Would the Minister be able to advise us as to what issues of MACA concerns, if any, they talked about if there were no concerns raised about this? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Zoe.

Madam Chair, he talked on a few issues, but the main one that they were more concerned about was trying to acquire a building that they could see if they could raise money and operate a particular building. That building currently is the property of the government. So he raised it to see the possibility of them acquiring or buying that particular building. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a question on a separate item and it has to do with the extra resources that the department is asking for the property assessment. I do believe this has been an ongoing issue in the department for a while and there have been efforts for a long time to speed up the process with respect to getting the assessments done in the communities especially, I believe. Having said that, I just wanted to ask a question to the Minister about something I have heard about. There is some talk out on the street that there is going to be a major move on the part of MACA to reassess the mining properties in the Lac de Gras area or Slave province. I'd like to get confirmation from the Minister as to whether or not this is, indeed, the plan and whether that is the reason why these additional positions are being asked for. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Zoe.

Madam Chair, with regard to the issue the Member is raising, we are not reassessing the properties in Lac de Gras. I'm not sure where you heard that, but one of the things that we're doing in house is that we're reviewing other jurisdictions to see what type of assessments they do. We're looking at all jurisdictions where we're going to be reviewing our Property Assessment and Taxation Act. We're doing an in house review and looking at other jurisdictions as to the types of things that they assess and tax so that we're no different or no less than other jurisdictions. We feel that our current legislation is outdated and we'd like to bring it up to date. So we are doing some work in house and that may have triggered some people on the street saying that, oh, they're looking at reassessing us. That's not the case, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have one more final follow-up question on that, just on what the duties of the additional assessors that the department is asking for are. I was just assuming that these new positions would be involved in assessing properties in communities. That they would actually be out into the communities to actually make sure that the assessment is done so the government can raise proper revenues. Now I'm hearing from the Minister that they will be engaged in updating the legislation and doing a cross-country sort of survey on how things are done. Could I get the Minister to explain whether or not these new positions will be involved in any actual assessing of the properties? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. May I remind the Members to engage in inside conversation outside the Chamber? Thank you. Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Chairman, in response to Ms. Lee, these assessors will be doing assessment work. They're not going to undertake the legislation review. A different section of the department is going to be doing the review that I mentioned. Earlier on when Mr. Delorey was asking me questions I did make reference to these positions. You weren't in the House then. I'm not sure if you caught it, but I did make reference to it and these people will be doing the actual assessment at the community level and outside the communities also. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think that the Minister should be aware that I was listening to what he was saying and, in fact, I was asking these questions on the basis of what he said in response to my question. Anyway, I am generally in favour of what this initiative is trying to do, I just wanted to confirm my understanding of what it was and clarify any of the new information that I have received. I would appreciate it, Mr. Chairman, if you would remind the Minister that he's not supposed to say who is here or not, because we do do other work outside of here, too. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee, for that information. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm glad that my colleague agrees with the request that our department is making in regard to these assessors because they are a very important component of our operations and it does generate funding for tax-based and non-taxed-based. So I'm glad that she is aware of the significance of the work that these people do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Ms. Lee. Thank you. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, although it was briefly touched upon on sports and recreation programs, Ms. Lee brought up a comment which drew out a bit of an answer with regard to Sport North by the Minister. Presently, what is the position of the

department and the work done to date with regard to finding a permanent home for Sport North? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is working very closely with the people of the Sport North Federation. We are assisting them in any way, shape or form for them to acquire their own home. We are in the works right now talking with the Department of Public Works and Services in regard to trying to acquire a building that is currently available for them to try to acquire. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is that building that you're presently working with the Department of Public Works and Services a public asset at this time, or is it an asset belonging to someone in the private industry? If it's a public asset, can you let us know which asset that may be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Zoe.

Currently the building that we're looking at is a government asset. It's here in the city of Yellowknife and we're currently working with Public Works and Services to see the possibility of acquiring the building for the sports council and Sport North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Hawkins.