Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak about the elders in our society, Mr. Speaker. As we are all aware, the number of elders in the NWT is steadily increasing. We are realizing the benefits the elders and seniors are contributing to our society as volunteers and for which they do not seek any fiscal or monetary returns for their contributions which are quite great.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT Seniors' Society will be meeting later on this week with some of the Members and attending a luncheon in the Legislative Assembly's Great Hall to socialize with government representatives to address some of the collective concerns such as issues on taxation, active living, medical assistance and other issues that the elders should be continually revisiting year after year with this government.

Mr. Speaker, we all seem to acknowledge the growing importance of seniors to ensuring the success of many programs and services of this government. We almost seem to overlook and under fund the essential programs and services that seniors depend on every day and rely on more and more as time goes on. I hope that we can, in this new budget, give more consideration for the true value of the work that seniors do for society which often goes unnoticed and unacknowledged by this government. Mr. Speaker, I hope that this government in the 15th Legislative Assembly will address some of the ongoing concerns that these seniors are going to be bringing to this House in the coming weeks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure today to recognize someone who made a great contribution to this vast northland in terms of his sporting career, a fellow team mate and a fellow collegian from Grollier Hall, I would like to recognize Mr. Ernie Lennie, 1976 Olympian.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me even greater pleasure to recognize Mr. Ernie Lennie in the gallery. Ernie is the chief negotiator for the Tulita Yamoria Community Secretariat and a cousin and good friend of mine. I would like to welcome him to the Assembly. Thank you.

---Applause

Welcome. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I can't see from here, but I know that a little earlier on, present in the gallery was a familiar face to Members of the Assembly and a constituent of Great Slave, Mr. John Huffman. I would like to recognize him this afternoon. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. For those people who haven't been recognized in the gallery, I would like to welcome you to the House. Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be directing my question to the Minister of Finance. Would the Minister of Finance be willing to lead with vision and demonstrate true accountability to all of our territorial citizens by bringing the whole global territorial budget under the Department of Finance for control purposes? Thank you.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I intend to lead with vision and accountability and be transparent to the people of the Northwest Territories. I might have a little difficulty in getting a message across and having my Cabinet colleagues

forego some of their responsibility in the area of travel for their specific departments. I would gladly look at what we can do in the area I have specific control of and also setting direction as has been done by setting the direction for 25 percent reduction in discretionary travel. In those areas, yes, Mr. Speaker, we would gladly look at what options we have available, and what we can do to make our system more accountable and more transparent for the public. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I listened to my honourable colleague, Jane Groenewegen, about the health care services in her community, especially the word "burnout." Mr. Speaker, we, in the Sahtu region, are also faced with the quality of health care services in our region. Mr. Speaker, the nurses are faced with numerous challenges and are forced to deal with many demands from the people they serve. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, does the Minister agree that the people in need of health care are entitled to be treated professionally and compassionately when they seek help in the health care system?

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me what avenues residents have to make complaints about the conduct of health care workers and what systems are in place for those complaints to be mediated?

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, in the Sahtu, there is a period of transition between the Inuvik authority and the Sahtu authority being up and running on its own, but there is a CEO in the Sahtu region. As well, there is a CEO in Inuvik. Those are two avenues. There are other professionals that nurses report to who can be approached. Of course, they have the avenue, if they feel they are not being duly heard, to approach their MLA, who has full-time access to me as Minister. If there is a serious formal complaint, if that complaint is put in writing, then we will initiate the appropriate review with the appropriate expertise to make sure that the review is done properly and that they adjudicate and make recommendations at the end. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. Can the Minister tell me what supports are available for nurses in terms of cross-cultural training and ongoing support in order for them to deal with the stresses and challenges of working in small communities in the Sahtu?

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as was pointed out in this House yesterday, the issue of cross-cultural training is one where there's a gap in service. Currently it's left to each authority and board to implement and carry on with cross-cultural training as required. One of the problems we have with high turnover of staff, especially nurses in the small communities, is being able to, in fact, do that in a timely way. So there is through the boards the capacity to set up that kind of training. Is it being done as effectively as it could be? I believe it's an area that I've already committed to looking at with the authorities and board Chairs. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.