Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier is absolutely right, we do not want to wait five years. There is no sense in closing the barn door after the horses are already out and I am just afraid that there is a stampede in a certain direction here. I am not consoled or assured that we are going to capture the benefits from the resources for our people and, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier if he could commit to this House and to the public that getting this agreement in place as soon as possible is his number one priority as the Premier of this government; that in fact other things of lesser importance could be set aside so that he could focus his attention, I would almost go as far as to say exclusively, on getting this deal done. It is of paramount importance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Handley

Mr. Speaker, I agree with Mrs. Groenewegen that this is of paramount importance. I can assure you that it is the number one thing that I wake up thinking about in the morning and that I go to bed thinking about when I go to sleep. It is very critical for us that we have the pipeline. First of all, we have got to have the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. If we diddle around and the Alaska pipeline goes first, we will all have nothing in terms of resource revenue from that.

So we need to negotiate with the federal government an arrangement that doesn't see the roughly $23.7 billion of government revenues all flow or largely flow to the federal government and the other provinces who supply material. Mr. Speaker, out of every dollar that is spent or that is received in government revenue, in a study that was done for us by Wright Mansell consultants in this business, shows that we get roughly four cents on the dollar right now to keep in the North. That is not a fair deal and, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that this is the most important thing on my agenda. While I have lots of other things to do, I will continue to see that this one receives priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Your final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear that commitment and I hope the people of the Northwest Territories are listening to that because the Premier says that we need the pipeline, and we do need the pipeline, but we do not need it under the current regime of the agreements that we have with Ottawa at this time. Is the Premier prepared to talk tough? At one time, before the application was filed, I was hearing from some people that it's a sensitive time, we don't want to scare them away. But this pipeline is going to do nothing but cost us money if we do not have our rightful share of the resources and royalties from it and the benefits from it. It's going to cost us money, there is no sense in bragging about a pipeline if it's going to put us into debt and put us into the hole and have a negative impact on our people. So I just want to ask the Premier, is he prepared...Don't be worried about offending the producers and offending industry. Is he willing to talk tough on our behalf on this particular subject? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I can assure this House that I will talk tough on it, the Finance Minister will talk tough on it, and our government will talk tough at the same time. We are not ones to issue hollow threats. We will negotiate, we will negotiate strongly, but if it comes down to it, then we have to be tough with the federal government if it goes there.

I know, Mr. Speaker, that the Prime Minister's eyes are very much on the North. He has talked about working with us on a vision for the North, on developing a northern strategy. So I like the signals I hear coming, and I am sure that we can be tough and be good negotiators who come up with a deal that everybody can be happy with and is not going to jeopardize the pipeline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier, the Honourable Joseph Handley. My question is with regards to where the implementation strategy is for the vision for the arts. During the business plan, the Department of RWED, as well as the Department of Education, had requested our support for these projects. So without giving us details, I am asking the Premier where the implementation of the vision for the arts strategy is. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The questions are relating to issues that came up in the business plan reviews, so the Minister is not responsible to go into any detail on that, but Mr. Handley did you want to respond? Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly don't want to get into discussing what's in the business plan, but I can say that the standing committee has asked for a briefing on it before we release any information and we have, I think the Ministers responsible, Mr. Dent and Mr. Bell, have asked for some time. So we will work with the standing committee first. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and it was not my intention to go into the details of what was discussed during the business plan, however, we have been asked to support a plan that they have promised to deliver and the Department of RWED had promised to deliver this summer. The Department of Education has been responding and that's why I am directing my question to the Premier rather than trying to nail down two Ministers by them pointing at each other. So, therefore, I reaffirm to the Premier - it's almost like a double jeopardy here - I reaffirm to the Premier, when will this art strategy be released to the public and to Members so we all know what's happening? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, all I will say is that the standing committee, AOC, has asked for a briefing on this strategy before we release it and we are waiting for AOC to give us a date and a time for that briefing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. Item 7, written questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today with a question for the Premier, the Honourable Joseph Handley.

Mr. Speaker, what is the total cost to date that the GNWT has invested: in studying environmental impacts, feasibility, or costs; analysis development of any business plans; contributions to other parties involved; or, finally, by any other means that are directly related to the construction of both the Taltson and Bear River dam projects? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 7, written questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my written question is to the Minister of RWED. The Northwest Territories was built on a traditional economy by trappers. These trappers have supported many interest groups, such as the Hudson Bay Company, government agencies, churches, etcetera, in the communities.

1. How many full-time trappers are there in the NWT?
2. How many part-time trappers are in the NWT?
3. How many trappers are there in each of the regions?
4. On average, what does it cost to trap full time and part time?
5. What is the average income per trapper, either full time or part time?
6. What types of assistance are provided to trappers in the NWT?
7. How are the trappers being compensated for "potential development" in their area of livelihood and what is the process for compensation?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 7, written questions. Item 8, returns to written questions. Mr. Clerk.