Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we have proposed that to the federal government and directly to the Prime Minister, as well as to Minister Prentice. I can't recall exactly, but I believe I had the same discussion with the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Speaker, our long-term interest and our short-term interests are...(inaudible)...with the federal government. It really baffles me why we aren't able to come to some kind of agreement with the federal government on this instead of this silence we are hearing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe we should start singing O Canada before our proceedings each and every day. That might be another message to the federal government that this is part of Canada and they should give us a fair deal. I would like to ask the Premier if he could, and I know these discussions have taken place, but for Regular Members on this side of the House we just don't have the evidence. What is the government doing? We are six months away from the end of the life of this government and we want some evidence that these hard questions have been asked to the federal government. I think the Premier should supply the Regular Members of this House with that evidence. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot done on our side. Let me say that going back to 2001, as I mentioned yesterday, the non-renewable resource development strategy. That one laid out the costs of developing non-renewable resources, where the benefits should be and our whole plan of how we would spend the money. Mr. Speaker, that has been given to Members and so on. Mr. Speaker, there are also infrastructure plans put together on transportation coast to coast to coast and a northern transportation strategy. We have a number of these with other provinces and ourselves. There is the bridge program. We have a number of years saying to the federal government we are going to be responsible with this. If responsibility is any doubt in their minds, then the Minister of Finance has the work to get the fiscal responsibility policy in place saying people, look, we are responsible, we are big people here, we will look after our money properly.

So there has been a lot that has been done that has been provided to Members. Mr. Speaker, some days I am at a loss what more we can do. Why are we not getting this message through to the federal government in spite of our efforts on all the fronts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it's virtually important that we do get that message out. This government has had three and a half years to get the message out to Ottawa. We have been standing up in this House since the day I got elected, asking questions about resource revenue sharing and devolution. Like I said, six months from now there is going to be a new government and we are no further ahead in Ottawa. So, Mr. Speaker, what is the Premier's strategy in the next six months to try to deliver on some of the promises that this government has made to northerners? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said on several occasions, negotiations are continuing. Negotiations are happening almost on a weekly basis now. The federal negotiator, as I said, is a tough negotiator but we are going to continue with that.

Mr. Speaker, I have also offered to work with the Members. I hope to hear from you. I will work with committee chairs. Mr. Speaker, I am also in contact with other people who have been, in recent history, through similar kinds of challenges that we face right now to get their expert advice as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In meetings with the facilities committee, I started telling them what I thought they should be looking at as early as May and June. That continued through the summer and into August. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this decision or this type of discussion certainly is two years overdue. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister be picking up the extra cost if YK 1 decides to lease the school? Will they be picking up the extra costs associated with the bussing, the money spent to date for the planning of the next school year that we have now rendered useless and, further, will they be picking up the cost of the severance packages if staff have to be laid off? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not convinced that there would necessarily be cost for laying off a number of staff. I think that the amount of money that YK 1 could use could be put into programming if they were to reduce some of the duplication in overhead that they have in keeping an extra school open. It's stated in the letter and I have always said to YK 1 that we are prepared to look at reasonable transition costs. We are obviously going to be wiling to discuss those. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now the new formula defines school boards is to choke one by his new design of funding arrangement. Now, Mr. Speaker, if YK 1 does not give in to the new funding arrangement he has decreed on one school board, not equally across the Northwest Territories, what is the next plan?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the Member talked about consistency across the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife has a unique situation. We have two public boards in Yellowknife that collect taxes from the public. Most jurisdictions across Canada have gotten away from that. Alberta doesn't allow local boards to collect taxes anymore, nor does Ontario. If we are going to talk about a consistent approach here, maybe we have to talk about removing local taxation ability and funding all boards across the Territories in the same manner. I am wiling to take a look at that. That would, however, have some impact here because the local boards have been using local taxation as a means to improve the services over and above what can be delivered in other communities. In fact, they have to spend the equivalent of somewhere between 103 and 105 percent of what they would have through the typical formula. So if it's a consistent approach we want for Yellowknife, we can take a look at that. Right now, I agree, Yellowknife is treated differently in our system.

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

I appreciate the Minister not answering the question, Mr. Speaker. This question really was about the fact that if YK 1 decides not to lease or give up a school, he has no school. I would like to hear what happens now. Thank you.