Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's a number of representatives that come to the table to discuss this plan and that includes the governments that the Member has mentioned: the Lutselk'e council and the Akaitcho territory and Deninu Kue First Nations. There's other jurisdictions in Saskatchewan and there's also the NWT Metis that have indicated they want to speak to this issue. So there are a number of things that we're looking at so that before we can vote on it, we need to make sure we have all the information. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I get the Minister to come forward with some indication to the proponents who, to my knowledge, have already approved the plan in principle of who we are waiting for to come forward to give their interest or state what their claim and interest in this management area? If they are totally legitimate, I don't see why not, but if they're really not that legitimate and we've been working on this thing for 13 years now, Mr. Speaker, so you know, why can't we just approve, because this is just a plan in principle. So why can't we just move forward with that and move along with some action on the management? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT Metis Nation is the primary government that has come forward lately. The other issue that has, I guess, caused us to take a second look at this is the process that we're going to use. Is it a protected area strategy that we're going to be pursuing? So we're kind of taking a step back, but at the same time there is another government that has come forward and asked us to speak to us. So we'd like to do that prior to moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a couple of questions of the Minister of Health and Social Services and it relates to the, as I said in my statement, the crushing burden of alcohol abuse in our society. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister just what emphasis does our current Addictions Strategy place on awareness and avoidance of alcohol abuse?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, by far, in this point in time, we spend the majority of our resources dealing with the after effects of alcoholism and abuse in our communities in the Northwest Territories. The department has recently undergone a new direction of, as stated in this House by Mr. Miltenberger, a 1 percent target at this point targeted towards the prevention side, along with the awareness campaign that the department is undertaking. So we're starting to look at further investments in the prevention side. By far, if we can get to our children at a young age, we can make a huge difference at that point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and I think all other Members are very supportive of the financial resources going into it. It's the methodology, the programs, the approach that we're taking that has really piqued my interest, Mr. Speaker. We know that, for instance, the National Association of Friendship Centres, of which there are several affiliates here in the NWT, is shifting its program direction toward awareness. There are many other organizations, the Salvation Army, the Centre for NWT Families, that are front-line organizations. Are we partnering with them? Are we looking to harness their resources along with ours as we take on this campaign, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, along with all the partners that help in the delivery of a number of programs, health authorities as well as NGOs, we continue to work in partnership where we can with program direction. We seek input on where we're going. For example, I discussed the Territorial Advisory Group that met in March and that group is looking at the core service plan and looking at the direction over the next five years. We've worked with the health authorities, NGOs, aboriginal groups and stakeholders to look at that new direction where we can continue to try and improve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, have we developed, along with these partners or in any context, any kind of targets or objectives that we want to try to achieve over a given period of time that would show that we're actually getting somewhere, that we're actually making some results? What are the targets and the objectives, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this area would be a very difficult one to try to measure. We could have numerous programs. I'm aware of individuals that have gone into programs maybe seven times before they finally were able to get on with their lives and leave the alcohol behind. That's something that's hard to measure. Some would say after a number of entries in a program it should be done, get on with it. But when at the seventh time that individual turned their life around and was a positive role model then for their family, is that too late or is that adequate? That becomes very difficult to measure. As we proceed with these programs, one of the overall ones I guess we'd look at is the overall reduction of alcohol consumption in the Northwest Territories would be one of the measures, and try to measure where we're going. So that would be difficult. We're working again with groups across the North. One of the other ones that's recently been undertaken, a discussion paper on territorial alcohol and drug programs, balancing community and residential services is one of the papers we're working on within the department and our health authorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask questions to the Minister of Human Resources and it's in regards to the Minister's statement he made yesterday about the summer student employment. Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated that in 2006 the GNWT provided employment to 343 summer students, and as of this week 195 students have been hired. I want to ask the Minister whether or not the number of student employment positions available has been reduced this year, because on the streets parents and university students are suggesting that government is not hiring as many summer students. A while back I think we all received an e-mail from HR -- I think it's a public e-mail -- where there was a list of university students or students in post-secondary education who are still looking for jobs and it was quite numerous. It was either indicating we have a lot of students who are in school or there are lots of students who are not able to find jobs. So can I ask the Minister whether there has been a reduction in the number of positions available? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As far as we're aware at Human Resources, the numbers of jobs have not been reduced. Of course, we're not always aware of what jobs or positions departments are looking to fill. The Progressive Experience Program and the Relevant Experience Program are both being funded to the same degree and the same level of support as in previous years. So we would think that departments would find a way to hire a similar number of students. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Minister indicated as far as he was aware. Could I ask the Minister to confirm whether or not there have been a reduction of positions available for summer students? Because the Minister has indicated in his statement yesterday only 195 students have been hired so far. This is the end of May. Summer students are usually hired around this time and we're not anywhere near meeting the numbers of last year at 343. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.