The honourable Minister responsible for Seniors, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the initiatives are communicated in a number of ways. Yesterday in the Great Hall we released the update on the seniors' action plan, the NWT seniors' profile. As well the Housing Corporation and Education, Culture and Employment both have information pamphlets and processes that they make sure are available at the community level for the areas they administer of housing and fuel subsidy and such. We, as well, through our services and social workers and people we have on the ground in the communities speak to those issues. We have a business planning process and we have, of course, the contact MLAs can have at their pleasure with Ministers. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to follow up on some questions that Mr. Roland was asking of the Minister of RWED yesterday, regarding the Gwich'in MOU. The Minister, in response to the Member, said that there were about $29 million worth of contracts in the area and they've been negotiating up to about half of that, so about $14.5 million. I couldn't help but notice in the listing of projects by community, that they include things like the standing offer for electrical power. In there it's noted as currently sole-sourced to the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. Another one is natural gas, which is currently sole-sourced to Inuvik Gas. Is there an intention by this government to change the sourcing of power and gas in the region?

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess my interest is to find out what the quantum is. Yesterday, the Minister said it was probably going to be half of the $29 million that would go to the Gwich'in side of the MOU. I am trying to get an understanding of what is going to be left over. If we are listing electrical power and gas as parts that are left over, that really doesn't mean that there is 50 percent left. There is no possibility of anybody else supplying those. So why are we showing electrical power and gas in this listing of contracts and including it in the $29 million?

The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I was really hoping to get from the Minister was that we weren't looking to replace the supplier in the region. For confirmation, would the Minister confirm that when it says electrical power in this listing of projects, they are not really talking about the supply of power, but rather about the provision of electrician services? Is that what I am to understand from this?

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

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday I asked the Minister of Health and Social Services questions about the consent form for supplementary health benefits that the federal government requires aboriginal people to sign so that they can continue to receive benefits from that program. The Minister stated that they would continue to ensure that all residents would have access to health care and that they wouldn't be impacted and that, if they didn't sign these forms, there would be a way of working around this. I am concerned, Mr. Speaker, on looking into this a bit more, if for example an aboriginal person goes to the drugstore to have a prescription filled or goes to get eyeglasses, what happens in that case? Is it going to be that the individual will have to pay first and then seek reimbursement from the federal government or from this government? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the immediate attention that we are paying right now is trying to work with the federal government and Health Canada to ensure that their consent form is appropriately crafted and it's implemented so that it is, in fact, fully implemented. The uptake across Canada has been very slow, something akin I would think possibly to the gun registry. So we have to make sure that the first battle we have to fight with the federal government is an issue of concern to the three territories. We have a meeting planned at some point in the not too distant future with the Minister of Health, and that's one of the items on the agenda because it affects so many of our constituents. The Member has raised some specific concerns that are quite detailed. The fundamental commitment is that nobody is going to be deprived of health and social services in the Northwest Territories. The level of detail that my colleague has asked, I don't have available at my disposal at this point.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has given some response about meetings that will occur. So when will these meetings occur to straighten this out or to get more clarification? As the father of six children, Mr. Speaker, who are aboriginal and qualify -- and there are many people in the North who have that -- all of a sudden are we looking at having to come up with resources to pay what was covered on our behalf through a federal responsibility.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again, we have been in constant, ongoing contact with the Minister of Health trying to get a date nailed down. There has been some kind of date set, but that has had to be readjusted for various reasons. We are still trying to get the final date, but it is going to be in the next couple of months. We also at the official level have had extensive contact. The Government of Nunavut has come out very clearly, strongly and publicly about their concerns, advising their constituents not to sign until the point is clarified. So we are looking at that particular approach as well, the key point being to get the federal government to recognize that the process they've engaged in is not perfect. The very least they should do is extend the deadline far enough down the road to work out these administrative issues. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister inform the House and residents of the Northwest Territories about the result of these meetings? It's one thing to have meetings, but another to start putting things into practice. So as soon as possible, will he be able to do that for us?