Mr. Speaker, this would mean some changes to federal legislation. At the rate federal legislation moves, it's going to be a long time before we would see it, even if the federal government did agree with it. It has implications for others who do business in the North. That has implications for others across the country. This one, although on the surface it sounds like a good idea, is a very complicated matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, another question for the Premier, and I don't know if they have had this discussion or not, but we collect the GST here in the Northwest Territories and in the other two northern territories, and we don't have a sales tax, so could the discussion take place with Ottawa that would allow us to keep the seven percent here in the Northwest Territories instead of sending it down to Ottawa? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We could have that kind of discussion. We will certainly consider it. But, Mr. Speaker, my focus has been on resource revenue sharing. We are talking about a net fiscal benefit of plus 40 percent of our resource revenues. I would not want to make a deal on something that gave us seven percent and then we are told by the federal government to be happy with that. I hear what the Member is saying. I certainly will consider it, but we have to look at the big picture and not get bought off on little deals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the deputy minister wasn't hard pressed. The deputy minister was clearly delineating his role, which is a bureaucratic one, and the fact that he could speak to the bureaucratic reasons and the planning that had gone in the department, but the reality was he was not at the table in Cabinet when the decision was made, when all the information was looked at. The deputy minister is a very seasoned, capable individual, and he knows, very clearly, where his role starts and where the politicians' role starts. That's what he was referring to, in my opinion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Well here we are, Mr. Speaker, dealing with opinions. It's one of the things that we're told not to ask about, but our Minister is offering that it's his opinion that the deputy decided not to step into the political arena, and I think that's a pretty good call on the deputy's part. Mr. Speaker, let's read between the lines. In making these decisions, the Minister clearly ignored signals from his own department that this move was a shaky one. Since then, he has also rejected front line concerns from medical, social, very well-qualified organizations about this. Mr. Speaker, my question is, how is he now going to respond to the 707 people who signed the petition, tabled in this House yesterday, on the same concern that this service be continued in Yellowknife? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're going to proceed the way I articulated yesterday in this House, that we made a good decision, a reasoned and careful decision, based on information that we had, and we're going to proceed with

the relocation of the Territorial Treatment Centre that services the territory; one that would be available for all children in the Northwest Territories. We're going to, as well, continue to look at other options that are out there in terms of trying to improve services in the North versus those that are currently being accessed down South by the youth of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, another document that was tabled and is now before the Assembly reviewed a list of children's care programs that have been initiated in the city of Yellowknife, serving this city since 1977. Six programs were identified as up and running, but, arguably, only two remain; two out of six in the last seven years or so, and the TTC is one of them. Of course, we now know that we're on the cusp of losing it. Mr. Speaker, almost all of them depended on social service and government programming to pay for them. That's dried up. Now how can the Minister continue to say that losing yet another children's care program in the community where at least half the population of the NWT lives, can continue to make good sense? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a territorial facility. I will restate, once again, that Yellowknife is not losing access to this program. They will still have the access, along with all the other children in every community in the Northwest Territories, to this program. It's just that it will now be located in Hay River. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I still know there are parents and staff who plead that continuing this service in Yellowknife is essential to them. Locating it to Hay River and having access to it for all the people in the NWT, including Yellowknife, is fine. But they are here; the community that has invested in it is here. Will the Minister be able to say that something will be planned to help continue this service for these people? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I've indicated that this program will be accessible to all the children in the North, including those in Yellowknife; that we're continuing to work on some repatriation options for programs that are currently accessed in the South that we think we are now in a position to offer in the North. We're working on that particular component, but at this point, there's no loss of access to service for anybody in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to our Premier of this House. My question to the Premier is, do we have a territorial vehicle replacement policy used by all departments that takes into consideration the size of the vehicle purchased and the energy usage? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.