Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been working in conjunction with the federal government to look at green funds that were available to the previous government. We were looking at assisting the community of Whati on a pilot project in regards to the mini-hydro initiative. We're also working with the community of Lutselk'e on the mini-hydro initiative also. Again, that was in conjunction with federal money that we were able to access from the planning of those projects. Again, we are still looking at working with the communities to move these projects forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister if the Power Corporation has any plans in the long term to get rid of the diesel generators in most NWT communities and replace them with hydropower. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at the possibility of expanding the Snare hydro system by extending the power from the Snare hydro site to the community of Whati. Again, we are looking at a possible capital investment of about $5 million to do that. But the work has been done in that area. We did the estimates and that's roughly what the cost is going to be to take on that initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister indicated, there is a planning in place for Whati and Lutselk'e working on this hydro. I'd like to know from the department what stages they are at with the planning process, specifically for the community of Whati. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Krutko.

Again, Mr. Speaker, the project that is being taken hold of by the community of Whati is a community-based project. We are assisting them in regards to getting money for their planning and whatnot, but again we are, our plans presently are looking at the expansion of the hydro lines from the Snare Cascades to the community of Whati. That's the only planning we've done. The majority of the work on the mini-hydro has been done specifically by the community.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to get a commitment from the Minister. If he could come to the community of Whati with his department and possibly fellow colleagues on this new initiative of Whati hydro, when could that take place? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit to the Member of making that happen. Again, time wise, we're probably looking at December or January this year.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I proposed in my Member's statement today, I propose the solution to deal with some of the migrant worker problems that we have. I suggested that maybe we should be creating certification or something of that measure. Mr. Speaker, to further highlight, just for a second, we're losing $240 million in wages and that doesn't take into account lost business opportunities and any further resource money. So my question to the Minister of ITI is, what has he done to undertake this problem to deal with migrant workers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the Member. Obviously all of us in the House think the North is a desirable place to call home, but recognize that maybe one of its disadvantages certainly is the cost of living here compared to other jurisdictions. We know that we've got to take some steps to do what we can to bring that cost of living down, not only in the bigger centres but in all of our communities, small communities, taking a number of steps looking and developing this energy plan that talks about how we can get affordable energy to people. But it's broader than that, Mr. Speaker. I along with the Minister of Education have tasked our officials to come back to us with a discussion paper on these issues. Obviously there are no easy answers, but we do need to propose some solutions to this problem that appears to be growing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a very strong issue coming out of my riding. There are deep concerns that we're not getting a grip on this problem. Is the Minister of ITI familiar with the Quebec regulations, as I proposed in my Member's statement, to deal with construction or trades workers and being able to direct where and when they are able to work? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

No, not specifically, Mr. Speaker, but this is one of the things that will be considered in this work. Obviously we'll do an interjurisdictional survey to talk about what other

jurisdictions are doing. We know obviously, Mr. Speaker, as well, though, that there are mobility provisions in the Charter. It's very difficult to tell people in this country, who are free to move around, where they have to live. So I think the most important approach, as opposed to taking protection of steps, is to create incentives and make sure people want to live here. Reduce the cost of living, make sure land is available, affordable energy. But, Mr. Speaker, all of these issues I'm sure will be raised in the discussion paper. Thank you.