Thank you, Madam Chair. We talked earlier about these people that they have to know what they are doing in terms of assessing the properties. In terms of contractors that you mentioned, are they pretty well professional, or are they up to par in terms of how they assess the properties? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As I indicted earlier, this field is specialized. You have to have special training in this area. It is specialized and that is why we are also having a hard time recruiting in the public sector, because there are limited people in the Territories who can undertake this type of work. That is why we are requesting now that we do in house hiring so that we can get three more assessors to assess for us. It is complicated, as the Member knows, and once you get your assessment it is as accurate as the assessor can be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I didn't quite get the question, but is the Member asking how do we determine the rates or the mill rate? I wasn't too clear on the question. Could the Member repeat his question?

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Pokiak, just for clarity for the Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I understand the mill rates in terms of what the government put in place. I think the question I am asking the Minister is when he mentioned earlier, that every 10 years they do an assessment. I don't know if I am following correctly, but I am wondering which year I get my land tax, school tax sent to me, I am going to have to pay a certain amount. How does that fit into every 10 years? Maybe I am missing something here. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. I think that the Minister was saying that the assessments are updated every 10 years, but how they adjust the mill rates is another matter. Mr. Zoe.

Madam Chair, once we complete the assessment, then that is given to the Department of Finance. The Department of Finance has a mill rate, which includes property tax and the school tax, and different categories have different mill rates. If it is residential, then the residential mill rate is applied. Based on the latest assessment, that is how the department does their billings, year by year. Thank you.

Thank you for that explanation, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to talk a little bit about municipal lands again. In my region, we do have a final agreement; especially Paulatuk and Sachs, they are infringing on private land. I think this might have to do with the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. I am wondering, are you talking with the IRC with regard to accessing private lands for municipal services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Madam Chair. If I recollect correctly, through the land claims with IRC there is a process that has to be followed. If the municipality is seeking additional land, and if it happened to be private land, there is a process that has to be followed. There currently is a process in place. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to follow up again. I know Paulatuk has been talking about that for a long time now, and they would like to access private

lands. I think through your department or through MAA we should move ahead and accommodate the people in Paulatuk. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Zoe.

Madam Chair, our department can facilitate the request. If the request comes from Paulatuk, once we get that request then we can facilitate so that we can get it rolling into the process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Another thing I would like to talk briefly about is our shoreline erosion in Tuk. It is a big issue that is coming up every year, and it costs a lot of money; sorry to say that. Will your department continue to allocate funds to help preserve our community of Tuktoyaktuk? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Zoe.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, that erosion problem is an outstanding issue. It has been an ongoing issue for a number of years now, as the Member will recall. The department officials and the municipality are jointly working together to develop a long-term plan to see how they can resolve that erosion problem. It is underway now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Mr. Pokiak.