Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

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

Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for the navigation system and particularly for the ILS system is with NavCanada. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was under the impression that Transportation looked after our airports. So his department has nothing to do with getting repairs to the ILS system in Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that our department is in charge of the operation of the airport itself. That is, all the systems at the airport, with exception of the navigation system. The ILS is the part of the navigation system that gives directional support to aircraft that are landing. That is the responsibility of NavCanada.

As the operator of the airport we do monitor the whole system. So we are very aware of the damage that was done and our people are monitoring all the time the progress on repairing or replacing that unit and what the alternatives would be. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the department is the one that monitors the damages to the equipment at the airport if they are operating it. Would the Minister commit to looking into the situation at Hay River, the operation and look into having that ILS fixed in Hay River so we can get regular flights again? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The information we have is that the ILS antenna has been damaged pretty severely. In fact, it will have to be replaced. NavCanada has told us that it will be sometime in July, probably the latter part of July, before they would be able to do that. In the meantime, they are connecting up the VOR/BME system. That is the old system and that should be connected very shortly. I do not have a precise day of when it will be in place, but the intention is to go back to the VOR/BME system until they get the ILS replaced. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Your final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear the department is working on it. I would just ask if the Minister would check again with his department and his staff to make sure that this is being addressed in as timely a manner as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we realize it is important to Hay River and to aircraft that are flying in there. I will check into it and as soon as we have a specific time I will let the Member know. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I raised this issue in the House before regarding the number of children who are under protected status, who have either been apprehended or are finding their way through the child and family services legislation that we have in place. I have been working with the Minister and the community of Fort McPherson, trying to get a key component of our legislation to be implemented, and that is the establishment of a community services board. I would like to ask the Minister, could you give me an update on the status of that process to see if we have moved anywhere with that since the last time it was raised in this House?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that department officials from headquarters have been working with the Inuvik regional health and social services board and the people and staff in Fort McPherson to get a meeting together to in fact set up the family and children's services board that would oversee the placement committees that are struck on an individual basis to deal with children in care. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I for one am alarmed at the number of children that are in care. The last information I received in November, shows that at that time the number of children that were receiving services from this government under the child protection services was some 37 in Fort McPherson, 18 in Aklavik and three in Tsiigehtchic. I would just like to ask the Minister, do we have any updated numbers in on children that are still in care and has that number come down or has it gone up?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are updated numbers being worked on. There is a request that I believe came from the Member's office and we are seeking to comply with that. But the sad reality is that the numbers have not come down. The one piece of good news is that we are entering into more and more arrangements with the family, so there is a joint plan of care committee that allows us to provide resources but still keep the family engaged. But it is an area where we do not see a diminishment in terms of the need for the service. Thank you.