Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two key people of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society; the president, Ms. Sandra Taylor and, of course, Ms. Vivian Squires, the new executive director, who are with us today in the audience. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my sister Anita Villeneuve in the gallery from the Housing Corporation.

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Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the one and only person that I really love in the House up here today is my wife, Lucille Pokiak. Beside her is Barry Jacobson, my nephew. Thank you very much.

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Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the Nahendeh Fiddlers. They will be out in the Great Hall. I have Mr. Lewis Beck, Gerda Hazenberg, Stella Pellisey, and all the youngsters from Wrigley and Fort Simpson. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the early '70s, not too many people knew where the Northwest Territories was. A group of skiers started travelling all over the world and people, after that, realized where the Northwest Territories was. We owe them a great deal of thanks. I believe they put the Northwest Territories on the map. With that, I would like to recognize a recent recipient of the Aboriginal Achievement Award and former resident of Inuvik, Ms. Shirley Firth-Larson. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a former Speaker of the House, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and former Member for the constituency of Kam Lake, Mr. Tony Whitford.

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As well, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Ms. Amanda Mallon, president of the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If I missed anybody in the gallery today, I want to welcome everyone today to observe our session. It is always nice to have an audience. Welcome one and all. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated earlier today in my Member's statement, the Stanton Territorial Hospital has been without a board for the last three and a half years. The Minister had established a Joint Leadership Council using the chairs under his leadership and authority since 2003. They have been treating it in an operation governance since. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is, today, will he agree to give out his control and formalize the existing Joint Leadership Council and appoint them as the new board for the Stanton Territorial Hospital? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Minister, I always maintain in this portfolio the ultimate responsibility and I can't give that up, but I am working very closely with the Joint Leadership Council. In fact, we spent most of the day last week meeting with the folks at Stanton to talk about our relationship and how we're going to better move forward collectively and provide the governance oversight that's required to do that job effectively when you consider the size of Stanton and that it's a territorial resource with an $80 million budget and 500 staff. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, seeing how the Minister didn't answer the question, maybe I'll ask it this way. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister is hearing me now, when will he consider establishing a new board and would he consider using the existing governance board, called the Joint Leadership Council, and establishing them as the board for Stanton Territorial Hospital in an efficient and in a timely way? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Joint Leadership Council already has that responsibility and we are moving, as I just indicated, to formalize that relationship and to work even more closely and effectively, meeting, I think, with the Stanton hospital. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I'm not allowed to say I've been mislead, but I certainly personally feel as if we're missing the whole story on this, because the Minister had given me sort of an outline on what the Joint Leadership Council did and it does not govern and it does not have that responsibility. It gets to play a little friendly role where they get to come along and talk about the Stanton Territorial Hospital. So I'm asking today, would the Minister take that strident leap of leadership and appoint this Joint Leadership Council as the new board for Stanton Territorial Hospital? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Joint Leadership Council already has that within their mandate. In the terms of reference we agreed to, as I just indicated in the last two responses, to formalize that process and that's how we intend to move forward, that it's comprised of all the board chairs and they are at the table and doing an effective job, in my opinion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.