Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, work is underway to ensure that that ability is there for people. We haven't finalized it yet that I am aware of, but I know that we intend to honour that commitment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week, this House passed a motion unanimously naming Deline as the birthplace of ice hockey in Canada.

---Applause

Also, Mr. Speaker, earlier I talked about the split of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to go out on the land with some of the family members and cooked out there and had the elders there. We talked about the importance of language, culture and heritage. In my statement today, I talked about the department considering having a look at the split of this department because of all the responsibilities that it's undertaken so far. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, has his department considered a split into something where Nunavut has the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and if it's part of a 10-year review plan? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In honour of the motion that we undertook on Thursday here, I spent my weekend at the arena watching hockey, particularly watching teams from Tulita and Norman Wells in a Peewee hockey tournament.

Mr. Speaker, whether or not the department would be divided in two is something that we are going to consider over the next year-and-a-half and make recommendations to the next government. We are looking at perhaps making a recommendation that would see the department split along the lines of the two ADMs in the department right now, which would include employment and income support in the language and culture side.

We are finding that it is actually quite useful to have the language and culture component in the department. It helps us to strengthen the ties between language and culture in K to 12 schooling, and it helps us to make sure the college is aware of the importance of language and culture, too, and helps us to work with them to strengthen the Aboriginal Language and Culture Instructors Program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. I hope you cheered for Tulita and Norman Wells this weekend here. Mr. Speaker, I was really happy to see that the honourable Members here dressed up in the clothes for today. I want to say, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider formalizing an elders' advisory group or council, along with the consideration of the split of the department into culture, language and heritage? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have an elders' council that works with the Minister for Health and Social Services right now. Right now, we have, providing advice for the department, an Aboriginal Languages Revitalization Board, as well as an Official Languages Board. They provide us with advice and recommendations as to how we should move in the area of official languages.

We work with stakeholders from across the Territories, the divisional education councils, and we talk with them about how we need to involve language and culture in the schools. I think right now, we are already listening to people -- the stakeholders across the Territories -- about how we should address these issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister then, in terms of utilizing the elders...I know some of the elders are on pension and some are on income support. However, when you utilize the elders, sometime they get penalized for their services in the form of compensation. Would the Minister overlook or give special consideration to the elders when they use their services in terms of helping us shape our government for the future and giving them some flexibility on these types of payments? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, we have embarked on a process whereby we are re-examining our income security programs. As we go through them, we will have to examine all of the rules and regulations for how income is treated, and I will certainly make sure this is one of the areas that comes up for discussion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ITI. I see that the BIP has reared its ugly head again and we need to address it once again, Mr. Speaker.

At the beginning, I was amenable to the suggestion that we might want to do away with the BIP and replace it with a two percent small tax cut. Since then, I am hearing that a lot of companies in the North don't make enough money actually to benefit from a tax cut. If they could pay their expenses and wages and break even, for lots of companies that's doing well. So they will not see the benefit of it.

The other thing is that in many other ways, BIP is an important aspect of doing business in the North for many companies. I was thinking about the potential for the Novel housing where there is a lot of money to be spent in the North and the government is promising that this is going to happen. I would like to know, then, without the BIP, would the companies that might bid on buying the units, or fixing the units, or doing the roadwork, how would they benefit from that if they don't have the benefit of being BIP status? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last question first and I guess it's hypothetical. We know that it's the Mackenzie gas project that's supplying housing. I have never heard that the Mackenzie gas project intends to administer the BIP or talk about which companies are BIP registered that have any

bearing or any effect on their procurement. So it isn't this government buying housing. I think that makes it pretty clear as to what effect the BIP might have on a project of that nature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister said last question first and then he didn't deal with the rest of them, and then he misunderstood the question that he answered, Mr. Speaker.

Let me tell you this, the Minister of Finance, Housing and everybody has been saying that this $500 million investment into the North with Novel housing is a lifetime opportunity and there will be a lot of spin-offs. One of the spin-offs is northern labour and northern training. I want to know how can the companies stand to bid for these contracts without the BIP process, and will the Minister do an analysis of the impact of getting rid of BIP on these contracts? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's difficult to know exactly where the Member is going with this question. I am not sure what bearing the BIP would have on this process. If the government was procuring something, then BIP would apply. Even with BIP application, we don't restrict southern companies, or Yukon companies, or Nunavut companies from bidding. They simply get the benefit of an added premium of 15 percent or 20 percent if the local allowance is included.

Mr. Speaker, I think it's important to keep in mind on $200 million worth of procurement last year by this government, there was a $200,000 some odd, in around there, BIP premium paid to northern companies. The reality is what you have, especially in the bigger centres, you have two, three or four BIP registered companies bidding against each other and the BIP is moot. It really doesn't come into play. So what we have found is on $200 million on procurement, $200,000 premium paid out. It isn't doing much and it's only having a bearing on government procurement. Let's talk about a benefit or incentive to all businesses in the North regardless of who they are doing business with, and that's what a tax cut would do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to have to suggest that the Minister and Cabinet get themselves Olympic-strength skis to keep up with Members on this side, instead of running shoes.

---Laughter

They are so far behind the ball. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Housing and everybody has been talking about at least $200 million out of this $500 million project is going to be spent in the North for northern businesses and northern labour in developing lots, converting whatever, electrical, everything. I want to know how are the northern companies going to be able to apply for contracts without BIP. What other plans do they have? What his answer tells me is they haven't even looked at this question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How advanced are they on this topic?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Bell.