Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I would like to know when the Minister is going to work with our stakeholders in the Sahtu to see the Sahtu regional health centre put on the capital acquisition plan.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, I first of all would like to assure the Member that Health and Social Services and the government are pointing millions of dollars into the Sahtu region. I do appreciate that there are no substantial capital projects on the books for the Sahtu region. I’d be happy to see a needs study or an assessment of the region to see what their capital needs are and work through the new capital planning process with the Member.

My people certainly would like to know where these millions of dollars are that have been pointed to the Sahtu. I have on the books for 2005–2006 $8.1 million coming into Sahtu Health. In Hansard it has on Friday that they poured millions downtown into Yellowknife in terms of projects: a $15

million dementia centre. We’re

asking if this government can put capital into our region to bring the standards of health care similar to downtown Yellowknife — for the Sahtu region to have a regional health and wellness centre that our region can enjoy, just like any other region in the Northwest Territories. We’re tired of flying in and flying out and using Yellowknife and these types of conditions. We would like a regional health centre.

When will the Minister commit to seeing something on the books?

Mr. Speaker, I have not had a chance to actually go and see the facility and meet the Sahtu authority staff and leaders. I want to do that. I have not had a chance to do that as the Minister. Also, right now I don’t have the information on what their needs are. In order for us to work toward capital planning and capital projects for Sahtu, we need to initiate that process. I’m making a commitment to the Member that I will look into that and work with the Member on that.

I thank the Minister for making the effort to come to the Sahtu and talk to the stakeholders. The Minister has dealt with the Sahtu regional health board. You have talked to them. You have talked to them also as a Regular Member. I remember you coming to the Sahtu region. There’s no difference. There are no changes in terms of our health centres, Minister Lee. In Tulita we’re busting at the seams in terms of our health centre. We’re getting two nurse practitioners in our region. Where are we going to put them? How are we going to have this facility? Where are they going to work in the facilities in our region? I think that if we can approve a $12 million project in Inuvik for an office and storage centre, certainly we can do something for the Sahtu region.

Again, I would ask strongly of the Minister to meet with the stakeholders and put this on the plan. We can start that process here and give hope to the people. When can we put this on the plan so the region can have a regional health centre?

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Sahtu regional health authority is new, young and vibrant. It’s working hard to bring up the programs and services in the region. I’m willing to work with the authority as well as the Member to look at what we have in the Sahtu and what we need to work on, not only in the programming but also with respect to capital planning. I do make a commitment to the Member that I will ask the department to work with the Sahtu to see what their capital needs are. There are processes, step by step, that we need to follow, and I’m willing to begin that process.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. A final short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My former colleague Mr. Braden fought hard for the dementia centre. He fought hard for the dementia centre in Yellowknife. All of a sudden it’s in the books, it’s on the table, and $15 million is spent. We have over the years been fighting for a centre in the Sahtu region. Now we have to go through the process to get a regional centre for the whole Sahtu region. We would like a piece of the pie in terms of the dollars coming in.

Again, I have seen elders get on the plane in terrible weather. Myself, I’ve experienced where we see people fly out to Edmonton or Norman Wells with sore teeth. I would say to the Minister: would she fight hard for the Sahtu people to see that we have a regional health centre in the Sahtu so that she can proudly stand up and say that we have one here, as she says for funding for the dementia centre in the Northwest Territories?

As the Member is aware, the dementia centre was debated and fought on in this House for about eight years. I am willing to make the commitment to the Member that I will look at what’s in the books or not for the Sahtu region and that we will work to make sure that our O&M and capital budget is spent equitably. I have also made a commitment in this House that I will review programs and services for small communities with the objective to enhance what we can do and to work on empowering and building capacity in small communities and how we deliver our health and social services programs in our communities. There’s a lot of work underway, and I’m looking forward to working with the Member on that.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The trend and ongoing commitment of the government for Environment and Natural Resources is to make sure that our offices are adequately provided for, that staff have equipment,

that staff are given training, that we hire local whenever possible. The Member has raised some concerns. It occurred in his constituency in Fort McPherson in regard to the equipment and some of the staffing issues. We’ve already had meetings, as I’ve indicated to the Member, and we’re going to make sure that those issues that have been identified will be remedied.

Mr. Speaker, It’s not only unique to Fort McPherson. This situation also occurs in Aklavik, and I know for a fact in regard to the people in Tsiigehtchic, for the majority of their supplies that they need, they have to run into Inuvik, pick it up and come back into the field. I think we are putting officers in a dangerous situation where they are all around the road with no radio communication in their vehicles, vehicles that are over 15 years old and snowmobiles that basically should be put into a museum.

I would like to ask the Minister again: why is this trend continuing to take place? Basically this government has accrued that capital in this House for those particular communities. That capital could be allocated to those communities, and now the newer equipment’s been taken out of communities, and they’ve been given the older equipment which was at the regional office. So I would like to ask the Minister: how are you investigating this, and exactly what are you going to do about it?

Mr. Speaker, we are checking into these concerns. In fact, we’ve been aware of the concerns for some time. What we are going to do about it is we are going to take steps to remedy the issue as it pertains to the staff and to the equipment and vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, I believe also that to be fair to our aboriginal employees, especially in the Inuvik region.... They are unfairly treated when it comes to training dollars. Other individuals or non-aboriginals are able to go southern places to take training, but our employees in the Inuvik region are told to go see if they can take a course at Arctic College in Inuvik. Yet other employees are basically allowed to go to southern courses. I would like to ask the Minister: why is this government allowing mishandling by way of how we treat our employees, aboriginal versus non-aboriginal, in the Inuvik regional office?

We place as a department and as a government a very high priority on staff training and educational opportunities for all of our staff. We are working very closely with the colleges. There are also a lot of other courses, both within the government and outside of government, that our staff can benefit from. The Member has made an assertion here that there is an unfair distribution. I will ask the department to provide me with training that was not

accessed by the staff in the Inuvik region over the last year or so to see what, in fact, the information tells us and if there are any inequities. Then we will move to address those inequities, whatever they may be.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to ask the Minister: are there any cultural enhancement programs put in place for new employees, non-aboriginal employees, in the Inuvik region so that they can understand the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit culture and the people that they have to serve and not to basically assume things without understanding the culture of the people in that region? I would like to ask the Minister: do they provide cultural enhancement programs to new employees in regard to the culture of the people that they’re serving?

There are orientation packages provided to employees, part of which, I believe, is a cross-culture awareness component.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation. Obviously, the world price of oil is down — actually 40 per cent in the last six months — and the GRA that’s underway, the General Rate Application, is premised on the fact that oil prices were inflated and the cost of doing business for the Power Corporation was such that they had to go out and get some more money from the consumers. That rate increase was pegged at 19 per cent. Given the fact that oil prices have recently dropped — today they are at about $74 a barrel — what will this do to the GRA, and will the Power Corporation please cease and desist on the GRA?