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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess it depends on your perspective, but I certainly don't see this as a good thing. I don't see the delay as beneficial. Mr. Speaker, we have to keep in mind that much of the exploration, much of the seismic work that's going to happen in the central Mackenzie is in the hopes that gas can be found and be put into the pipeline. Much of the work that's slated for the Beaufort-Delta area, and there are many, many people and businesses who have made a bet on this project and invested in the steel and in the capacity to be ready for this, and the more slippage, the more likelihood that we'll see bankruptcies and we'll see people not able to put their equipment to work, Mr. Speaker. So it's, in fact, quite frightening. I think that we need to do what we can to keep the regulatory process on track. I'm still optimistic that some of the time can be gained back in the end and that we won't be looking at first gas by 2014, but I see no other way to see this but as a disappointing announcement on the regulatory slippage and, you know, we're going to work to do what we can to see if there's some time that can be made back. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I'm a bit curious about what the Minister means by regulatory slippage. This is a decision by the pipeline consortium. They know that it's going to take them a bit longer to get the decision from the National Energy Board and the JRP, but they are also going to take the time they need to make that decision. Can the Minister clarify just what, in his assessment, in the government's assessment, is the cause for this delay? Is it regulatory or is it financial, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, as Imperial Oil outlines in its press release, it's both; it's both regulatory delays that have occurred over the last number of years; and we've seen them related principally to the JRP, Mr. Speaker, and also the need to sit down with the federal government and talk about some of this fiscal certainty, Mr. Speaker. There's no doubt in my mind that the five or six years when this project was envisioned, the regulatory process that was set up with the cooperation plan seemed like a good one, but it's evident now that, in my opinion, the federal government vastly underestimated the resources that would be required to put this project through the regulatory process. The interdepartmental coordination from federal departments is not there, Mr. Speaker; we need a major projects coordinating office. The capacity in some of these departments -- and there are about 8 or 10 of them involved -- is not adequate. Mr. Speaker, even prior to these projects, the Crown has obligations to consult with aboriginal people. I don't think they have the capacity or the money in the federal government to do that. So it's on this federal government to fix those problems and we expect them to work to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's answers and I think he's showing some leadership on this one. However, given that we do have at least a couple or three years from the schedules we

may all have been hoping for, we should not be wasting a minute, Mr. Speaker, in revising our own timetables and schedules for our preparations for this project. What action is the government planning to adjust its actions to this new timetable, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Well, Mr. Speaker, obviously the timetable is largely going to be dictated to us. We have to sit down and look at the costing information that's been presented. We know that the National Energy Board will be doing that. We want to ensure that we are talking apples to apples. I know some of the new figures are around better estimates related to anchor field development going forward. I believe there was almost a - a plug figure is the wrong term - but there were some very loose estimates given to that and we can now see that they are billions more than was initially expected. So we will sit down as the Cabinet, talk about this and talk about how we move forward to best support this project. However, I can tell you that we continue to lobby and advocate for the Aboriginal Pipeline Group and their interests. Obviously their costs have risen; it's going to be harder for them to borrow money. We have some concerns about their returns and we're going to be working hard to make sure that they still have a viable interest in this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

You know, Mr. Speaker, along with advocating for the interests of the APG and the other major investors in this, we should be advocating for our own interests as I talked about training, environment, small business and community development. Mr. Speaker, the people who really on the front line are going to be affected by this are the communities of the Mackenzie Valley, the Mackenzie Delta and other parts of the NWT. Is the government going to be engaging those community leaders and industry leaders at the earliest possible time to begin to look at mutual solutions and plans for what to do with this extra gift of time?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, I am amazed that the Member can see this as a gift. I am sure Fred Carmichael and Nellie Cournoyea would disagree. I think the people of the central Mackenzie would disagree, Mr. Speaker. Let's be honest; this could potentially be devastating and we need to work hard to get this project on track. There is a window for delivering Arctic gas, Mr. Speaker. Free LNG being sighted on the continent, we think this project is still economic. There is a need to move forward. There is a need to enlist the federal government's support, as I described in response to Member Groenewegen's questions, but, yes, we are already working to talk about what this will mean for us and how we can respond. We have had phone conversations with some of the northern leaders already. We have had discussions in Cabinet. We will be working diligently, Mr. Speaker, but it is hard for me to find any way to see this as good news. I can't, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my earlier statement, I have highlighted the presence of mould in the Jimmy Erasmus Seniors' Home in Behchoko, which poses a concern on the infection, disease or other sicknesses among the seniors in that facility. Mr. Speaker, in consideration of the problems identified with the facility, the NWT Housing Corporation has commissioned a study by an outside consultant to explore the possible alternative solutions, including a comparative analysis on repair versus replacement. The NWT Housing Corporation has identified a number of areas in the seniors' home that would require repair or replacement. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation what is the department's immediate plan to deal with the ongoing problems with regular maintenance of the Jimmy Erasmus Seniors' Home in Behchoko? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation is also very concerned, as am I, with the condition of this facility. There were, I think, seven areas of deficiencies that we committed to working on in the meantime in the short term. I don't have an up-to-date report on exactly what has been accomplished to today, but we are concerned about it. We will deal with those deficiencies in the existing building and, at the same time, take a look at whether or not we want to put major money into this facility or whether we would be better off to build something new. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would like to see those results of the study that was undertaken. I am very concerned about the facility itself. It is 21 years old, built in 1986. It is falling apart, Mr. Speaker, when you really have a tour of the facility.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus on one of the long-term plans of the NWT Housing Corporation. If the Jimmy Erasmus Seniors' Home costs more to repair than to replace, will this government, or NWT Housing Corporation, commit to a new seniors' home in Behchoko to replace it? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will commit to providing units for the seniors in Behchoko. Now, we need to look at the review that is being done. This is not something that we are going to ponder or cogitate on forever. We have to take some action here. We realize that we have done some short-term things on the existing facility, but if this one just cannot be repaired at a reasonable cost, then we have to look at a new building, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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