperative that we Northerners get our fair share of the pie when it comes to distribution of federal health care funding. Many examples of inadequacies in health care service come to light and we only have to look at our own communities to see evidence of this. I continue to hear examples from Hay River residents on what I consider primary care services. For example, Mr. Speaker, Hay River is without a physiotherapist and Hay River residents are still having to travel to Yellowknife to be treated by a physiotherapist. Would the Minister please state what his department is doing to assist the Hay River Community Health Board to successfully recruit a physiotherapist, so that the residents of Hay River can be adequately served? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the sad reality is that Hay River, as well as some other communities, is competing in a very tight job market for physiotherapists. There was at one point in the recent past a possible applicant, I understand, who chose not to take the job. So we are looking, along with Fort Smith, for physiotherapists. Mr. Speaker, the reality is we are competing across Canada and in North America in a very difficult and scarce market. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in October, I also asked the Minister if he would be willing to have a physiotherapist transferred to Hay River in the interim while one could be found for Hay River. The Minister stated, that it would be an issue that he would be prepared to bring to the table to discuss with other Members of the Joint Leadership Council, which is all of the board chairs, himself and the deputy minister. Well, it's now February, and we are still without a physiotherapist. So I would like to ask the Minister if he has indeed brought this issue to the Joint Leadership Council and what the outcome was. I certainly haven't heard anything yet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue has been discussed with the department and we are in a situation of having to rob Peter to pay Paul, as it were. At this point, we haven't come up with a way to take resources from one area of an under-resourced system to move into another area. So we continue to work with the authorities and the department on the recruitment side to see if we can fill that position.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, whenever a Hay River resident has to travel to Yellowknife for physiotherapy, you are required to pay a co-payment of $250 if they are not covered by another form of insurance. This is very much a hardship for a number of people. We talk at length as legislators that we don't want to see a two-tiered system for health care, but I am seeing one at work right here in our government, those that have insurance and those that don't. To me, that's two-tier. Would the Minister please indicate what his department is currently doing to address the issue of medical co-payments further to his answer in this House to my question of October 21, 2002, asking for the co-payment to be waived, whereby he stated that: "We have a review of a supplementary health program currently underway." Exactly where is this, Mr. Speaker?

It's such a good question that I am going to have to disallow it because it's not on the same subject that he started off with. He started off with physiotherapy, if I recall correctly, and moved on to something else. However, if you are indicating that this is on the same topic, Mr. Delorey, I will allow the Minister to respond to it. Mr. Delorey, clarify, please.

Mr. Speaker, my approach to this is they are very much related because, for physiotherapy services to be accessed, patients have to come to Yellowknife and they have to pay a $250 co-payment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. You clarified that for the Chair. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we currently have a draft paper on the supplementary health benefits issue and they reviewed it. We have passed that onto the Social Programs committee and we will await their feedback in terms of their thoughts. This is an issue. Mr. Delorey is correct, there are gaps in the current system. Those with third-party coverage have the benefit of medical payments and there is a very clear section of our segment of society that doesn't have that benefit of medical payments and it's not only co-payments. It's something we are struggling with and it has implications far beyond the co-payment issue.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister please advise why this department calls the $250 that an uninsured person has to pay for a flight to Yellowknife to seek treatment a co-payment? Why do they call it a co-payment? In my view, there is no co-payment. A flight from Hay River to Yellowknife costs $250 and the patient has to pay $250, so where is the co-payment in this?

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the general rule is it is a co-payment. I appreciate Mr. Delorey's point that it's very expensive, comparatively speaking, to fly between Hay River and Yellowknife...

---Interjection

...on a comparative basis, but the intent is to acknowledge that this is partial assistance and a personal contribution to what are normally very expensive flights.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up with a question regarding registration of firearms. I wanted to pose my question to the Department of Justice. I would like to ask the Minister if he could tell me if he has discussed with the federal government what course of action it would take with respect to compliance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a fairly lengthy legal opinion on several key issues that are related to the subject, but taking your advice from the previous Assembly, I will quickly try to summarize by saying that we have collaborated with the Saskatchewan justice ministry to take a joint position to the federal Justice Minister. At this point, we are still in the process of trying to put a formal letter together to the justice department since this very sensitive issue is...We want to take a joint approach Canada-wide. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for that information. It's good to hear that this government is trying to tackle this issue. I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell us the position he's taken, the joint position, they are formulating. What is the position this government is taking on the approach to this issue?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as well, I understand the three Premiers of the territories have jointly tackled this problem as well. Just to quickly summarize; in early November at the federal/provincial/territorial justice meetings, the subject was to try to see if we can convince the federal government not to conduct prosecutions under the Criminal Code. That is one of the immediate steps we are trying to convey to the federal Justice Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary question, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister then if he knows what the position of the federal government is on those persons possessing unregistered firearms. Is there an amnesty period?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am not aware of any specific positions taken by any jurisdictions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe it's quite evident that the larger the population of the communities, the more athletes you will have. Up to now, larger communities have more sports activities taking place of a different nature. Smaller communities, because of their size, more than anything else, have limited their various activities to the one or two that the community sees have the most participation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is more than one funding program that is being made available to the sports partners within the Territories. Some of it is coming, probably the major portion of the funding for sports activities, is coming from Sport North through the system they have for raising funding, through the lottery system. It is then distributed by Sport North to the retailers. MACA also has a program where we fund communities and it is based on population. Larger centres, because of their larger population would get larger funding. In particular, I believe there is a base limit for those communities very low in numbers. We bring the dollar figures back up so we don't go below a minimum number.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department's human resources in relation to sports and recreation are normally done through the regional centres. We administer our sports and recreational programs through the regional centres. We do encourage the department to boost the ability for small communities to take part in territory-wide sport activities through the regional sports partners and then through the territorial sports partners. We've gone one step further in that we are recommending an NWT sports board be created so that all the sports partners have input, including the communities, to how the funding is distributed by Sport North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. I realize that is a question, but it's going to require a long answer. We will let the Minister decide on the length of this. Mr. Steen.

