This whole initiative,

this whole project was designed to be a contract with a fixed price. The price was, as the Members have raised many times, a lot higher than we initially started with. However, since then there has been change in the cost of materials, both steel and concrete and other materials, that we hope to have a good discussion on. We expect there has to be some good will on the part of the developer and the sub-trades or sub-contractors. We haven’t finalized it yet, but I’ll be glad to share that information once we do have that discussion. We are continuing to

meet on a regular basis. I believe all the people that are involved with the project are meeting today and I’ll keep the Members informed as we move forward.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final

supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally,

we know there is a contingency fund of $10 million. Do we still have funds remaining in that and are there any vulnerabilities to the project in terms of GNWT liability that the public should know about?

As with any large

project, and this is considered a mega-project by our standards -- it’s a $160 million project -- there is always a lot of claims. I think that might be said for all our government projects. But in this case there are a number of claims. There is the issue of the project being behind schedule. To date I believe we’ve spent $36 million on this bridge project and that includes some of the claims that were settled. There are still a number of claims that are outstanding, and that will be resolved through the process that is spelled out in the concession agreement.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The time

for question period has expired. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek

unanimous consent to go back to item 7. ---Unanimous consent granted.

The honourable Member for

Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My

question is directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. It is in regard to health programs and services in my riding. I’ve stood up in this House many times asking questions regarding positions for our communities, for nurses from Tsiigehtchic, to doctors’ visits, to mental health positions in our communities. Yet I have received very little, if any, information regarding where these initiatives are and where we’re going with them. I’d just like to ask the Minister regarding questions I have asked in this House where I received a letter from yourself regarding the mental health position in Fort McPherson and reinstating that position then having it delivered out of Inuvik. I think it’s important. I’d like to ask the Minister regarding these types of positions what the department is doing to ensure that those positions are filled in the

communities where those dollars are earmarked for and the program is being delivered.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The

honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As

the Member knows, the Member and I have had numerous discussions in his office and my office and I have been paying attention to a lot of issues he has brought up, specifically the issue regarding the mental health worker that was under contract with T’loondih Healing Society. That has been an ongoing issue for at least six or seven years. The latest has been that I directed the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority to transfer that money to T’loondih and the latest information is that that has in fact happened.

Programs and services are

essential to the health and well-being of our communities and I’d just like to ask the Minister, knowing that it’s the summer season coming along and a lot of our communities are concerned that we are going to be finding ourselves being on emergency cases only where you’re not going to have access to the clinic because a lot of the nurses usually go on holidays and whatnot, I’d like to ask the Minister what we are doing to ensure that the health centres in the Mackenzie Delta communities will be open this summer.

Our health and social services

are open. Their hours are not dependent on seasons. We do provide health services in health centres in his riding and I don’t think the summer season makes a difference. I want to tell the Member that as I have discussed with him, I am working on a proposal to expand the nursing services in Tsiigehtchic. I have also been talking to him about a pilot project that we can do in Fort McPherson to address the increased number and the large number of children in care and children in protection in Fort McPherson. There is a proposal that the Department of Health and Social Services is working with Justice to see if we could bring something on board there. There are lots of proposals that I have been talking to the Member about. Obviously this is something that we would like to work through the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority. But I could assure the Member that if that’s not going to be able to happen with the authority, the department is willing to go on our own to make things happen in the Mackenzie Delta.

When you have a situation where

programs and services have been dragging along for six or seven years, that tells me there’s something wrong with the system. For the years I’ve spent here, this is one of the biggest issues in our communities. I’ve been getting calls from cancer patients, patients who have come back to

our communities and not been getting the attention that they should be getting because the basic services are not being delivered. I’d like to ask the Minister if you are considering appointing a public administrator to oversee the operations in the Inuvik-Beaufort-Delta health centres.

I can advise the Member that

I’m paying very close attention to a lot of things that are going on in the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority. The department is working very closely with the management of the authority. We are reviewing programs and finances to make sure that we are delivering as effective and efficient services as possible. I will look at and consider all options. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final

supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, again, the situation in

my riding is urgent when you cannot get the fundamental basic programs and services such as mental health positions or alcohol and drug counselling or nurses, and having doctors’ visits cancelled because they can’t make it. I’d just like to ask the Minister again: Realizing that these challenges are out there, this health centre has been running deficits year after year, but yet we continue to bail them out and allow them to operate the way they are and not have basic programs and services delivered. Again, I’d like to ask the Minister: Would you seriously consider appointing a public administrator to oversee what is the problem with the Inuvik Regional Hospital in regard to not being able to deliver these critical services to our smaller communities?

Mr. Speaker, I am interested

in working through for the next little while to see exactly what is causing the deficit and how much we are able to provide programs in small communities, because I agree with the Member that a lot of communities in the Beaufort-Delta, the smaller communities, are not able to recruit and retain and offer the services in the communities in the way that they should. I prefer to work with the authority and the management there as well as the board, so that appointing a PA is not an immediate option that I am considering. I still would like to work with the authority and work with the Member to see if we can do things better. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The

honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My

questions today are to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger, in regard to an issue that I became aware of in terms of an

outfitter in the Mackenzie Mountains that had sold his outfitting operation to another person. In the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement, chapter 13, there are specific clauses that have to be followed to ensure that the sale of an operation is legitimate, I guess, and is following the clauses of the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement. I want to ask the Minister, is he aware of this situation I’m talking about?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The

honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker. I am aware of the issue and circumstance that the Member has referenced. We have obligations under both the land claim agreements with the Gwich’in and the Sahtu when it comes to these types of matters. I’ve asked the department to backtrack this issue right from start to finish to make sure that we have clear information about what happened every step of the way and ensure that we’ve honoured our obligations, and to be able to report back to me in the next few days to see what that information tells us. If there happens to be a misstep, then we want to find out where that was and why and how do we remedy the situation. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the people in the

Sahtu have fought hard and long and also when they negotiate the final deal with respect to outfitters in the Mackenzie Mountains they have, in the agreement, the option of right of first refusal in terms of any type of sales of outfitter operations. I asked the Minister if he would work very closely with the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated and the Sahtu Tribal Council to get to the bottom of this issue as to the steps that may have been taken or may not have been taken in terms of a violation of this specific clause in our agreement.

Yes, I’ll

commit to work closely with the other stakeholders of the aboriginal governments. As well, I’ll commit to keep the Member fully informed as we sort through this issue. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, certainly, I look

forward to working with the Minister on this issue. Can the Minister tell me, off the top of his head, if he knew how long this issue has been regarding when the actual sale of this operation took place?