Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is this policy the same for any type of injury? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Bell.

I would have to get back to the Member with further detail on the range of injuries and how they are treated by the pensions. I would make one point though that there are no taxpayer dollars, per se, going into these pensions. They are collected from employers. Recently, January 1, 2004, the governance council of the WCB did approve an increase of 3.35 percent for all pensions, helping keep the pensions in line with the cost of living. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it does appear maybe somewhat unfair if a person gets injured on the job and it disrupts the family income and then dies a short time after, let's say, that the income ceases upon the death of the injured worker. Would the Minister be willing to take this up with the WCB and look at this situation and see if there are any potential changes that could be made to the policy in this respect? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll certainly get the detail of these pensions and find out how spousal benefits and these kinds of things are affected, and what the current status quo, in effect, is. We can have discussion about that before we talk about improvements to the pension plan. I think it's best for me to find out exactly what the pension plan comprises. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. As a number of Members in this House have stated, we're very pleased to hear that the Cabinet may be looking at forming a joint committee on pipeline-related issues, and that the terms of reference and how that's going to operate and what kinds of subjects it's going to cover is forthcoming, we hope sooner than later. Mr. Speaker, I don't think there's any doubt about the fact that we almost dropped the ball on the benefits related to diamonds, and now again it seems like we are not being as proactive and responsive to the next major opportunity coming down the pipe. Things like diamond production seem to be underway, but judging by the allocation of RWED resources we haven't yet expanded our focus to this new game in town, at least not to the extent that I think we should. I would like to ask the Minister what exactly is available at the present time to northern business and residents who are interested in various aspects of participation and benefits of oil and gas and pipeline development. Thank you.

Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

First, I would like to say that I agree with the Member, that it's important for us to make sure that we get out in front of this file. The time is now and I know that this has to be a priority for this government and that it is a priority for this Cabinet. We have a whole range of business programs in RWED through the BCC, through Community Futures, through BDF funding, that are available to small businesses looking to take advantage of resource development, and that is no different for oil and gas. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Those are things that have been in place for some time and will continue to be and certainly would cover almost any type of economic activity, but I'm talking about things specifically related to the potential impacts of the pipeline. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister tell me who is the lead Minister in our government responsible for coordinating

the interdepartmental efforts of this government related to pipeline development? Thank you.

Minister of RWED, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am, and so it will be me, as lead Minister, who will be working with the ordinary Members to talk about the terms of reference for our joint working committee. Obviously, other departments are playing an integral role through the maximizing northern employment program, the Minister of ECE, MACA has a role to play in helping small communities and all communities be more able to engage in pipeline discussions and build the capacity at the local level. Obviously there are some negative impacts from any development, and the Minister of Health plays a very key role in helping us address those issues. So there are a number of departments intertwined here, but I will have the main coordinating role as Minister of RWED. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

It's very nice to hear you have the support of your colleagues on that side of the House. In fact, I would like to say that I'm very pleased to hear that Mr. Bell is the lead Minister on this, because I also have a great deal of confidence in his ability, as he says, to get ahead of this file.

---Applause

He hasn't had the job too long, but we are looking forward to what we are going to see come out under his leadership. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the activities directly under Mr. Bell's purview within the Department of RWED, what is currently pipeline related? I don't want to know about all of the general programs, it could be taken and applied to pipeline opportunities. What is available in his department right now? What activities are taking place specifically related to the pipeline? Thank you.

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

Thank you. We have a Mackenzie Valley development planning division. It is small and certainly needs, I believe, increased support, but it is working with DIAND and their pipeline readiness office so that we can develop some strategies for impact management. As these kinds of strategies are being formulated, I think it is important that we set the strategic direction at this level and have some control, and play certainly an advisory role in the development of these things. We did, jointly with DIAND, contract the McLeod Institute to sit down and develop options for collaborative approaches and strategies to manage these impacts that are caused by upstream oil and gas development. I think that there is some good preliminary work going on here. We are doing some baseline wildlife studies, and some other things of this nature. Clearly, I think we need more resources brought to bear on this priority, and not just the pipeline, Mackenzie Valley development planning in general. I certainly think that it makes sense to have ordinary Members involved and engaged in providing strategic direction in this regard. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question for the Minister would be, by his own admission, the Mackenzie Valley development secretariat or division within his department is very small. It seems that perhaps there is still a lot of attention being paid to other files. I would like to know if there are any plans to expand that particular activity, and perhaps look at reprofiling human resources and financial resources from other activities to expand the role of the Mackenzie Valley development secretariat. Thank you.

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