Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my Member's statement today, for the last three years I've been working very hard to try to get the all-weather road from Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. However, Mr. Speaker, recently I've been trying to get an access road to source 177, which is 22 kilometres away from Tuk. I'd like to ask the Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Kevin Menicoche...Mr. Speaker, like I indicated, for the past three years I've been working with the previous Minister of Transportation with regard to trying to get access to the gravel source. I'm just wondering, can the Minister of Transportation indicate whether he will work with MACA to access funding to go to source 177? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Menicoche.

Good afternoon and thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

I would like to, first of all, just indicate to the honourable Member that the Inuvik to Tuk road and access to source 177 is a long-standing priority of this government and the Member is also aware that at the conclusion of this session, officials from the Department of Transportation will be going up to Tuk to meet with the Inuvik/Tuk committee and discuss some of the issues surrounding getting to the source 177.

Further to that, a lot of the cost that's included in the whole Inuvik to Tuk highway, the access to source 177, is wrapped up with the federal government once again, Mr. Speaker. Right now we're kind of hampered. We're waiting on some decisions for some funding through the highways and borders infrastructure funding from the federal ministry. I hope that's helpful to the Member at this time, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to ask the Minister, back a couple years ago there was Corridors for Canada and there was money identified in that document. Also, I understand that right now they're looking at Corridors for Canada II and Connecting Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast. Can the Minister indicate on whether the federal government has identified those documents and put money to it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. All these submissions were made to the federal government on Corridors for Canada II and connecting to Canada, and the indications of that Inuvik to Tuk highway are in those documents and we're waiting once again for federal commitment. There's been nothing said to this point and previous discussions. There was actually no uptake. The Member spoke about our Premier meeting with the federal government to that respect. It was discussed, but there was actually, there were non-responsive indications of a program specifically for Tuk highway there, Mr. Speaker. However, I'll reiterate that it is a priority of this government and committee to continue to stress with the federal departments that this is one of the priorities that we'd like to pursue. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I ask the Minister, he indicated that the federal government is non-responsive to the highway to Tuk at the present time. I guess I'd like to ask the Minister, how strong is the Department of Transportation trying to work with the federal Minister of Transportation to get these type of documents identified? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. A lot of the discussion that happens with the federal government we can look to the past to kind of see how they treat our submissions in Corridors to Canada I when we applied to the strategic infrastructure fund. What they had done, once they had given us one percent of the $2 billion they had announced, and that's a kind of similar level of funding that we'd been looking at there, Mr. Speaker. There will be that as well as the new highway borders infrastructure fund that the Minister had indicated in his budget statement. That still hasn't been decided. All indications are saying that there's going to be a fall announcement for this new infrastructure funding for the North, but that hasn't yet even materialized at all. So further information will be forthcoming on this matter, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Final supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, he indicated that after the session is over he'll be going down to Tuk and Inuvik to discuss the all-weather road and the access to source 177. Will the Minister come down with any funding or will he bring down lip service? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The time for Members' oral questions has expired; however, I will allow the Minister to answer. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Right now, there was an offer of $25,000 that has all indications showing it's unexpended yet for the purpose of conducting initial surveys to access the gravel at source 177 and that's going to be part of the discussions that's going to occur with the Inuvik/Tuk committee with the officials from the Department of Transportation. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Time for oral questions has expired. Item 7, written questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, my written question is for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

What steps has this government taken to urge the federal government to retain the GST advantages provided to offshore tour packages?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Written questions. Item 8, returns to written questions. Item 9, replies to the opening address. Item 10, petitions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to table a petition, 650 letters asking this government to do what they can to expedite and resolve the labour issue at Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Petitions. Item 11, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Introduction

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight is pleased to present its second report on pre-budget consultations.

The committee held hearings in Aklavik, Fort Liard, Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, Katlodeeche First Nation, Sachs Harbour, Wekweeti and Yellowknife between August 17th and September 5, 2006. Following the initial Yellowknife hearings, the committee members split into northern NWT and southern NWT groups in order to visit as many communities as possible within the time available.

The committee recognizes that the timing of the consultations in late summer made it difficult for many people and organizations to participate, and is considering other options for the future. However, the low turnout at some of our community hearings did not prevent us from having stimulating and productive discussions with those people who did attend. We also received a number of written submissions from people who were not able to attend in person. The committee is satisfied that we have heard a broad and representative range of views and strongly believes that the pre-budget consultations continue to be a relevant and worthwhile exercise which will continue to improve with time.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to make presentations to us or to send us written comments. A list of their names and organizations is attached to this report.

As MLAs, having the chance to see other communities and meet each others' constituents helps us to do a better job when we make decisions that affect people across the territory. We would, therefore, also like to thank all the communities we visited for making us feel welcome and for helping us get to know them better.

Why Pre-Budget Consultations?

From the beginning of the 15th Assembly, our committee has looked for ways to give members of the public a meaningful opportunity to influence the government's business plans and budget. In the past, we do not think enough people and organizations have had a chance to tell MLAs about their priorities and views of how government should spend its money, Mr. Speaker.

The government's budgets are not made public until February. By this time, it is too late to make major changes, and even minor adjustments can be difficult to fit in. However, the work on the budget begins several months earlier. Standing committees get their first opportunity to see and to question potential cuts, new spending and other budget changes when they review the government's draft three-year business plans. This takes

place over a two-week period in September when there is some possibility of making changes, Mr. Speaker. Committees use this time to discuss government-wide issues with the Premier and Minister of Finance, and then meet with the Minister and senior staff of each department to go over the draft plans in detail.

Governments are often compared to large ships that take a long time to change course. As we did in last year's report, we would like to caution that many of the issues raised demand long-term solutions and are far beyond what can be addressed in one year's budget and business plans. However, Mr. Speaker, we would like to assure the public that the course is slowly changing and that participation in pre-budget consultations is helping to make that happen.

As Finance Minister Roland advised us, "the results of last year's consultation process were useful in identifying a number of specific areas of concern, not simply with respect to budget development, but also in terms of program and service delivery."

In September 2005, Members had the opportunity to ask the questions and raise the issues we heard during our first pre-budget consultations as we reviewed individual departmental business plans with the Ministers and senior staff. In the following months, Members continued to raise issues such as support for front-line organizations and workers, the need for affordable, accessible, adequate housing, and energy conservation. The timing did not allow for major changes to be made for the 2006-2007 budget, however, we expect to see more of an impact on the 2007-2008 budget that will be introduced next February.

As we went through the September 2006 draft business plan review, we were able to use what we heard this year to reinforce with Ministers positions we have taken earlier, and to introduce new ideas. The issues raised during the consultations will continue to be reflected in statements and questions by individual Members during upcoming sessions of the Legislative Assembly, in future reports by standing committees, and in the debate on the budget that will happen next February and March, Mr. Speaker.

As committee members, we will continue to do what we can to influence the government to align its plans more closely with what the public is telling us, and to encourage the government to keep going where it is already heading in the right direction. We look forward to working with the government over the remainder of our mandate on longer-term approaches and strategic investments toward addressing the issues identified and achieving the goals set for us.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to pass on the report to Mr. Braden. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.