Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in view of the fact that the Minister has to go to Cabinet with this, could the Minister please advise the House as to who his informers/advisors are on what kind of recommendations you'll go to Cabinet with? Who are his informers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the committee will recommend a list of people that must be presented to Cabinet. It's not up to the Minister to make any sort of recommendation at all. In fact, the Minister does not make a recommendation as to the appointment of a judge. The Minister only presents the letter that is provided by the committee to Cabinet, and then Cabinet as a whole will make a selection. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in view of the fact that this part of the judicial system in the North especially affects the residents of the South Slave, what consultation has the Minister done, or does he intend to do, in helping him make a decision as to where the resident judge should be placed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the chief judge will provide some advice on this issue, as likely will the committee that's going to be making some recommendations. All of the information will be based on the workload that is found in whatever regions we have in the Northwest Territories, so it's not an issue of consultation. I have been contacted by Members of this House, I have been contacted by the mayor of Hay River and by the president of the Chamber of Commerce, so I have heard from people about the interest as to where the position would be located. I will ensure that, when this is considered, all the information is put before my Cabinet colleagues, then the decision will be made.

Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the Minister would make sure that he has all the accurate information in front of him on all aspects of this issue before he makes a decision. It is my understanding in reading the act that the Minister can make a recommendation to Executive Council when he does present a short list to council. Would the Minister commit that he recommends that this resident judge be placed in Hay River or in the South Slave? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My advice isn't that I can make a recommendation about who should be hired. It is clearly a decision of Cabinet, that a location or residence can be stipulated. But as Attorney General for the Northwest Territories, part of my responsibility is to present the case that the judges bring forward, as well. So I have to present the arguments that are given to me by the chief justice and advocate on their behalf, as well as keeping in mind the political sensitivities around the issue. I think that the Members can be assured that Cabinet will have all of the facts before them and will consider this appointment very carefully.

Item 6, oral questions. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. With regard to my Member's statement, I'd like to ask the Minister of RWED for the GNWT's current strategy for coordinating the GNWT activities relating to a pipeline being built down the Mackenzie Valley.

The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With regard to the Member's statement, the Member is certainly correct that this is one of the bigger challenges this government faces. He referenced the pipeline readiness office that DIAND has brought forward, and that is certainly something and a development that we are looking to work with. We do have the Mackenzie Valley preparedness division of RWED that is working in connection with the pipeline readiness office, and obviously there is a lot of collaboration that has to go on in order to make sure that residents are able to take care or take advantage of the economic development opportunities that will be coming their way. The Member referenced the community futures program. That is something that we believe is a cornerstone of economic development in the Northwest Territories, but it has been grossly underfunded historically. I think the Member knows that in the transfer with HRD in the early 90s, insufficient funding was transferred to cover all of the regions in the Northwest Territories. We have added to that pot with our own funds. The Business Credit Corporation has also made loans available to the community futures program at simply our borrowing cost. So we have been working with the community futures program to make sure that it meets as many needs as possible with residents of the Northwest Territories, specifically in this area to take advantage of economic development opportunities relating to the pipeline. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

I'd just like to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, if the government is going to create some kind of readiness offices or something similar in the near future. Thank you.

The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is something that we are having internal discussion about with the Mackenzie Valley development planning office of RWED that is heading up the government's efforts in this regard, but we do have a committee of deputy ministers that is working on the government response and we have done a number of things in collaboration with DIAND already and the pipeline readiness office. I don't know if the Member is aware, but both RWED and DIAND did contract the McLeod Institute to look at options for collaborative approaches and strategies to manage impacts and take advantage of economic development opportunities caused by oil and gas development. We have also, as a government, hired a consultant to help us develop a clear and achievable 2003 strategic action plan to take advantage of the opportunities as well. So we have had a lot of discussion about working in closer collaboration with the pipeline readiness office and these are discussions that are ongoing, but we do recognize the need to make sure that we have folks on the ground to help our residents take advantage of opportunities that come their way. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, I believe it is Mr. Roland. Mr. Speaker, my question has to do with a dispute that has existed between correctional officers in our facilities in the North and the GNWT as an employer. It is too complicated to go into, but this is something that a lot of my constituents have brought up and it has to do with the dispute between the government and the correctional officers on the pay scale. The dispute got to the stage where it got to the arbitration and, in the last conversation I had with the government, the government has made it clear that it would follow whatever the arbitrator's decision might be. So it was with great pleasure that I saw a notice on January 15th that the arbitrator ruled in favour of the employer. I would like to know whether or not the Minister has addressed his mind to this issue, and to get his commitment that he will follow the arbitrator's decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. Arbitration has been dealt with and we have gotten the decision. I myself have had a chance to just look at it briefly, but I intend to bring it forward to FMBS to have a decision on that and we will notify the Member as soon as we have that decision made. Thank you.