Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to remind the Member that the ferry does belong to the government; we have that right. We have a contract with the contractor, and we are looking to see if that contract was breached. We want to be able to reassure the communities of Wrigley and Fort Simpson that we are not going to leave them in a bind, and we are looking at a number of options and looking at our legal position, and we will decide that today sometime. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly would like to hear further on these numbers of options. I can tell you that the people in Fort Simpson are probably sitting there asking, "What are the number of options?" If the Minister, today, could tell people those, so that they don't have to worry, that would be appreciated. People are sending us faxes, citing the horrible things that could happen. I don't even want to think about what could happen. Could the Minister clearly say today what the options are? Are we going to run that ferry tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. if the contractor does not run it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, we will provide that information to the Member, and all the Members of this House, once we have decided on what steps we will take, and that information will be provided by tomorrow sometime. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my last question would be, has the Minister had the chance to go to Fort Simpson to speak to the people and the ferry operators to ensure that we can come to a happy ending? Has the Premier considered that option to help satisfy everyone, so we can work toward some type of reasonable settlement to move forward in a safe way? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, we have discussed this issue with all the community leaders of Fort Simpson. We have talked to a lot of the community leaders from Wrigley; we have talked to many, many residents of Fort Simpson and the traveling public that have been inconvenienced, and public that are concerned. We have talked to the suppliers; we have talked to the stores, so we have a lot of information. We have had a lot of discussion, so we have a real good handle on the concerns of Fort Simpson, and we will take those all into consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the food and mail program, or the Northern Air Stage Program, as it is known, is an agreement between Canada Post and INAC. It provides subsidized air freight to these communities for perishable goods. There are 17 communities that are serviced by this program. We have recently raised the issue of looking at different options on how we can maybe improve the program by applying these same subsidies to air carriers, rather than just Canada Post. We have contacted the federal Minister, Andy Scott, and we have also contacted Ethel Blondin-Andrew on this issue. She has responded by saying that this is something that they are considering and would be getting back to us by this fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am talking about the pilot project that the federal government implemented in three northern communities. It is called the Food Mail Program D. It has been completed over the three northern communities. I would like to ask the Minister, would he give his commitment to lobby the federal Minister to have this program be delivered in the Northwest Territories within the 2007 federal budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to apologize; I am not familiar with the pilot project that the Member is referring to. I would have to get more information. I will have to take that question as notice.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. With respect to the program that is happening in the Nahendeh riding, I know that, particularly in Fort Liard, is where we had the greatest need and came up with an action plan. I would like to ask the Minister, at what stage is this action plan, and when will it be implemented? We have lost the summer now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are working with the community of Fort Liard, especially on a housing project where we've designated $1 million to build, with the mould problem there, but we have had some problems with regard to contracts and the change of leadership. I believe we are back on track with the community to proceed immediately with Dragon Construction. I believe the contracts are being implemented, and we are hoping to move forward on the four units this winter and continue the rest of them next spring. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The importance, and the priority, is let's get these units repaired so we can get our constituents and clients back in these units and alleviate the housing conditions. I just want to ensure that when we are building and renovating these units, that we do have adequate inspection services. The criticism of the past has always been that there haven't been adequate inspections along each stage of the way. Does the Minister have a plan in place to ensure there are adequate inspections at every stage of construction?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Krutko.