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

So, Mr. Speaker, it seems that there is just no appreciation of the situation there or the timing on this. We have 20 days in which to do something, and all that I am hearing is that there is an offer to arbitrate and that the specialists might be ready to do something at the very last minute, the 11th hour. I hardly find this adequate. Does the Minister need to go back to Cabinet? What does the Minister have to do to get some kind of mandate to restart negotiations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we ended the formal process with a significant difference. We offered what we think is a very reasonable, fair alternative given the significant 30 percent gap in the wage demands. That is arbitration. That is a process that is there that is impartial with a third party that can bring a resolution to this issue. That offer has not been taken off the table even though formal negotiations are over. That was what we suggested as a very fair compromise. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure I have this absolutely clear; that our government has abandoned, given up, shut the door completely on restarting formal negotiations. Is that correct?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have just indicated, we have an offer of arbitration on the table. All the specialists involved signed individual contracts and at the end of the day, they won't be having to look at those contracts, the offer we have made, the fact that we are going to be back into negotiations in about six months and make some decisions. Mr. Speaker, we think a 27 percent increase is very fair over two years. Most jurisdictions aren't that high in over three years. So, Mr. Speaker, we think this is a very fair offer. As I indicated to this House, I understand that there are meetings among the doctors taking place this week. So we stand with our offer out there for arbitration and a very fair package.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. We've heard a lot of talk in the Chamber today about negotiated contracts and the business incentive policy. We've also been talking about contingency plans. I am wondering when we talk about negotiated contracts, there are different reasons for doing them and I think most of them understand what most of those motivations and reasons are. We talk about storefronts, but not all businesses that are losing out on contracts are storefronts. Many of them are businesses that have been here 10, 20, 40 years in the North and who need government business in order to survive and to ensure the viability of their business. What is the contingency plan on the part of this government for those businesses who have been here, have employees, have tremendous investment in the North, when negotiated contracts take away their access and opportunity to bid on contracts? What is the contingency plan for those businesses? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, not every type of business can survive just by doing business right within their community. Many companies need to look at the availability of work on a larger scale in the region. Even small, aspiring companies will want to think about eventually offering their goods or services to a larger marketplace. I think we still have free trade in the Northwest Territories. I think it's okay to work in our communities. I want to know how we are going to balance, as a government, the aspirations of those businesses in the small communities -- as the Minister said primarily aboriginal -- how are we going to balance that without not disrupting completely the life's work and investment of other companies in the same region? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the government given any consideration to how they can accommodate the aspirations of new fledgling communities from smaller communities and, at the same time, protect the viability and the investment of larger companies? Has the government given any consideration to how that can be accomplished?

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be interested in participating in that because it is an issue and it can become a problem. I would like to suggest that where there is a desire for new companies to start, that the government seriously consider how they might make a transition in terms of ownership rather than just straight out market disruption and killing off some of these long-established companies by a slow death through negotiated contracts or by other means. Would the Minister consider it worthwhile to look at how aboriginal companies could become involved in some of these companies, perhaps in a way that could allow them to take them over, as opposed to just seeing them go out of business? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.