Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member from Hay River South has raised this issue on a number of occasions before and given the response of government we have undertaken a review of this whole situation and looked and talked to the different municipalities about how the concerns were in those communities and a review was undertaken. It was incorporated into a larger assessment that is being done and headed up by ECE. That process is in its final stages. We're expecting to see some of the recommendations and options coming forward along with some of the costing associated with it and we expect to have those for review by December. Thank you.

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

Thank you. The Minister beat me to it by saying I brought this up before. I've got a very thick file on this subject here, Mr. Speaker, and the correspondence goes back to letters to Mr. Antoine in the previous government even. I mean it's been at least 10 years that I've been talking about this. This is a good program, the concept is good, but the actual working out of it is kind of untenable. It has for some people who are the would-be recipients of this support to take drastic measures. Like, in instances where one person who is on title is disabled and the other isn't, where they've actually taken the other person's name off title to get this. There's not enough support for seniors and persons with disabilities and therefore that's why this tax relief is so important. So I don't know what to say, Mr. Speaker. It's been so long. Will the Minister commit to recognizing that this is a priority? It may seem like a small thing on the government's agenda, but it's a huge thing for the people affected by it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is an issue that's come forward as something that we need to deal with. The initial draft was done I think in 1988. It's been some time since the act has been replaced and it requires a review. We've done that and there are recommendations coming forward recognizing there are discrepancies between the general taxation area and municipal taxation. So there are a number of issues that we have to deal with, and the Member has highlighted some of them here, and we're hoping to be able to rectify the situation then and maybe look at something that if we're able to accommodate it by some time this spring. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't really know what else to ask. I just was going to ask, for the benefit of the people in my constituency who are anxious to hear an answer to this question, I was hoping that we were going to hear something earlier than this spring. Let me be clear. Is that when the Minister is going to share with us the recommendations or is that when this matter might be resolved? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that's when we will have some decisions that we'll be able to announce in a number of different areas and this is one of the acts that is under review and we will be looking at the options and recommendations come December and we will have some decisions that we will take forward and be able to share in April, hopefully. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm just following up with my Member's statement with questions to the honourable Premier. Mr. Speaker, my constituents are challenging me to find new ways to deal with the northern employment problem and I believe that we have the solutions and the tools right before us. They've always existed and, as I've highlighted earlier, is 8.5 in the BHP socio-economic agreement where we have the ability to call upon the diamond mines before us to have discussions regarding training, employment and business opportunities. So the tools have always existed. Now we have the ability to issue warrants to demand that they appear to answer questions, but I don't think we need to do that, Mr. Speaker. Again, the tools already exist. So I've highlighted this clearly. What I'm going to ask the Premier is, recognizing that this problem is a serious issue that northerners take with great concern, recognizing that we have the opportunity before us right now, will the Premier hear the call for action and take the opportunity to call the diamond mine presidents of operating mines before the Assembly process to deal with this problem in some type of partnership? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With each of the mines there is a socio-economic agreement with the GNWT. That socio-economic agreement requires that the mines submit annual, if not semi-annual, reports. Mr. Speaker, I think if the committees within our government have not already done so, and they may have, then I think it's incumbent upon us to take a look at those socio-economic agreements as a first step and then see where we want to follow up with the mine managers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pretty sure I heard a yes in there, but I'll ask it again to make sure that we get it absolutely clear on the record. Mr. Speaker, what I'm asking the Premier is, will he work with his resource Minister to call upon the diamond mines presidents to report before the Assembly process to have a question and answer period on this issue whatever process we need to access or vent through, of course? Would he agree to call them before this House and answer questions so we can finally deal with this problem face to face? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me say that my understanding is that the process would be, normally, usually, that we would call witnesses to committee, whether it was GED or AOC or whatever, and then they would respond to issues you've raised. Mr. Speaker, I'm not 100 percent sure about calling witnesses before Committee of the Whole, how that works within our rules but, Mr. Speaker, my suggestion that we try to do it through the committee structure first. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. But the answer is yes, we'll do it one way or the other.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll take that yes whatever way it came. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier agree to write this letter, and copy all Members of this Legislative Assembly, in a timely way so we deal with this problem? So would the Premier write a letter within the next 30 days requesting that the presidents of these diamond mines make themselves available for this Assembly to have this type of question period and discussion period to deal in partnership with this problem? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In order to follow the process as I understand it, I would ask that if there's interest by the Members that the chair of whichever is the appropriate committee make the request of us and then we would respond, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I see this as a communication opportunity, Mr. Speaker. I see this as an opportunity to be seen to be dealing with this problem, because it is a recognized, serious problem in the Northwest Territories. That's why I'm asking the Premier. Now, it's stated in the agreement the resource Minister has the ability to call upon them, but I think a letter from our Premier recognizing the gravity of this problem and his willingness to take leadership, because it affects multiple problems throughout our, sorry, multiple

departments throughout our government. So, Mr. Speaker, would the Premier agree to write the letter on behalf of the Assembly to make an acknowledgement of how big of a problem it is and how we want to deal with it in a partnership? Would he do that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.