Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister how the dismantling of the diamond projects division, one that had been in place for a number of years and had provided much support to the industry, how the dismantling of that division is going to help us protect the secondary industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, we've had a shift of focus in the department in terms of our support. We've made the decision to withdraw, at this point, from the National Diamond Strategy, at the suggestion of the factories, and more closely focus on our local support initiatives to factories, working with them on our Rare in Nature campaign. In order to do so, as the Member indicated, we have taken the diamond projects division, taken away the task of National Diamond Strategy support, which was taking up quite a bit of our time, and parcelled out the responsibilities. For instance, tourism and parks division in my department will now handle all the diamond tourism marketing. Investment and economic analysis division is the one point of contact for our Rare in Nature campaign. Minerals, oil and gas is going to be handling our certification program, the administration of our rough diamonds supply, and also monitoring of the approved

NWT manufacturers. As the Members also know, some of the diamond marketing programs that are being generated through the Rare in Nature campaign are being paid for with funds that come from the polished diamond certification. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the other areas I think the local industry turns for support, because the diamond division isn't there any longer, is to Members of this House, Mr. Speaker. I know some of my colleagues have brought this up, as well, about the situation where one of our local cut and polish factories can buy diamonds cheaper in Antwerp than they can here in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister if he has met with BHP regarding the pricing discrepancies between Antwerp and Yellowknife, and how he will take action to make sure that our cut and polish industry here is being treated fairly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Important to point out, I think, that the local factories here enjoy an excellent relationship, for the most part, with the mines. The mines have been very supportive of the programs and there is, but, at this point, really one main complaint between a factory and one of the mines. The Member has indicated it's BHP Billiton. I've encouraged the two sides to come together; encouraged the factory to take their concerns, document their concerns, and have a pointed discussion with the mine around those. They have met in Antwerp, I understand, either yesterday or today. So we'll hopefully, shortly, know the outcome of that discussion. But it was important, I think, to recognize that this is a commercial dispute. It should be settled by these two parties where possible. If it can't and won't be settled by these two parties, then, obviously, our government has to be involved. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member from Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment with regard to the Youth Employment Program initiative, and I believe it's in his mandate. Just with respect to that, I'd just like to ask the Minister what's in the plans this year for contributions to our communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The program will be funded at the same level as it was last year, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was just wondering if the Minister's office has any intention to support special initiative projects that are out there, if there's any allocation at all for that. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The funding for the programs is divided on a regional basis throughout the Northwest Territories and funding decisions are made at the regional offices, based on applications that come in. So it's important that groups or organizations that wish to access this funding get their applications into the regional office as quickly as possible. In this year's budget we're not proposing an increase in the funding. It is just the exact same amount as we had last year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm just wondering, because I know that there is a demand out there to provide adequate funding to youth employment opportunities, I'm just wondering if the Minister can tell me how much of an uptake was taken last year and how much of a demand there was to provide opportunities to our youth. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have last year's uptake figures with me. I will ensure that the Member gets that information very quickly. I'll transmit it to him and other Members in writing. I think it's important to remember that when the monies were reduced in this one program, Youth Employment Program, they weren't taken out of the budget; they were moved into apprenticeship. After talking to people through the Northwest Territories, the suggestion was that we needed to focus more on getting money into apprenticeship and that's where we moved the monies to. So it's not a situation where the funding was reduced for young people, it's just we've refocused it in a different area. I know that I've heard from a number of Members that this has caused some concerns in their communities, but we still have some money there. I would encourage the communities to get their applications in early for this funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member from Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, although the question was directed to the Minister of MACA, the question is more appropriate for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and I hold that portfolio. Mr. Speaker, we have been negotiating with Canada and the Akaitcho for a number of years on their process. We are working in good faith. We will continue to work with the Akaitcho and the federal government on the issues. There is a table dealing with land withdrawal and we intend to continue to negotiate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.