Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks for the answer. I think I heard the Minister say he’s going to look for input from Regular Members. I guess I would like to have him formally commit to or to formalize his answer that, yes, he will ask for input from Regular Members in terms of this particular policy for P3 projects.

Mr. Speaker, we will do that as we do with any policy work. If we’re to change it, we’ll work with the appropriate committee to have input and give us feedback. So we will be doing that, yes.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to address my question to the Minister of MACA with regard to community preparedness.

I was recently in Nahanni Butte, and I had a couple of constituents ask about their firebreak. It hasn’t been worked on for some time. I’d just like to ask the Minister: does that program still exist?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I haven’t been briefed on that particular issue yet, but I will let the Member know that I will get a briefing on it, and I will be in a better position to answer his question.

Thank you very much. I think it sounds like the Minister took that question on notice there, Mr. Speaker. But just some of the further questions I’d be interested in are: what is the process to access this program; is there still funding available for this year, and if there is, can we access it as soon as we can?

One of the things I do not intend to do very much is take questions on notice. I will commit to be briefed on a lot of the material that Members are bringing forward to me, including the questions brought forward by the Member for Nahendeh. I will get briefed on it, and like I said, I will be in a much better position to give a very good answer.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories has recognized the importance of traditional harvesting activities for some time now, and we do have a number of programs in place. Over the course of the past ten years or so we also had the Western Harvesters’ Assistance Program, which is a $15 million matching program that is available to every aboriginal government organization in the Northwest Territories. We do also have the Harvesters’ Assistance Program, a total of $1.5 million, which includes funding for local wildlife committees, Community Harvesters’ Assistance

Program and Harvesters’ Disaster Compensation. We also have the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program, which provides assistance to trappers, and, of course, the Take a Kid Trapping program, which introduces youth to living off the land.

Mr. Speaker, this is fairly specific. I am talking about hunters. The high cost of gas is having a huge impact on many families, and the traditional practice of harvesting traditional foods from the land is being threatened. Would the Minister commit to looking at how the department can assist subsistence hunters to offset the high cost of gasoline as soon as possible?

Mr. Speaker, we do have the Community Harvesters’ Assistance Program, which can be used for deferring some of the costs of living off the land. I do know that the last time there were any changes to the program was at least three or four governments ago. So I will be quite prepared to review this area.

Mr. Speaker, I’m glad the Minister is prepared to review this policy. The high price of gas is having an immediate impact on our harvesters. We have mineral exploration resource development, hydro expansion, tourism; even global warming has an impact on wildlife. My Tu Nedhe riding is being hit from all sides. I would like to ask the Minister if he will commit during the review to help develop a traditional harvester strategy for Tu Nedhe communities.

Mr. Speaker, I do know that in the past we have worked with the community of Tu Nedhe to develop a community development strategy. There are lots of resources around Tu Nedhe in areas such as wildlife, forestry and so on, so we’d be quite prepared to work with the community to develop such a strategy.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Draft NWT Hydro Strategy.

Document 103-16(2), Draft NWT Hydro

Strategy, tabled.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 15, notices of motion. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, October 17, 2008, I will move the following motion:

Therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the following Members be appointed to the Board of Management of this Assembly: Mr. Jackie Jacobson, Member for Nunakput, and Hon. Jackson Lafferty, Member for Monfwi; and further, that the following Members be appointed to the Board of Management as alternate members: Hon. Robert McLeod, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, and Mr. Kevin Menicoche, Member for Nahendeh. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you Mr. Abernethy. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, Ministers’ Statement 80-16(2), Tabled Document 93-16(2), Bill 15, with Mr. Krutko in the chair.

I call Committee of the Whole to order. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, Minister’s Statement, sessional statement; Tabled Document 93-16(2); Bill 15. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee wishes to continue on with the Northwest Territories Capital Estimates, 2009–2010.