We will resume with item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister responsible for the WCB, and it has to do with the proposal by the WCB that they are considering buying property outside of downtown Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you how disturbing it is to hear from the Minister responsible for the corporation, that he is completely powerless and he doesn't really have that much influence over that. The Minister should be well aware, in the last Assembly, we passed many pieces of legislation regarding the WCB, one of which was making it possible for them to consider real estate ventures and such. Why does the Minister keep insisting that he is completely powerless to do anything, and, if that's the case, then why is he the Minister of WCB? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is absolutely right that the WCB is allowed to make this kind of purchase. They have to seek Cabinet approval for the expenditures in that magnitude, but once they have that kind of approval, then they may proceed. The WCB Act sets out the limitations of the Minister's power and his responsibilities. If Members of this House agree with the Members of the House in Nunavut to change that, then we can change the responsibilities. As things stand now, the Minister is responsible for overseeing the administration of the act, and the WCB and Governance Council are responsible for the operations of the board itself. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated exactly what the problem is in this situation. The Minister just stated that if the Members want to change the law about this, then they can. Is the Minister not aware that he is the Minister responsible for the WCB; that he has to bring the legislation forward, the Cabinet has to bring the legislation forward? We are not the Minister of WCB. When will he know what his job is as Minister on Cabinet?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Member would like to read the WCB Act that sets out what my role is, and that is the role that I am fulfilling. I haven't heard a hue and cry from Members that they want to change the act. If a number of Members contact me and suggest that we should change the act beyond what is being proposed and, Mr. Speaker, we are proposing some changes -- the standing committee is considering a legislative proposal right now -- if there is some request for change, we would be prepared to consider that. Not that long ago, Mr. Speaker, we had a committee that travelled both territories to seek stakeholder comments on what the WCB Act should look like. The Act Now report is being acted on; half of it was

done by the previous government, and we are moving to enact the second part of the recommendations. Changes in terms of the authority of the Minister were not proposed.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we are well aware of the fact that there is nothing on the table to change anything about WCB, and I don't know why he keeps saying that he is waiting for everybody else to do it. He says he's waiting for a hue and cry. I really don't want to go through what we went through with day care. Do I have to fight every issue like that? When the Minister knows it's this Legislature and this Minister that passes a law that allows the WCB to make those kinds of suggestions, why does he not talk to the WCB and discuss the impact of their real estate decisions on the city and the government's coffers, and public society as a whole. Does he not think he has any role to play in that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, in fact, I met yesterday morning with the chair of the Governance Council and outlined for him some of the concerns I had heard about the proposed location of the WCB. But at the end of the day, it is the decision of the Governance Council. At this point, as I understand it, they have made an irrevocable offer to purchase the land. As long as the conditions are met in that offer, the land will be purchased by the WCB. They didn't have to come to us and tell us where it was they were looking at buying the land. That isn't an issue in terms of our oversight for them. They sought permission from Cabinet to purchase land to build a building on, and that was granted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was at that meeting and I am sure I could have done exactly the same job as him: convey the concerns to the president of WCB. I don't expect the Minister to be a reporter or messenger. I expect him to be the leader. Having heard all the concerns he has heard in this House, outside of this House, from the community representatives, is the Minister willing to take this to Cabinet and see if he can consider legislative changes until the WCB establishes that this is a good deal not just for the WCB, but for the people, the city, and the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I would be happy to take this issue to my Cabinet colleagues, and I would invite any other Members who have an interest in this, to contact me and let me know their position, as well.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the request. We would certainly be interested, and I know I have a very experienced and capable staff in the Sahtu region. We would be very interested in sitting down with traditional harvesters, and with industry, to discuss how we might move some of these issues forward and that might include, depending on what the parties are interested in, coming up with the harvesters' compensation model. Obviously, nothing can be binding, but if we can support the efforts of those harvesters and industry in finding some common ground, we are prepared to do that. I think it's a good idea. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the harvesters in my region will be pleased with the support it's getting from this Minister and this government. Because it's a sensitive issue, and I am not sure if we are breaking new ground because of the funding part of this harvesting model. Would the Minister consider having some form of policy or strong legislation in terms of having the GNWT develop a harvesters' model for all trappers or harvesters in the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Because much of this, and the requirement for industry to consult with traditional harvesters and to, potentially, compensate those harvesters when development takes away some of their ability to earn a livelihood, because much of that flows from land claims and much of this consideration is being given and these discussions are being held during impact benefit agreements, we, obviously, aren't directly involved in much of that. But I

would say we are very interested in seeing a successful conclusion to those discussions and negotiations. Whatever we can do, although I doubt it would be binding, to help play a support role, I am prepared to lend the resources of the department toward that end. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.