Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this could be a hallmark of this government. We talk endlessly about hydro, the big plans of the future and whatnot. Well, let's talk about the people who will be here after these diamond mines are gone, after these oil and gas things are gone; let's talk about them. They are the ones underpinning our society.

This is just whitewashing the issue. Will the Premier take responsibility and say we are going to make it a mandate of this government to solve this problem? We are going to open the doors, we are not just going to send them here, send them there -- like I said yesterday on other issues -- let's deal with it. Will he say my office is open, we are going to solve this problem. Will the Premier take that responsibility and deal with the problem? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I have a difficult time and I certainly want to read Hansard to figure out what the problem is. If an NGO or anyone we fund has an issue with the agreement that they have, the contract they have, they would go to the appropriate Minister.

I don't know that there is a big problem that covers everybody, because we do consider multi-year funding, as I have said before, but it is all subject to the appropriation in the House. I don't understand what the big problem is. Individual agencies though go to the appropriate Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I almost called a point of order on myself.

---Laughter

Almost. Mr. Speaker, I don't know what to say. If I were to nail the Premier's feet down, he would still out dance me. He would still out dance me, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have people telling me their organizations are struggling because they put application after application in every year and they are waiting for the certainty at the 11th hour of March 31st.

Mr. Speaker, this government can shift with the times. This government can work with these organizations. This government has that mandate. We can address it. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier say today that he will work on this problem for creating the certainty that the NGOs are saying they want stabilized, clear funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Everybody wants stabilized funding. Right from the pipeline companies, to our government, to the federal government; everybody does.

That is a reality that we all have to deal with. We all have to be accountable for our money. I will say it again, Mr. Speaker. If a specific agency, Mr. Speaker, has a problem with filling out applications year after year, they should talk to the appropriate Minister, whichever one is responsible for that mandate, and talk about multi-year funding. We have multi-year funding agreements in place, we have some that are under negotiation. I don't know which one the Member is referring to, but if there are one or two or five who are feeling they can't do it, then talk to the Minister.

Again I will say, Mr. Speaker, everything we do is subject to a vote in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for Mr. Bell, the Minister of what we now call RWED and is soon to be a couple of other departments.

It is in the area of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project and funding and support for organizations, regional governments, to help prepare for this pipeline.

In Wednesday's federal budget, Mr. Speaker, the federal government put $150 million on the table over the next four years to increase federal and regional capacity to respond efficiently and effectively to environmental and regulatory applications associated with the pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I brought to the Assembly the extreme shortfall in funding and support to NGOs and community governments, and this may be part of the answer. I am wondering if the Minister can tell us, is this $150 million that the federal government has on the table going to be accessible to interveners and to parties that came up short in the last round of funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's a very good question and certainly one on the minds of a number of parties who have made application to intervene before the JRP environmental assessment. In the coming days, weeks and months, we'll know more about the criteria the federal government plans to attach to this money. As I have indicated previously, we have heard from many disgruntled groups who feel that phase one and phase two of the funding that's been available through DIAND has been inadequate and they haven't been able to access it. So hopefully, and I know it's what the Member is hoping as well, this money can respond to that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess one of the characteristics of federal budgets is large ideas and large blocks are introduced. The devil is in the detail. Given where we are now, just a few days out of the announcement, would the Minister undertake to lobby the federal government to make sure that a substantial portion of this is available to northern NGOs and communities, perhaps even our own government, to help us respond efficiently and effectively to applications? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In short, yes. I think we are also going to be setting about a plan to better understand the federal government's intentions on ensuring a sustainable environment and the $3 billion in new funding that was announced in that regard. Again, we have to know what that means for the Territories. The Minister of MACA, Mr. McLeod, has recently written several letters to federal officials making the case for communities in this territory who need help in order to be ready for this development, who need help in developing capacity. As a government, we will continue to press the case with our federal counterparts. I give the Member that assurance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As almost always is the case with this kind of thing, time is of the essence. The regulatory process has a number of triggers and deadlines built into it. What kind of priority is the Minister going to be putting on securing this funding and working with our partners and other NGOs in communities to help get this money in place just as soon as possible? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is of highest priority. Our Joint Cabinet/AOC Pipeline Planning Committee has discussed how we had better approach the federal government in a number of areas, including how we might help to get money to mitigate some of the social impacts. There are a whole range of areas. This is of highest priority for that committee, of highest priority for this government, and we will certainly continue to do that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The time for oral questions has expired. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to extend question period.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to return to item 6, oral questions. Are there any nays? There are no nays. We go back to item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice in follow-up to the discussion that we were having on the last set of questions. Mr. Speaker, I just really question the quality of information that the Minister is being provided by his department, because I still do not believe that the $18,000 that is being indicated for travel is sufficient to accommodate the inmates that will be in remand that will need to be transported back and forth. Mr. Speaker, if I can have access to the kinds of statistics that I need and I can put a case together that that number is, in fact, wrong and that these savings and these initiatives are based on supposed savings which are incorrect, will the Minister reconsider the closure of the remand facility? Thank you.