Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to announce that one of my former constituents, Robert Arthur Alexis, along with Penguin Books of Canada, will be releasing his second novel, The Pale Indian, this month. Robert was born and raised in Fort McPherson and served as sub-chief and then chief of Tetlit Gwich'in of Fort McPherson. Robert was also instrumental in assisting the Gwich'in to realize their claim in 1992. He served two terms on the Gwich'in Tribal Council as vice-president and is currently with the Gwich'in Land and Water Board in Inuvik.

Robert's first novel, Porcupines and China Dolls, which depicts the effects of residential school on a people, was published by Stoddart in 2002. The book received rave reviews across Canada. Unfortunately, Stoddart went into receivership shortly after. Porcupine and China Dolls did not get the exposure to the public that it should have.

The Pale Indian, so I'm told, takes place in the fictitious community of Aberdeen in the not-so-fictitious Northwest Territories. I have also been informed, Mr. Speaker, that Porcupines and China Dolls would be re-released sometime this year, also by Penguin.

At this time I would like to congratulate Robert on the hope he continues for many more years to come with his stories well into the future. With that, thank you very much.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow up to my Member's statement about the Property Assessment and Taxation Act, I will direct my questions to the Honourable Michael McLeod, Minister of MACA. Mr. Speaker, in March 2001, the Territorial Farmers' Association received correspondence from this government indicating that a major overhaul was about to start sometime in 2002 and that the work would involve organizations like the Territorial Farmers' Association in that process. The TFA, Mr. Speaker, is still awaiting contact from this government on this issue. Mr. Speaker, my question is can the Minister tell us whether the department is working on a comprehensive review of the Property Assessment and Taxation Act and will this work include input from organizations such as the Territorial Farmers' Association? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have received several requests from communities to do a comprehensive review on the PATA. At this time, we intend to do a review over the long term. However, for the immediate future, we are only looking at doing several amendments. We are going to look at the issue of exemptions to land where land is granted through a land use permit and we are also looking at some technical amendments. We haven't been able to commit to when we will do a comprehensive evaluation or review on the whole act itself. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the number of concerns I have heard about PATA over the years and indications that were given just one year ago that the department was working on a full review, I am surprised at the Minister's response. I would like to know why the department is backing away from a comprehensive review of this act. He referred to some minor amendments. I would like to know if any of those minor amendments will have a positive impact for those people using parcels of land that are indicated as agricultural. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are not backing away from the commitment of doing a review of PATA. We are intending to do it in the future. At this point, we have focussed on a couple of issues. We are still doing some research. We have hired a consultant to do some work on assessing some works and mobile equipment policies that need to be dealt with in that area. Again, at this point, we haven't made that commitment. We would like to see that done. There has been a request from a number of organizations and communities. So we realize it's a priority. However, we have still some discussion to do before we make that commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister, for that response. The second part of my question was could the amendments that you are looking at to the act include a response to the concerns raised by people involved in agricultural activities south of the lake? There are some major impediments to them being involved in agriculture given the Property Assessment and Taxation Act as it stands now. Could amendments also encompass their concerns? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, the amendments the Member is requesting us to take a look at haven't been included as part of what we are planning to do. My understanding is our department has been having discussions with the Territorial Farmers' Association, so I will certainly reconsider that request. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is good to hear and when the consultant that has been hired is considering amendments to this, I would like to ask the Minister if he could commit to putting out a consultation paper or perhaps holding workshops in Hay River for meeting with the Territorial Farmers' Association to ensure that their input is registered and is reflected in any amendments that come forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure if I can commit to having the consultant work on the request the Member is asking us to look at with the farmers; however, I will consider looking at it as a separate issue. I believe the consultants that have been brought online have already done a lot of work in one area and most of the report is concluded. So it would have to be a separate issue, but we certainly will look at it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask questions in furtherance today on day care programs, Mr. Speaker, and my questions go to Minister Dent. Mr. Speaker, we're all aware of the weekend meetings that were held with his provincial counterparts and other territorial Ministers responsible for day care, including the federal Minister Dryden. Could the Minister update us as to what transpired at that meeting and what seem to be the points of agreement that they still have to reach? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable Charles Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was a good deal of progress made at the meetings on Friday. My provincial and territorial colleagues and the federal Minister went quite a ways towards finalizing what we think will be the wording in a draft agreement. What remains as the biggest stumbling block right now is the money, and without knowing what sort of commitment we're going to see in the federal budget, there was unwillingness for Ministers around the table to move the process any further. So really the stumbling block right now is money and its allocation. Thank you.