Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know, from talking to operators, that operators tell me they need to see better contributions. I know, from talking to parents, they tell me they need to see greater contributions. But what we have right now is that we have a situation where we have a program. Everybody knows when they come in what the levels of support are. I would dearly love to have the money to increase the support to them, and I am confident that we will see that. I am confident that our Premier will go above Minister Dryden's head, to the Prime Minister, and we will see this money come in on an equitable basis into the Northwest Territories, so we can add to the program.

The Member makes it sound like we are losing spaces, we are losing day care operators. There is always a turnover of operations and spaces. On March 31, 2002, there were 76 programs in the Northwest Territories, and at March 31, 2005, there were 99 programs in the Territories. So programs have increased in that period of time, and we have increased not just the programs, but the total number of registered spaces in the Northwest Territories, over the same period of time, by 150. So, Mr. Speaker, the program is not a total failure. Yes, it could use more money, but with that sort of growth over the four years, we can say that the people are finding a way to operate.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, I don't think the program is a total failure, but it surely is on a life support system, at the moment. We witnessed the facility in Lutselk'e, we are seeing it in Smith and even in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker. It's not only me who is speaking to this. It's all over the place. Everybody can see that this government has to do more for the day care program. Whatever came up from the federal government, that's just another issue we have to deal with. The Minister had an opportunity to deal with recommendations by the Status of Women Council, who did a report, which I filed last week, which suggested there needs to be more support. Why can this government bail out millions of dollars for diamond companies? Maybe the government can start giving guarantees to tele-care facilities. Would the Minister look into increasing the funding that we give to day care centres, immediately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take a look at what options we might have, within the existing budget, to see whether or not we can improve it. We have already started the process of examining how we could make some minor changes that might improve the cash flow to parents in the next little while here, but we are constrained by how much money we have in the budget. While the Member talks about bail-outs to diamond companies, that isn't something that Education, Culture and Employment was involved in. Yes, Education, Culture and Employment has $250 million worth of contributions coming in, but we have an equal amount of expenditures going out, all in extremely important areas, whether it is for special needs for kids in schools, or the seniors' supplement. We have a tremendous number of important programs that we are supporting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that we, in this House, do not approve every penny of the budget, line by line, cent by cent. We give power to the Minister to do the right things. Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that there is one thing that the department could change...Sorry, that has nothing to do with costing money. I have been getting a lot of correspondence from the Fort Smith day care, and previous to the correspondence, from the Minister. I tell you, they are not listening to each other. They are not talking to each other. Would the Minister instruct the staff to do a better job in listening to day cares that have problems, so that they can help them, and not burden them with extra work and harassment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department puts the exact same conditions for reporting on every single day care. We have gone to tremendous lengths, in the last year, to develop easy-to-understand forms and books, to outline how to start a day care, what the reporting requirements are, what the accountability structures are, and that is what we expect. We need to know that our children are safe. We need to have the reporting requirements in place, so that we know that children are being looked after properly, because the government puts its stamp on these places. If it is a regulated day care, we have to make sure that we have an adequate level of reporting. I can tell the Member, and all Members here, that people in our regional offices work, on a regular basis, with people who operate day homes and day cares, to help them to look for ways in which they can improve their operations. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just need to be very clear that I am not, in any way, speaking about regional staff. I am not, in any way, suggesting that the Minister does not require these organizations to meet standards. But, Mr. Speaker, as a lay person, listening to and reading communication between the department and the centre, I am telling you, they are not on the same page whatsoever. I am suggesting that, if an organization is about to close this week, the kinds of questions the department is asking, and the letter that came out of ...

Do you have a question, Ms. Lee?

Mr. Speaker, the letter that came out of the deputy minister's office, and the letter that Aurora College sent telling them that the place will be shut down, is just not nice for a facility that is trying to survive. I would like to ask the Minister if he could review that correspondence, and could the government be better, and more accommodating, and more sympathetic, to a centre that is in a dire situation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will review that correspondence. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ITI, the Honourable Brendan Bell. Mr. Speaker, in my region, there is a high number of harvesters/trappers. There is some confusion, since the region split, of RWED and the programs that I have looked at under the 2005-2006 Main Estimates. A lot of the programs are funded by ITI; however, to support the traditional economy of our harvesters and trappers, the

renewable resource officers in the communities deal with the harvesters and trappers. The renewable resource officers are employees of ENR. When the department handled funding, the other department had the responsibility of working with the other trappers. Has the Minister given any thought to one-stop-shop shipping for the trappers? It is confusing for the trappers in the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the perception of a problem here. I am very interested in hearing from Members as to whether or not their constituents are experiencing problems on the ground in communities.

In order to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible, in the split of the two departments, we agreed, between departments, that the renewable resource officers, who have been delivering the programming, would continue to do so. The money and the accountability for the programs would be in ITI. That is where there is a difference. Money and accountability in ITI, and the protocol established so that the delivery is happening at the community level with the renewable resource officers. If that is causing some confusion, or some problems, then I certainly hope the Members will bring that to my attention. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is confusing in my region, in the Sahtu, in terms of how the traditional economy is being looked at. It is being looked at as a business. Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, traditional economy in communities is a lifestyle. It is a way of life. To put that in terms of business, it is pretty hard sometimes. Having the ENR already being responsible for tags for hunters and outfitters, would it be more effective to have a department say okay, let's move them into one once and for all. Let's move it over there for the harvesters' programs that ITI is administering now. It makes more sense; a simple process, I hope the Minister would give this some consideration to. When will the Minister report back, in terms of having some discussion as to a possible move? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.