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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've been getting lots of documents with regard to this issue ,and there has been nothing, no indication whatsoever, from the Minister's office that ever communicated to this centre that if he got any money from the federal government that they were going to get helped. I mean, the department is so bent on closing this down there's just no room to move whatsoever. Mr. Speaker, the people out there are quite disgusted that the Minister responsible for women and children could be so unsympathetic. So I'm going to stick to what he's doing as Minister, and I want to know when the last time is that he looked into his department's budget or FMBS to see if he could help out this file. When is the last time he went to bat for a day care programs, and how did he do that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I got to bat for day care programs regularly. Most recently was last week when I was in Ottawa with Minister Dryden. I would agree that we need to look at putting more money into the program, but as I said to the Members, we had thought that, given the other pressing issues that we have...I have talked to parents all across the Northwest Territories who tell me how much money they need to see added to funding for special needs. I talk to teachers about the pressures in the classroom. We talk about all of the other needs that we have, whether it's more funding for the food basket for income support, whether it's more funding for seniors and how much we can give them through the fuel subsidy or through their pensions. We have all sorts of pressures and all sorts of programs that this government hasn't been able to adequately support. We thought we had an opportunity here to find some extra money from the federal government. That's really where the anger should be directed, is at somebody who offered all Canadians an opportunity to take advantage of a national program and yet they're saying that North of 60 we just don't get it.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the life of me, I don't understand why the Minister has to keep talking about what he couldn't do; what he wasn't able to achieve from Ottawa. How is that doing anything for this file? I want to concentrate what he can do with his own influence and I'm asking a very specific question. Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that the operator of this day care centre is copious in the way she writes and communicates, and I know for a fact that she's been communicating with the department for months and months and months. So I want to know, in any of that time, what did he do to see if he could help the centre? What did he do? Did he go to FMBS? Did he direct his staff to see if they could help

them? What did he do? I just want to know one thing he did to save this day care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've met with the operator, I've talked with the operator, I have been working with the department to make sure that operator is getting the same level of support as everybody else. That's what we do. We support all the day cares across the Northwest Territories. The Member has chosen one day care and asked that we give them extra special treatment. If we were to match that treatment all across the Northwest Territories it would probably cost us $1.4 million. Well, I'd be happy to go to my colleagues and see if I could get that, but I can't offer extra special treatment to one day care and not offer it to all the others. So, certainly I'll discuss that with my colleagues, whether or not they're prepared to come forward and add $1.4 million into that supp.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Your final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope everybody notices by his answers how little he has been doing to help with this day care, Mr. Speaker. I'm fighting for this one day care, but I'm fighting for all of them. The Minister is insisting on making sure that all of them fail. So I'm asking very specific questions. He said that he's not giving. The latest e-mail conversation he had with the day care operator was last week. But then he sends a letter saying sorry, too bad, there's nothing I can do for you. Go away. I'd like to know if he has never gone to FMBS for money, and he is the Minister responsible for women and children, how the heck does he know that there's no support from the government? Why is he doing his job like that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member obviously wasn't listening. I said I did go in for support for early childhood programs and I got support from my colleagues when it came to the Language Nest Program. We have talked about early childhood programming in other areas, and I told my colleagues that we were going to benefit from this national program that other provinces were going to benefit from. We made the mistake of believing that we were going to be able to participate in a program that the Liberal government announced and, to their credit, have brought forward. But thus far we haven't been able to see it in the North. I think it's also important to remember that I didn't announce the closure of this day care centre. I have had nothing to do with saying that it should close. The operator has said that she cannot keep operating without increased support. I have never announced the closure. We were responding to, that letter was responding to a communication from the operator. That's all that it is. It's not a notice that they have to terminate. It's a response to a communication. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask one final question about the cash and the trash with regard to the recycling container program. The people of Colville Lake have written a letter and taken time from that community. In seven days, this program is going to be implemented, and in that community, or any other community that doesn't have a depot, there is going to be a licensed facility in the community, so these people can take their containers and trash and get some cash from these facilities, whether it's a co-op, or youth program, or NGO. Would they be able to do that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the wheels of ENR are already turning, albeit with some anguish that we committed things in such a tight timeline. What I have committed to is, in those communities that don't have officially signed up depots, we will make arrangements so that every northerner has capacity and a place to be able to return their beverage containers for the appropriate refund. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The time for question period has expired; however, I will allow the Member to ask his supplementary questions. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these deposits are pretty high in the Northwest Territories. I want to make it very clear that it's going to be very expensive to upkeep in the communities. How will we let our people know about the very specific and explicit terms, and the importance of this program? In the Sahtu, there are no depots in the region. It's going to be, "Handle this program." Can the Minister assure the people in the Sahtu that there will be centres or licensed facilities in the region? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad this is not a case of "depot calling the kettle black."

---Laughter

Yes, Mr. Speaker. If I could prick my finger and write it with blood, yes, I will honour the commitments I made in this House.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 7, written questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

1. What are the grade levels in the Sahtu schools where students are taught about treaties 8 and 11 and the Sahtu land claim?
2. What is the percentage of the courses on treaties or land claims taught per grade?
3. Can the department list the resources/documents that are used in teaching the students about Treaty 11 and Sahtu land claim?
4. Who are the teachers or community members used in teaching the treaties or the land claim in Sahtu schools?
5. How much of the social studies content is on the Treaty 11 and the Sahtu land claim?
6. How many elders in the Sahtu have been invited to Aurora College, our learning centres, or our schools as professors or instructors specifically to provide instruction on aboriginal courses?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 7, written questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.