Mr. Speaker, it's going to be a short answer. This morning I signed information to each MLA as to which people from their riding will be going to represent the games. Some communities have some. I believe from my community, there is nobody going, but I believe the Member for Lutselk'e, there was somebody going from one of his communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. I stand corrected. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the FMB, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the report has been completed. I have not received a copy of it yet, but I will follow up with the Management Board Secretariat and get back to the Member. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just in the way of some background, Mr. Speaker, medical travel assistance used to be provided for this treatment until the mid-90s and then it was deemed at that time that, not because it was not a medical procedure but because we simply had to undertake some restraint initiatives, we were going to cancel the MTA for this procedure. Is that, in fact, the case? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the FMBS, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, generally that may be the case. I look forward to receiving the report though, and I assume it will provide us with more detail on why this coverage was taken away in the mid-90s, but we will have to wait for the report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure you that any correspondence I receive from MLAs receives serious consideration. Most often it is passed on to the department and they take a look at the issues and get back to me as quickly as they can. I don't believe there is any outstanding correspondence with Mr. Lafferty. I believe I have responded to all of his letters and in fact any verbal advice he gives me I take seriously and relay onto the department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

If the road was unsafe, we would close it. We consider it safe. It is safe given the winter driving conditions people have to take into consideration when they use the road. That road or any other road in the Territories. We will put up notices if we feel that it is getting to the point where people have to take special precautions. The road receives daily patrols from the department. We continue to check out any spots where we feel there may be trouble. We listen to advice from the public. We have a toll-free line if people want to phone in with reports. Whatever work is necessary, we carry it on. In response to the Member's preamble, traffic count is only one factor. Certainly road condition and weather conditions play a very big role in terms of the maintenance that is done on the roads. None of the roads can be perfect. People have to use them with due caution and take into consideration the road and weather conditions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, the department does everything they can to make sure the road is as safe as possible. They can never make it absolutely safe for all people, including those who drive recklessly beyond the posted speed limits and so on. We can't ever have it absolutely, totally safe. In terms of signage, we will continue to monitor. I will take the Member's concern to the department and ask the people responsible to take a look at it. If we need more signage, then definitely we want to put that up to ensure that there aren't any accidents caused by the road conditions. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. This is going to require a long answer again. Make it short. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, if the Member wants, I can give him my information on the road conditions. I don't mind doing that. I can give him some advice on the way we are maintaining the roads. I am not an expert at driving a grader and I am not going to tell those people who are professionals how to do it anymore than Mr. Miltenberger will tell the doctors how to do appendix operations. That's not our job. I will give him whatever information we have. I don't know if there is one maintenance manual we follow. I think our professionals out there take a look at the road conditions and do the maintenance that they feel is within their ability to do. So, Mr. Speaker, I will provide as much information to the Member as possible, but I can't say that we could ever give 100 percent safe conditions for people driving in any kind of condition. Mr. Speaker, I went on the road last on February 3rd. I drove to Fort Providence and back. The road was in great condition for people who drive within the speed limit, but if they are going to drive at 130 kilometres an hour, it is a dangerous road. They should not be driving that speed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Interjection

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement earlier today, the 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide dust stored underground at Giant Mine is probably the greatest environmental situation we have to deal with here in the NWT, but a lot of good science has been done on it. Mr. Speaker, the community is looking at two options that are recommended. One is to freeze and keep this poisonous material in the ground perpetually or take it out and treat it and dispose of it that way. I wanted to ask the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development whether this government has taken a position on whether any of these options or anything else is the way we should go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering if the Minister would be able to advise the Assembly today of anything concerning this third option as he's mentioned, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is encouraging. I am glad to hear the department is engaged. Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned that there are other departments as well that have a stake in this. I would assume, for instance, that MACA, which is involved in some of the leases, perhaps our public health, Health and Social Services, are also involved. Could the Minister advise the Assembly how are these multi-departmental interests being coordinated? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

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

The situation on the surface cleanup is somewhat different I believe, in that we do have a more direct jurisdiction on the surface cleanup of the Giant Mine property. Could the Minister advise us of the status of that and any plans for the future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

We are back to business after that short pause. Your question, Mrs. Groenewegen. For the record, please repeat your question.