Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware that this program has been moved beyond the one pilot, but it has been offered in the North Slave at this point. I have met with the Council for Persons with Disabilities and we have agreed that we are going to move forward to take a look at this disabilities plan and update it and we will take a look at those areas where we need to continue to improve on our offerings. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, this report is from September 2004. This is now February 2007. I think this is a very

important area of work that needs to be accomplished in our government. Would the Minister commit that one of the pilots that they will undertake to be in Hay River? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will take a look at that suggestion. I know, for instance, the Department of Human Resources has tried to lead by example. The office in Hay River has one position identified for a person with disabilities and they have gone out of their way to make sure that they can present an example to other employers about how persons with disabilities can be accommodated. At headquarters, the department here has also identified positions for persons with disabilities including one position for a person with significant disabilities. So we do believe that it is possible to improve on what was happening out there.

As Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities, I have also agreed to work with the council to ensure that we are moving forward and updating this plan. I will work with them. I will make sure they are aware of the Member's request that Hay River be looked at as one of the pilots. We will work collaboratively to see if that can be followed. Thanks.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I speak specifically of Hay River because that is the constituency that I represent. One of the other actions that is indicated as a recommendation in this report is to educate NWT employers about the benefits of including persons with disabilities into their workforce. I would like to ask the Minister if a workshop to that effect has ever been held in Hay River. If not, could he undertake to commit that one will be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, as far as I am aware, the only workshop that has been held was held in the North Slave region. I will certainly take a look at where we can expand this sort of information and report back to the Member on what the options might be.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister detail for us if there are any government financial resources available to private sector employers who could take the opportunity to incorporate persons with disabilities into their workplaces if that extra monetary support was required for additional support for that person in the workplace, perhaps someone to help monitor their work or just some extra costs that might be incurred? Are there any financial resources available to encourage that as an incentive? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There aren't any programs specifically aimed at providing extra support for employers to hire persons with disabilities. I think it would be wrong to say that a person with disabilities costs a company more money. I think that there are an awful lot of ways that people can be creative. I know that within the Department of Human Resources, both in Hay River and in Yellowknife, there have been ways found to accommodate disabilities without any increase in costs. I think that people with disabilities can be as productive as, in many cases, people without disabilities. So I would encourage all employers to take a look at what they can do to make sure that their workplace is accommodating to persons with disabilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to my earlier Member's statement about the GNWT relocating its North Slave regional office that deal with the Tlicho to Behchoko creating a Monfwi regional headquarters. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. How many North Slave positions exist that deal specifically with Tlicho files or serve the Tlicho people in the region? (Translation ends)

I would like to just highlight what the Minister has spoken on the budget session today, the role of the community government, as he highlighted as a New Deal which puts responsibility for community decisions where it belongs, Mr. Speaker, in the communities. So I would like to ask the Premier how many North Slave positions already exist that deal specifically with Tlicho files or serve the Tlicho people in the region? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Member that all of the people who work for the Government of the Northwest Territories and reside in the Tlicho region will work exclusively for the Tlicho. Those who reside in other centres, in Yellowknife for example, I am not sure if any of them work exclusively on Tlicho issues, but I will undertake to find that out. I suspect that they probably work on files covering the whole North Slave region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the difficulties, hardships and the unfairness created by continuing to serve Tlicho from Yellowknife or Yellowknife headquarters, thus creating some more miscommunication dialogue or that is happening in the community, but I would like to ask the Premier a leading question though...I would like to find out from the Premier if he can explain the plans of the Executive to relocate the North Slave position to Behchoko. I do believe the plan had been initiated late last year by the Executive. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following our session last fall, I have asked the regional director with trying to determine which positions are dealing with Tlicho issues exclusively or primarily and coming forward with a plan of how we might consider transfers. Mr. Speaker, that review will take a few weeks to complete. We will have to come to Cabinet and eventually we will be sharing it with the Tlicho administration and the MLAs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Premier for his positive remarks. Mr. Speaker, as we can see, this will be a great opportunity for the Government of the Northwest Territories to demonstrate how serious it is or to take on the implementation of the Tlicho Agreement. So, Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to ask the Premier the commitments being made on decision to move the North Slave regional positions to Behchoko. Could that happen by fall of 2007? Mahsi.