Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Last week, during the launch of National Libraries Week, the Minister announced funding for six new libraries in the Northwest Territories. However, this initiative dismisses my region entirely. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of ECE tell this Assembly how the decision to fund six new libraries in the NWT excluded all the Tlicho communities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's important to note that the government was quite pleased to be able to find some funds to expand the libraries in the Northwest Territories. We were able to find funds to help improve community access in six locations. What we were doing was providing a small sum of money to help those libraries which are located in schools stay open in the evenings, by providing some assistance for salaries. It also requires the local community to take on some ownership and provide some assistance to make sure that happens.

There was a request for proposals, an application process that was undertaken earlier this year. All communities were invited to apply, to participate. We had the funding to work with six communities, so the six best applications that came in, Mr. Speaker, were the ones that received funding this year.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this year's program, what we were looking for is a library that was already in existence in a school that wouldn't take any significant capital cost to make any changes to, so they could be operated as a community library. We were looking for a sponsoring organization to take on the operation of the library after school hours, to make sure the security was looked after. Then we offered $16,500 to the community to assist with part-time salaries, so the library could stay open for awhile in the evening. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, since Behchoko is the largest aboriginal community in the Northwest Territories, can the Minister commit to working with me, and the Tlicho leadership, over the next year to improve library services in the region, and develop a community library in Behchoko? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be happy to discuss this with the Member and the Tlicho leadership. Our libraries, in the Northwest Territories, are very much a partnership. The Government of the Northwest Territories assists communities with libraries, and I will look for partners wherever we can find them. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The downtown of Yellowknife is my constituency, and I am extremely proud of that. It's where I live, my wife lives, and my family lives. Protecting the integrity of the downtown should be a priority of this government, and you can definitely see it's a priority of this city. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of WCB if he, or his Cabinet colleagues, had any rule in the approval process, such as signing any specific documents, so that the WCB can purchase land for a potential new building. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Cabinet had to approve the purchase of real property for the WCB to proceed with the land purchase.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard rumours out there that the new WCB building needs a lot of parking, in the range of possibly 80 to 100 stalls. Parking stalls shouldn't be provided by government, NGOs, or arm's length government businesses such as the WCB. Where does this come from? Can the Minister answer why we are providing parking for WCB employees on the public purse? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether WCB employees have to pay for their parking in the proposed building or not. That would be something I would have to ask the Governance Council to advise me on. I do know that the City of Yellowknife would have zoning requirements that would stipulate a certain number of parking stalls that would have to be built with any building that is built for office space in Yellowknife. I can't tell the Member whether or not the number that is proposed is above that number that is required. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't believe the viability of the downtown is being challenged in such a way. If Cabinet had to sign off an approval of them moving out of the downtown, I think that's just disrespectful to business that has invested in this community. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of lots that have been for sale for over 15 years, such as the Gold Range property. Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear the Minister tell me today why the WCB couldn't have considered building a two or three-storey building downtown, and let their employees find parking just like every other employee downtown who parks either on the street or in private parking. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Cabinet's role is to purchase land for the purpose of building a new building. It's not one to determine where that is built. The decision as to whether or not a building can be built in Yellowknife, as it properly should be, is determined by the City of Yellowknife, and their council, with the view to zoning requirements and good city planning.