Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the Metis people in the Northwest Territories, they've been used as the forgotten people and rightly so in this Assembly here and by the federal government and also by the territorial government. I appreciate the Minister going to bat for the Metis people, but what can you tell the Metis people who want an education with all the developments happening in the Northwest Territories? Yes, we could put you into a UCEP program and we've encouraged the federal government to change it. Again, what assurance can the Minister give to the Metis people in terms of the UCEP program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to press the issue with the federal government in terms of who the program should apply to. I guess I need to make it clear that we don't put any money into that program. It's not a Government of the Northwest Territories program. We make it available through our offices in order just to ease access to it for northern residents. We have considered perhaps giving the program back and making the federal government deliver the program, but we decided if we did that we'd be back in the situation where all of the money wasn't being spent. So there would be people in the North who wouldn't access it because it was more difficult. So we have decided to continue offering the program, but I think it's got to be clear that this isn't our program and we only provide it to make it more easily accessible in the North.

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

Mr. Speaker, I'm having a hard time believing that the federal government in this day and age is treating the Metis people the way the other First Nations people are being treated. Mr. Dent has alluded to the national day care program in terms of the Inuit people. So maybe we need to do something radical by not administering this program. We're guilty. We're wiping our hands and saying it's not our program, here. We don't have enough teeth to put real pressure on the government. Again the Metis people are losing in society, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the federal, sorry. Mr. Dent, maybe you should be a federal Minister. I want to ask Mr. Dent...

...what is he doing in terms of ensuring the Metis people have equal access to programs such as UCEP, because it's long overdue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we're not successful in the course of the next few months getting the federal government to agree to better support the program and to support it more equitably in the Northwest Territories, I would have to agree with the Member. We're going to have to consider giving the program back to the federal government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a few years back now alcohol and drug workers laboured, often in obscurity, by themselves in isolation in communities not tied into any other health and social services program, with very low pay and no benefits, very little qualification requirements, and over the last few years we came up with a Mental Health and Addiction Strategy that focused on community resources. We put money into salaries and benefits and training. We converted addictions workers to community wellness workers. We added mental health workers and some clinical supervisors, the whole intent being to link them into the system of integrated service delivery to allow them to work with social workers, nurses and other folks, as well as to recognize the value of the work that they're doing and important work as first contact people. That is the direction we've been going. We've spent considerable time and effort to put a greater value and recognition on the work that alcohol and drug workers used to formerly do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that mental health and addictions workers need a master's degree and the community wellness workers require bachelors' degrees. If this is true, is this affecting the department's ability to recruit and retain people? Because a lot of them I would imagine would need to be brought in because you wouldn't have a lot of people in the community with these types of qualifications. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do place a value and recognize the importance of experience and knowledge of the North, if you can speak an aboriginal language, if you know the community and you've grown up there, and we have capacity. While we've tried to improve the credentials and qualifications, we have the ability to recognize equivalencies and experience and to recognize and allow us the ability to put to work and not lose that tremendous resource. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, my question today will be for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, but it's with respect to the rent scale being too high. I'd like to focus on the hardship that the current rent scale imposes on my constituents in saving for a down payment or just getting ahead in life, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tell this Assembly how the rent scale for social housing is determined? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, the rent scale for housing is still determined through the Housing Corporation, and the Minister isn't here right now. But I will take the question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to Mr. Dent. The Minister has indicated over and over again in this House with regard to extraordinary funding or possibly that they'd allow it or anything that could keep this day care centre open. He said over and over again that he doesn't have money and that he's not going to do anything about it. But I'd like to know, Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House get all sorts of requests for approval of all sorts of different extraordinary funding. Government comes to us for millions of extraordinary funding and, we haven't seen anything for day cares. I'd like to know from the Minister whether he's ever gone to the FMBS to see if he could get any help from his colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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