Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is nice that the Minister and ENR advised ITI in November, but they didn't advise us. Like I said, we found out after the fact some time the third week of December when we did have meetings with ENR in the first week of December. There was no mention of a drastic reduction of tag allocation at that time. I think this is a very important question, Mr. Speaker. The harvest of the Bathurst herd in the North Slave region, according to ENR's own numbers, the 5,800 animals that were harvested in the North Slave region were all attributed to one herd. How could that be possible? I think that is an important question to ask the Minister as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our surveys were conducted over the last while for a number of herds that are in the Northwest Territories. There is still some work we have to do yet. We have to do the Beverly herd. We are planning to do that next year. Mr. Speaker, this herd, the Bathurst herd, was surveyed I think in 2003. When we did it again in 2006, we saw a crash of about 50,000 to 60,000 animals. Now, that is a very great concern to us. We recognize that there is some mingling of the herds. The Bluenose herd sometimes during the winter season will mingle and mix with the Bathurst herd. However, I should point out to the Member that there is absolutely no outfitting permitted through the recommendations from the Sahtu Co-management Board that is allowed through the Bluenose herd. So that is something that we need to take a look at also, but our numbers indicated that this herd was crashing. We looked at what would be a sustainable yield to allow a small operation or several small operations to succeed or survive, and set our quota accordingly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my questions today to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister direct his department to revisit Hay River's water and sewer subsidy this time taking into account the distance over which the town provides services and the costs associated with that distance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we would certainly permit our staff to sit down with the Town of Hay River and provide some models of how they can recalculate their numbers and look at some of the items that are still in the Water and Sewer Subsidy Program budget that should be backed out because of the capital. We have a number of other communities that have to haul water long distances. Fort McPherson, for example, hauls their water 23 kilometres on a daily basis. It is also a challenge for them.

Mr. Speaker, we did take some consideration as to the uniqueness factor when we set up our budgets. It is internal what it costs for fuel in terms of those types of flexible or variable costs for each community, but as to sit down and put all of the numbers back into place that are reduced or increased, that would mean we would go back to our old formula and throw this one out the window.

Mr. Speaker, this one is a new formula that is fair and reflects the actual costs of what each community will sustain. There is a fixed component of actual infrastructure and equipment that is in the community. There is a variable component that is also the calculation of what that community is able to raise in revenue. Mr. Speaker, we think it is fair.

In the case of Hay River, there was an additional pot of money that was in place, but it was built in or supplied

over and above the Water and Sewer Subsidy Program. It was put in place some time ago, and it does not reflect fairness across the board. It is one community that is getting more than what everybody else is getting. We can't qualify that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated last Friday that he was "not sure how and why there was more money being provided over and above the Water and Sewer Subsidy Program." That is from page 1689 of unedited Hansard. How can the Minister know that the so-called extra over and above $200,000 provided to Hay River in previous years was not justified if he doesn't know how or why it got there in the first place? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these dollars were provided over and above the Water and Sewer Subsidy Program. The amount that Hay River was getting for the Water and Sewer Subsidy Program was $316,000, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Hay River, it has been indicated by the Minister, was getting more than they should have had in the past. If he needed a reason why we were getting more, perhaps it would lend to justifying reinstating that. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister agree to reinstate the $200,000 he has cut from Hay River's water and sewer subsidy unless and until he can tell us what has changed to make that $200,000 no longer justifiable and he can demonstrate that the cost of servicing a 30-mile corridor have been factored into the formula? To summarize, a reinstatement until we can absolutely determine how and why that was justified in the beginning. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure if we reinstated the extra money for Hay River, we would have every Member of this House standing up for an extra $200,000, and our budget just won't allow that. Mr. Speaker, this allocation for each community was based on the assets in the community and what it costs to produce water and what the variable costs in terms of power, fuel and those types of things added and also factored in is the ability for those communities to raise revenue. I think it is fair system. Everybody has the same system in place. There is no mechanism now for some communities to get more. Some communities that were provided no assistance are now getting assistance, so it is really a change. The old formula was set up so there were a number of things calculated, everything in the book: how long it took for a truck to fill up a tank, how many tanks and what sizes were the tanks in the community, what size the drivers were, how much fuel do you use, how often the trucks were replaced. It became a system that we couldn't calculate. We didn't know if it was fair. Some communities were asking us to change it. Other communities were saying they were being cheated. So this is a new system. People can understand it. It is fair across the board, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mackenzie Valley highway is part of our Highway Strategy of the Northwest Territories. We did submit a proposal to the federal government. It is called, Connecting Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast. In 2006, I believe it was, in the spring, it was estimated at $700 million at that time. Over the years, we have consistently approached the federal government time and time again providing them proposals of our strategy. In fact, it was August of last year the Premier had the support of all the Premiers across Canada to include new northern roads as part of the National Transportation Strategy and continue to press the matter. Even with that support, the federal government refused to give us any new dollars for new road construction of which they are responsible, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. One of the main users of the highway, if it is built, would be industry, the oil and gas industry, the diamond industry. Has industry ever been approached about contributing to a highway system? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Industry has been approached, particularly in the Sahtu experiences that we don't really call them like tolls but they know the conditions of winter roads and they gladly agreed to contribute to the upkeep and maintenance of those roads. But we have had discussions in the past with industry, particularly with the Mackenzie Valley all-weather roads and the Connecting Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast makes reference to a toll system to help contribute or build the new Mackenzie Valley highway. Mahsi.

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