Mr. Speaker, I believe the cutback in the hours of the ferry operations that Mr. Krutko is referring to is part of the economizing measures that the Department of Transportation has undertaken. Of course we always want to reassess the impact of these and we will certainly do it in this case. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me if there have also been cutbacks in other ferry service operations in the Northwest Territories?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not have all of the information in front of me, but I believe there have been some changes in other ferries, as well as the ones on the Dempster Highway system. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hate to waste a supplementary on asking the same question, but is it a yes or no answer? Have there been cuts in other ferry operations besides the ferry operations on the Dempster Highway?

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

Mr. Speaker, yes, I believe there have been cutbacks on the ferry systems. I do not think the one at the Fort Providence crossing has changed, but the ferry south of Wrigley has had some cutbacks and if Mr. Krutko wants a detail of changes we have made then I would be prepared to get the specific information for him. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister to look again at these cuts because I believe ferry operations are essential, especially in transportation where we have people travelling from the south to the north, especially when the time lines to travel are important. So I would like to ask the Minister, knowing that you have not implemented this across the board to all ferries, that you either be fair across the board to ensure that we all have the same service, or basically everyone receives the same cuts.

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

Mr. Speaker, the ferry services that we provide are largely dependent on traffic. I will have a look at the ferry operations on the Dempster. If we find that we are holding up traffic or creating congestion, then certainly we will look at making some changes. Thank you.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, after the last election we were told that we would see the legislation in the House by the end of 2002. Then we heard it was going to be the winter of 2003, and then the spring of 2003. Now the Minister is saying that all they can do is perhaps get it publicly released by the fall. What's happened? Why can't we see this legislation more quickly?

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

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it sounds to me like the Minister is laying the blame for us not getting this act done squarely at the feet of the aboriginal organizations and the claimant groups, which I suspect they will be interested to hear. This government spent $1.5 million in the last four years on consultation, so there has been a significant amount of consultation. It certainly didn't take the Yukon four years to get their legislation to match up with the claims in that region. Why is it taking so long in this region when they've had just as many claimant groups to deal with and they've been able to do it in the Yukon?

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