Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have put a very competitive offer of a 27 percent pay increase on the table, and I would like to point out in this House that over the past number of months we have also negotiated an agreement with the UNW staff for three years, three percent per year, and we've also successfully concluded negotiations with the general practitioners and fee for service. So now we have 18 specialists left that we are negotiating with, and that we have put an offer on the table for 27 percent, and we are more than willing to sign a deal that is reasonable and sustainable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is still not answering my question. I'd like to know what are the details of his cost benefit analysis on comparing the cost of not settling this contract and letting the specialists go, and all the incurring costs to send patients south, to hire locums, to get extra money to hire new specialists. Where is his cost and benefit analysis? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the key factors is the question of sustainability. There is an offer by us of a 27 percent increase. The specialists have asked for 57 percent. We have looked at those costs, we have looked at the other upward pressures that that would result in, we have come up with a contingency plan that is evolving as we speak that will get better as we approach July 1st. As well, we remain interested and willing to sign any deals that are possible with the specialists, and we have a 27 percent increase that was our final cash offer. We've offered final and binding arbitration as a government. So we have made, I think, every reasonable effort at this point. The specialists are going to require some time to look at what was offered and we'll deal with that in the short term. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, his miserable offer is not getting us anywhere at all. He has doctors who have said no to his contract, he's facing the extra cost of locums, so I'd like to know, Mr. Speaker, what is he willing to put in a new proposal so that there is any possibility of bridging a gap between the two parties so that by any calculations, settling a contract with the existing specialists will cost him less money and less headache, I might add, than to start a new negotiation with new specialists. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a final offer of binding arbitration on the table at this point, and I think it's still a very satisfactory compromise to a significant gap between 27 percent and 57 percent. At this point, to do more right now would be, in effect, just bargaining with ourselves. There's an issue and there are offers there. There are factors to be considered. That will be done. We have three weeks left until July 1st. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government has made a commitment to invest its funds to raise the pay of alcohol and drug workers who are going to be called prevention workers, to bring the majority of them in as board employees. There is a problem in Aklavik, as the Member has stated, and the Member has been very vigilant and persistent in raising that issue on behalf of the community of Aklavik. Mr. Speaker, the intention is to work with the Inuvik Health and Social Services Board to hire an individual to live in the community, to provide those services that would be a board employee but residing in Aklavik. They are working on the reclassifications of the various positions as we speak, and it is our hope within the next few months to be able to staff the position in Aklavik. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't believe the community of Aklavik can wait a few months. People are being refused access to alcohol and drug programs because the services are not offered in the community. We have children who are being excused from the classroom because of behaviour problems, not being able to have counsellors in the community to assist these children. This is an essential service in a small community, and I think it's important as a government that we assist wherever we know that those pressures are in our communities, especially alcohol which has a high impact on our communities. It has to be dealt with and we have to look at alternatives. I'd like to ask the Minister can he move a lot faster than having to wait a few months?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will continue to push the department to do the necessary reclassifications and all the other administrative steps we have to follow as soon as possible, and for them to speed up where possible. I'll also commit to the Member that we'll have contact made with Inuvik to see if there are ways, while that process is completing itself, to provide better support to Aklavik on a more regular basis, keeping in mind that the money for the program in Aklavik currently resides with the board in Inuvik. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister to get directly involved in this one. I have a problem where dollars that are allocated to our communities are sitting in the hands of the regional health board. It's not being allocated to the communities that those dollars are directed to. So I'd like to ask the Minister could you enquire why these dollars have been sitting in the hands of the Inuvik Health Board for two years and that position has not been filled in Aklavik for two years?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to first reassure the Member that if he or any other MLA comes to my office with a concern, I personally take note and follow up on those issues to try to resolve them. The Member has been in my office and knows that this is an issue that I'm paying attention to. I can check on the past, but more importantly I would like to continue to work with the Member to look at how we can improve things from here on in as we do that longer-term resolution in the next few months. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister is that we have all these so-called specialists at the regional level, but for some reason we don't seem to see them too often in our communities. So I'd like to ask the Minister in the interim could you have someone reallocated to the community of Aklavik to fill that position knowing that people are in the system who are presently being paid and who can do the job until a permanent position has been filled from outside? I'd like to ask the Minister can you make the attempt to put someone there so at least the service is being provided to the community of Aklavik?

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