Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we should be clear, for the record, that I indicated that those would be indicators and, if those numbers did go down, they would be signs of success. It is unfortunate that I am not able to stand up and say with much joy and happiness in my voice that that, in fact, is happening, because it is not. It is something that we are striving for.

The FASD issue, as well, is a very complex and difficult subject where diagnosis of FASD is a very complicated process requiring a lot of work. Our ability to, in fact, diagnose these are very limited across Canada. The issue for us is going to be very basic initial indicators like the alcohol consumption, like the number of pregnant mothers acknowledging that they drink during pregnancy

being reduced, are two that come to mind. The other indicator, Mr. Speaker, in a more general sense, would be the recognition in schools that, possibly in the coming years, the number of special needs children seems to be dropping when it is recognized that a significant percentage of those children are FASD affected. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my questions today to Minister Bell who operates under the capacity of Industry, Tourism and Investment. During last session, I talked about a "Buy NWT," kind of a made-in-the-NWT program. I brought forward my concerns that we are not representing them in a capacity of a profile getting out there to our own citizens, as well as the rest of Canada, that we make good products here and that we should be looking for them at every opportunity. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is, what are we doing with this "Buy NWT" program I brought forward to him? Where are we to date on that program? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Member was very interested in our branding initiatives. A number of members of the committee have had this discussion with me as well in committee. Members will also remember that the NWT Arts Strategy response, the GNWT response did talk about a Visual Identity Program. We are partially underway. We have gone out looking for interest in developing some branding that will be used around NWT arts and crafts. We do think that NWT arts and crafts are something that we need to get out, promote, and make sure everybody in Canada and the world understand what we have to offer. We are looking to develop this programming. It will start with the development of a logo. We are not out soliciting interest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is excellent news that we are out looking for a logo and seeking interest, but have we spoken to the manufacturers? Mr. Speaker, I am well aware, many times I have brought it up, but we all know about the diamond industry that cuts and makes diamonds here in the sense of polishing. I am well familiar with the window industry, trusses, canvas bags, the special teas that are made downtown. What I have asked for is something simple that we can start off with, which is supplying tags that say made in the NWT, so our northern residents can buy things with pride knowing that they were made locally. So those types of initiatives I am talking about moving quickly. Would the Minister respond on that aspect whereas what are we doing in that regard to promote our local products? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Arts and crafts are but one piece. They are the first piece. It was in the interest of responding to the NWT Arts Strategy that we move forward on this. As I indicated the last time in the House we had this discussion, I have underway the BDIC is travelling to regions conducting a business program and service review to understand the types of programs that we are delivering. We want to know how they are working, whether or not they're still relevant. One of the things they are talking about is manufacturing in the North. We do want to move forward on a manufacturing strategy, but it has to make sense. You can imagine that there's got to be a lot of discussion around what percentage of value added does a product need to be in order to be considered NWT manufactured? There's a big difference between building cabinetry, for instance, from scratch and order cabinetry from the South and putting doors or doorknobs on it, and we have to have some discussion around what qualifies as NWT manufactured. So we are undertaking that discussion, as well, Mr. Speaker, but it's more complex than the arts and crafts piece which is why it has not rolled out as quickly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not really talking about splitting atoms here in the concept of, you know, we have to create a whole new program or department or whatnot just to get some pride out there. I'm talking about logos, little tags that we can add on. I remember when we sent out carvings, they had little tags saying that they were northern made. I'm talking about stickers that people can put on their products and people can buy with pride. So I'm talking about fullness of consultation about getting out there and just doing something simple so we can get this moving forward, and then we can worry about refining it with the fullest of consultation. So, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister, would he extend consultation, of course, to both the bands and municipal corporations because I'm very familiar with, for example, the City of Yellowknife has a whole economic development department, so would he extend that consultation to those bands and municipal corporations that do this type of thing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's important to understand that we can't simply issue stickers that people can plunk onto their products. This has to be credible; it has to be real. We can't have situations where we have products that aren't really manufactured in the North, aren't really northern arts and

crafts. There's got to be a way for us to support our manufacturing and arts and crafts industry, but also be able to audit it. We have to ensure that we provide certainty to people who are purchasing these products. So it's very important to us to maintain the integrity of our branding programs. It isn't as simple as it might appear, but we will work with all of the interested stakeholders. We are underway now in this regional consultation. We'll make sure that we have discussions with all the communities and all of the interested partners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member from Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the honourable Member responsible for Justice, Mr. Brendan Bell. I want to ask some questions today in regard to a police dog attack on a good Samaritan that happened in the city of Yellowknife just recently. It's not the first time that this dog has attacked somebody. In the past it happened to be a criminal, but this time it was a good Samaritan. I'd just like to ask the Minister of Justice what the government's response is. You know, Mr. Speaker, I was very supportive of this dog and the handler showing up here in Yellowknife to do some good work, but this is the second time. Did we get a second-rate dog, or what is the real story behind this dog, Mr. Speaker? I'd like to ask the Minister of Justice that question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think all Members are supportive of this initiative. The dog has been successful in helping us find drugs in residences, helping us find drugs in parcels, I think it's going to help us in our strategy and work with the street team to get drugs off the streets. It can also be used in situations where we're trying to apprehend people. In the case that we're talking about, there was an apprehension underway of some people who were stealing snow machines. Unfortunately, yes, a good Samaritan was injured. We have to review the incident and make sure that all of the proper procedures and protocols were followed. It does cause me some concern. We will be in discussion with the RCMP to make sure that we're doing everything we can to ensure that people are safe as we use this. We do have to ensure that and are following up on this. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this good Samaritan had to be medevaced to Edmonton, as far as my information tells me. I think certainly from a public relations standpoint, Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister of Justice has a problem on his hands because if we want to get the public involved and assisting the RCMP and helping out, the next time somebody goes to help the RCMP they're going to be worried that this dog is around the corner and it's going to attack them. I think, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice and this government have to try to get the message out there that this isn't going to be the case, this won't happen again, and that it was an isolated incident. But, Mr. Speaker, the track record would suggest that it's not an isolated incident and I'd like to know what the Minister of Justice is going to do about this dog. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, it is an isolated incident and I don't want to get into the details of the incident that the Member referred to initially because it's a matter before the courts. But I can tell you that this is the first instance with this dog in the North where a bystander has been injured. We can go through the details, but, of course, I think it's premature at this point. I can assure the Members that I've asked the department to sit down with the RCMP and undertake a full review. I will agree that public support for this initiative is very important. We do have to maintain public support, but I don't want people to think that the dog is a danger. I think there were some circumstances here that lead to this injury happening and we will undertake this review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the discussions that the Minister of Justice has with the RCMP, I'm wondering if in part of those discussions will be if we cannot get a new dog. I think maybe that's part of the problem, Mr. Speaker, is to get a new dog, one that's going to not do what the one did just yesterday, Mr. Speaker. I'd like the Minister to at least ask the RCMP if we cannot trade out this dog. Thank you.