Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, of course our first objective is to have management assignment program clients, enrolees who have the aptitude and the skill to be able to take on senior management positions, but I have had the same concern as the Member is raising that when I look at the list of who is enrolled in the program there are not very many aboriginal people there. We need to do more to encourage aboriginal employees to apply for the program, and to give them the training and skill development that is necessary for it. So, Mr. Speaker, I have spoken with the deputy minister and the director of corporate human resources to see if there is a way of being able to improve the program so that we do have a more representative population. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Your final supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad that the Premier also recognizes that it is an issue with him, and if it is an issue with him I think that is a big issue for this government, and I think that we should really pay more attention to the assessment process for eligible applicants. Let me just ask the Premier then just getting some feedback from some of the first round applicants that are involved in the program, when is this program going to start? I know a lot of these participants haven't received any developmental assignments, any activities or any mentoring or coaching or training of any sort to date, and we are going into the second round of eligible applicants in the program. So I want to ask the Premier when does the ball start rolling in the program and people start getting some training? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, the program is ongoing. All but five of the current people in the program have been placed or are on assignment. So the program is functioning for them. The deadline for application for new people who want to take the program or be enrolled in the program is June 15th. So if there are individuals out there that any of the Members are aware of, and who are interested in being in the program, then I would certainly be interested in their names and ensure that they have the opportunity to go through the application process. But, as I said, all but five of the current people in the program are on assignment or have been placed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I realize that there are many folks out there awaiting our presence in the Great Hall to deal with the Premier's Awards for Excellence, and that is actually the program I want to speak to before we go out there. First of all I want to confess I did not submit any nominations for this awards program, but, Mr. Speaker, I am concerned with the Minister's statement the Premier made today when he outlined who the recipients for this were. I don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to have awards and programs like this I think then it behooves us to show a little bit of sensitivity to who we represent as a government. I don't know who does the screening for these applications, whether it is like the program that Mr. Villeneuve just mentioned, where the Premier has the same concerns as the Member, well then I have to ask who's in charge and whose program is it then, and who is responsible for the Department of the Executive? I don't know how these nominations are screened but, Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the four recipients, the four main recipients of the Premier's awards today all are men, none are aboriginal, three out of four live in Yellowknife, and one has only lived in the Territories for 18 months. I am sorry, but I find that an insult to the people who have served many, many years in this government. So I would like to ask the Premier, what guidelines are used in handing out these awards? If they are prestigious and if they have meaning, then surely we should be a little more sensitive. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The nomination process, or the application process for people interested in nominating people for the awards is fairly open. It is well advertised to all the communities, it is advertised in all the regions, it is advertised at headquarters. People cannot make application, they have to have someone nominate them if they wish to be there, Mr. Speaker, so it is open to everyone. We receive the applications then, second, there is a committee of deputy ministers because this is a peer assessment process. A group of deputies then assess the applications and will make their recommendations based on that. There is no limit on how long an individual may have worked for the government. Some may have worked for a fairly short period of time, but have done a stellar job in their responsibilities. So, Mr. Speaker, there is no effort at this time to try and have a gender balance. It is based on applications. Basically the intention here, Mr. Speaker, is to have individuals who can be nominated by their peers, and leave it open to whoever may want to nominate, whether it is a small community, large community, male, female, and we don't put a lot of criteria on that. That would be narrowing opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier then that these are called Premier's awards, but it sounds like he doesn't have any input into who gets chosen, he doesn't finely screen the recipients in the end. Wouldn't the Premier agree that these awards would have more meaning and would be regarded more highly if he personally would become involved in it, and if there was some sensitivity to some balance of who works in the public service in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member that anything I put my hands on is probably going to improve substantially.

---Laughter

I will certainly take her advice on that and, yes, I would like to review this one because we did not get as many applications as I would like to have seen. So, Mr. Speaker, I think this is again another one that we will want to look at and ask if the process we are using is an appropriate one. The deputies, the team who are putting it together, tried to be as open as possible, advertise as broadly as possible, and open it up. But with advice from the Members, I'd certainly, for the next time around, look and see if there is a better way of doing this. I am always open to improving any of the programs we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to hear that the Premier will take this under his authority, and see that this program is intended for what it is meant to be. I will take that commitment, and that is satisfactory to me. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me one final question probably before the House adjourns for the summer. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services, with regard to addressing our special needs and those with developmental disabilities that are currently taken care of down south. Can the Minister provide me with some assurances about what steps we as a government can take in the long-term to address developing our own capacities for taking care of our own? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've indicated what the plan is going to be in terms of looking at the issue of repatriation as it applies across the board. As well, we have a number of other reviews underway; for example, the issue of trying to deal with the cognitively impaired, which is an area that is well requiring very special attention. So in the short term we are going to review what is possible as a result of the transition or move out of APYS. In the longer term we are going to do a client-by-client review, but also look at the level of service that is required and see what can be in fact done in the North, and what we are still going to require to contract out of territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The time for question period has expired, however, I will allow a supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. This will probably be my final question. It is just that I am glad the Minister is aware of our need to take care of our own. What direction is the Minister leaning towards of developing our own people? I am sure we have the facilities, but what can be done to develop our people in terms of how we can take care of our own, in terms of the special training, the special services that surround the provision of care by our people with development disabilities down south? Can we truly have those facilities and the people here to take care of our own in the future, Mr. Speaker?

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Miltenberger.