Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure if I'm understanding the question correctly, but we are doing it already. We're paying for all of what the Member has pointed out with our own sources. Right now, with the transfer of revenues from the property taxes, the communities will enjoy revenues that they don't currently get and without the burden of the administration for the interim. At some point we'd like the communities to take it on and we will require additional resources, but at this point we are looking at doing it ourselves through the departments of Municipal and Community Affairs and Finance.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Finance, the Honourable Floyd Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a government and as we begin the process of planning for budgets and the budget cycle, there is a lot of work. A lot of it is based on existing programs and services as departments come forward for more money; forced growth, as we call it. As calls are being made on

departments for new programs, those are the areas we call new initiatives, to try to find the money for those. As we set our direction, the fiscal strategy, of trying to reduce the growth of government and keep our spending in check, we have to reprioritize from within. There are initiatives that we do take that are broad across the board to look at what we are doing as a government. One of the things we key in on with the resources we have available is our strategic plan. As we sit down and map that out, we then take that and apply it to the fiscal resources we have with the core programs we have to deliver and try to work something out in that arrangement. At times we look at just broad, across-the-board direction on general reduction cycles or aiming at a five percent reduction across the board. There are times when, as we've brought it forward, we have looked at departments themselves. Ministers responsible for their areas are given a specific target and they come back with how they can best achieve their targets. So we try to be flexible on how we do it and come forward with some broad-based areas.

One of the areas we've started to look at, for example, that I've looked at, is a zero-based funding approach from each department. We haven't got to that scenario just yet. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's an interesting idea and I just hope that we get a chance as 19 Members to do a little bit more strategic planning. The Minister refers to our strategic plan. I think it's too broad. I think it's too high level. I think we're in a rut. I know we need to deliver core services that governments deliver and we have certain mandates and obligations, but I think in terms of how we spend our money we're in a rut. I think there's a lot more good we could be doing. But once something is entrenched, it seems like it would take 40 years to turn it around and do something different with that same money that might be more responsive to the needs of the day. I would like to ask the Minister if there is a way to put that kind of discussion on the agenda when we meet with the Circle of Northern Leaders to put it in the context of zero-based planning and really finding out and soliciting what are the priorities and what are the most pressing needs of the people that we serve. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I support the idea of looking at how we attack the budget process cycle, planning, whatever we call it. At the same time, we have to realize that some of these actions also require a lot of initiative and workforce to refocus what they're doing and come up with the numbers that we'd want as Members. Unfortunately, it does take, sometimes, a long time to turn things around. Again, there's to and fro back in the House. Some plans are good, some things are changed. But we're willing to sit down and try to work things through and come up with a way that we can see things. I think it's even better now, once we get through this process. Once we have set ourselves up and have done so on a good fiscal plan, a healthy fiscal plan, then we'll be better able to do some of that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 8, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise with a serious concern with the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Late last summer I had a meeting with a constituent who had brought serious concerns to me about having a legal cabin out along the Cameron River and the fact that people were bulldozing trees down, making roads, shooting guns at their cabin as well as other legal cabins and no one was doing anything about it. No RWED officer would be there, no RCMP officer would be there. Well, much later the Minister's staff comes to me and says it's not their problem to solve this question. They say it's MACA's problem, but they did, thankfully, come up with a map of something. Well, lo and behold, I forward that question to MACA. Months go by. Months, Mr. Speaker. MACA comes to me and says it's not our problem either; it's RWED's problem.

Mr. Speaker, I have health and safety issues where people who have legal cabins, legal rights to be out there, and no one wants to take any responsibility. We can't even get a department to take responsibility. Where is a response to this question that I've been waiting now almost six months for? Simply, who is responsible for the management of those areas? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, the Honourable Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a complex question. Obviously, it's federal land. There's the Forest Management Act. I have responsibilities under that act. There are issues around the highways out there and what you can and cannot do on highways that fall under DOT. There are MACA issues. There are environmental protection issues. I think it is collectively a problem that we have to come to grips with. It's a very serious issue. I had asked our department to sit down and engage in a dialogue with the RCMP to talk about how we would respond to some of these concerns on the Ingraham Trail because, obviously, much of it is also related to keeping the peace and making sure the safety of people is protected. There aren't a lot of easy answers, but what I think is important is that we work together and establish some protocols to ensure that we are able to deal with some of the issues that the Member has brought forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I truly say thank you, Mr. Minister, yet I'm still waiting for an answer. I asked, when am I going to get a response to this letter. I'm waiting again now, in front of the public. My constituents are waiting. Their safety is an issue. We have people ploughing down trees in reserve areas. Are we going to wait for the chiefs to come say why we're allowing people to destroy our land? Someday that's going to be their land out there. The Minister almost...He said the Department of Justice, DOT. I'm surprised he didn't say Housing and Education have a responsibility over this issue. I'm waiting for that next. When are we going to get an answer to these questions? It's a simple question. Who's responsible for this? We have leased, legal cabins out there and we have people knocking trees down, setting fires, having horrible parties, destroying our territorial lands that are stewarded by the Commissioner. When will I get an answer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If people's lives are at risk, if people's cabins are being burned down, if people are being shot at, being threatened, they obviously have to call the RCMP. I would suggest they do that. In all seriousness, Mr. Speaker, we can sit down and work through some of these issues. The Member is well aware of our legislated requirements and our abilities and areas of responsibility. I think the Member has his response to the question, but, as I've indicated, we've talked to the RCMP and want to make sure that people's lives aren't at risk and that their safety is ensured and we'll continue to do that. But we are looking to establish a protocol for response in that area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister because I can start to feel an answer coming any minute now. I can tell you personally that the RCMP do not go out there. My constituents have phoned when they've heard people shooting at outhouses. Nobody goes. I mean, do we have to wait for an accident to happen? That's why I tried to work six months ago with this department to say let's start identifying the land. This is land right along our highway. This is certainly an area that could be addressed. I've suggested that, geez, let's have land management policies out there. I need an answer. Who's going to monitor this? Is RWED not going to? If you say no, that's fine. Then we have an answer. But we need to make sure people are safe out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

I would suggest to the Member that the RCMP will respond if people's lives are in danger. If the Member rejects that, disputes that, we can certainly raise the issue with the Minister of Justice who can take it up with the RCMP. But to my knowledge I have not heard of people whose lives are in danger or that the RCMP has suggested that they're not interested. Obviously it's difficult to respond in a timely manner. It is a fairly long drive to the location the Member is speaking of, but I've never heard of the RCMP suggesting that they're not interested or don't want to. So if that's the case, the Member has brought it to my attention, I can raise that with the Minister of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The time for question period has expired. I'll allow Mr. Hawkins a final supplementary. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you very kindly, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we still need to address the problem by this Minister, which is people are clear-cutting roads from the highway to the water there. How are we going to deal with this? How are we dealing with the garbage being littered along these areas? They're becoming mushroom party spaces. How does this Minister plan to deal with this? This all goes back to the question that I started to ask six months ago when he said it was MACA's problem. Now that MACA says it's RWED's problem, again, whose problem is this that we're going to solve? I'm talking about Commissioner's land. How are we going to solve the garbage, the clear-cutting problems, the people making fires on the side of the road? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.