Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. The next question I'd ask is if the Minister would give a firm commitment for the February session in terms of what to expect with the reintroduction of the Special Constable Program in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the first thing we need to do is assess the feasibility of the reintroduction of special constables. This is a program that's not, to my knowledge, used across the country anymore and I think what we're looking for is a specially designed program that recognizes the needs of the North. I'm not sure entirely how fast we can move this. I'll certainly press the case. I'd like to sit down in November with my colleagues from the Yukon and Nunavut. We meet with the other federal, provincial and territorial Justice Ministers to talk about priorities. This is something that I'm prepared to address at that table, but, of course, it requires federal government funding. So we have to find a way to convince the federal government that this program makes sense as well. I'm prepared to take up that cause and bring that to that table. Hopefully I'll have some news by February, after our November meetings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the special constables have played a special and very important role in our communities. Again, it's one of the many lists of things that the federal government seems to have some control over in terms of how many RCMP are provided in the Northwest Territories. It seems like we're left to the whims of the federal government in terms of federal funding. Are there any types of plans? I understand that the Minister has talked about meeting with the federal government and his counterparts. Are there any types of assurance or some sort of satisfaction the Minister can give in saying yes, this is going to be an item of high priority that the counterparts and the Yukon and Nunavut would jump on board with in terms of reintroducing the Special Constable Program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't speak for my colleagues, but I would indicate to the Member and to the House that they've been very receptive. We have discussed a number of priorities for the upcoming meetings. The First Nations policing policy and the extension of that to the North is one of the first priorities. I think this fits well in that regard also.

The Member should know that under our current policing arrangement we're responsible for 70 percent of the costs for regular officers. One of the reasons we're interested in the expansion of the First Nations policing policy is that the funding arrangements shift to 54/46. So we would have to come up with 54 percent of the budget. To be honest and frank, that allows us to put more police officers on the ground, and that's what we're interested in. So the best way for us to be able to do that is certainly going to be of high priority for my colleagues in Nunavut and Yukon, and I'm sure they'll be receptive to these discussions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker...(Translation not provided)

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Apparently the interpreter has stepped out, so we have no means of interpreting your questions in your language. Would you like to switch to English or wait?

Mr. Speaker, I can do it in English if you want.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty, if you want to continue in English, you may.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are directed to the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board. Unlike other regions in the Northwest Territories having a special relationship with the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Tlicho Community Services Agency, under the new Tlicho Government, has the responsibility of education and health and social services to deliver the special services outlined in this document or agreement. It's called the Intergovernmental Services Agreement. It denotes in the appendices our respective roles. So my question to the Minister is, will the Minister assure us that in matters related to his department he will respect the integrity of roles and working relationships as spelled out in the Intergovernmental Services Agreement? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to this government's role in working with the Tlicho Government in fulfilling our agreement, we are committed to that process, and we will follow through with what we can to ensure that there's a smooth transition or qualify that with what we can in perspective of how we deal with all our other employees within the government as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The chiefs in the Tlicho Government recently requested that early childhood programs previously run by First Nations government be turned over to an agency that runs early childhood programs and has highlighted responsibilities for the region. This is a good decision. It reduces duplication, facilitates integration and improves efficiency. However, Mr. Speaker, the Financial Management Board Secretariat and the Government of the Northwest Territories have erected barriers to such arrangements with recent requirements that all agency employees, with the exception of our chief executive officer, be GNWT public servants. This decision also blocks our ability to easily hire our traditional elders and other workers on a project basis, something we used to do before, Mr. Speaker, with this recent requirement with the full agreement of the GNWT. My question to the Minister is, will the Minister work with us to develop some kind of mechanism that provides more flexibility, facilitates service integration and avoids us having to build a large, costly bureaucracy which we cannot afford? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area of human resources and how we deal with boards and agencies, and in this situation now with the Tlicho Government and the arrangement that they're looking to make, is something that is not new to us. We have, on a number of occasions in the past as a government, tried to work with the boards out there that had hired staff outside the public service. That became an issue when we looked at our union agreements and how we operate as a government, and we had to make some changes in that area. So our hand has had to be changed in how we looked at dealing with boards and agencies and their ability to hire outside of the public service or the unions. That has been an area that we've had to address. We will look at this again to see what options might be out there, but that is a difficult situation; and until we get to a situation where we transfer all of the employees out of the public service or in that area, that might open that door, but that is somewhat in the future as the Tlicho Government takes on the programs and service delivery from this government. That may open that door, but at this time we're still delivering the program as a government, and through the arrangements that we have, that would continue to create a problematic area, as the Member has pointed out. So I'm willing to sit down with the Member to try to get a bit more detail on this to see what can be done, but from our past experience it's a very narrow bridge that we have to cross in how we deal with this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Given the issues that have already cropped up around the interpretation of the Intergovernmental Services Agreement, it is clear that the ISA by itself is not specific enough to meet our respective needs, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister work with the Tlicho Government and community service agency to establish a political accord that will ensure the integrity of the roles as outlined in the Intergovernmental Services Agreement, allow us the flexibility to hire staff, to hire our traditional elders, and also to provide a framework for the day-to-day delivery of services? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, as I committed to, I'll gladly sit down with the Member and those parties interested in trying to see what arrangements we can work out. Again, qualified with the fact that we have our own limitations that we have to operate within, and that will affect the outcome of that. But as I said earlier, I'll be happy to sit down with the Member to get some more of the detail and try to find some of the areas where there are concerns. When it comes to the Intergovernmental Services Agreement that's in place, or the ISA, as the Member has spoken to, I'd have to work with a number of the other departments within this government to get an interpretation and find out

where we are with some of the discussions that have been ongoing. Thank you.

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