A good example of this was displayed here on this side of the House yesterday, if you recall, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, myself being a new Member of this 15th Legislative Assembly, I have learned in the past year that things have to change and change is good. I support the residents of the Lutselk'e First Nations in addressing their issues with their leadership and the accountability concerns that they have in their financial management regime because these, I feel, are legitimate concerns and should not be construed as a personal attack toward anyone in the community.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek support from this government to assist the community of Lutselk'e in the pursuit of a fair, equitable and accountable First Nations community government that will reflect a positive light on the Akaitcho self-government negotiations taking

place between this government, the federal government and the First Nations groups. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I'd also like to recognize a former Page in this House whose name escapes me right now, but is present in the gallery.

Vital Manuel.

Vital Manuel. Yes. Welcome to the House.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise again one more time today to again solidify my stressful concern about the lack of doctors seeing patients. Mr. Speaker, there still are a few doctors seeing patients on a fee-for-service basis, but I'm concerned that switching to salary has not increased the number of visits per day. Would the Minister of Health and Social Services provide some information today to show or explain if we're getting better services per visit per patient in our system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of wait times in Yellowknife is one with a number of components. The Member is correct that when we switched from fee-for-service to salary, the number of patients seen did drop. We have added doctors. In addition, we're also looking at some of the other complexities; for example, the fact that the doctors are employees of the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Board, but spend the majority of their time working at Stanton. We're looking at how the emergency room is structured. We're looking at the possibility of integrating the three downtown clinics into one more efficient and effective clinic that will have the capacity to provide some of the basic clinic services that right now they can't, such as basic outpatient services, X-rays and such, that now they have to go to Stanton to get. This is an issue with many component pieces. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Miltenberger, for first acknowledging the fact that it isn't quite working out as it may have been dreamt of. I'm glad to hear that we're trying to strive forward. Mr. Speaker, I have people in Yellowknife who cannot get a family doctor. I have people who are told by the clinics that they have to go wait in emergency and, if it's not of a life or death nature, they have to sit there between four and six hours because they're not considered a priority at emergency. Mr. Speaker, how does the Minister plan to address that type of problem? I'd like to hear the Minister tell me that they're working towards a type of legislation that would make sure that no person is refused a family doctor and that they're served in a reasonable time. How is the Minister addressing that problem? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a Collective Agreement with the Medical Association that's going to carry us into 2007-2008, but if I could just quickly reiterate some of the points that I gave in my last answer. We are looking at how emergency is currently structured, and the Member is correct, that it is estimated that anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of the people at emergency aren't really emergency patients; they could be seen in other areas such as in a clinic or by nurse practitioners. So we're looking at that and there's money in the budget for the renovation of Stanton, as well as the master plan which will look at how we structure the emergency ward. As I indicated, as well, we're also looking at the fact that we have three small, old, out-of-date clinics in the downtown that we're looking to consolidate into one more efficient and effective clinic; one that will hopefully have hours that go above and beyond 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really appreciate that detailed answer, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Speaker, I still have the problem that the Minister has identified, that the present Collective Agreement goes to 2007-2008 and, of course, we're working on this year's 2004-2005 budget, so that's approximately three years. I've even heard rumours that the doctors want to switch from 20 patients a day down to 16 patients a day. He did say that they're looking at expanding the hours, but is there any way we can talk about shifting forward quickly about seeing these missed appointment opportunities?

We have constituents out there who do not have family doctors. How does the Minister envision that we could solve that problem right away, and can you answer the 16-patient per day question? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I heard about three questions there. Mr. Miltenberger, you may answer one or three. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have, as I've indicated, a number of initiatives underway that are going to address the quality of care and access issues in Yellowknife. With regard to the Member's assertion that he's heard this rumour, I'm not in a position in this House to speak to that rumour. I have not heard that. I know what arrangements we do have with the doctors and I do know all the many plans we have underway to address the quality of care in Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I respect the fact that the Minister doesn't want to talk about that subject, because it's out for bargaining or discussion on an informal basis. I can appreciate that, so I won't go into that. My last question is how does this Minister plan to address the fact that we still have families out there who can't get a family doctor? We could ask for 35 doctors coming to the city...

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I heard a question there. Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I'll just focus on reiterating one of the points that I raised, and that is that we are trying to come up with a blend at the clinic with the level of nurse practitioners, nurses and doctors that will help alleviate some of the waiting times and make access by patients to see the necessary medical people easier. We have a document in the works that will soon be coming forward through Cabinet and, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future to the Social Programs committee for discussion, that looks at how the hospitals and health centres are operating right now and some plans for improvements. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I talked about how I perceive the Dene K'onia Young Offenders Facility to have been a very major piece of the youth justice system in the Northwest Territories in helping young people who have come in contact with the legal system, with the court system, to get back on their feet and get reintegrated into their communities. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Justice what the alternative plan is now for dealing with young offenders who are sentenced in the courts to serve time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.