Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I indeed have had discussions with quite a number of people: the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Minister Strahl; I've had discussions with the Prime Minister; I've had discussions with the president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council on that proposal. Initially it was one that was a joint proposal being looked at between the Sahtu and Gwich'in. There have been subsequent changes to that proposal. We've been engaging in trying to go right from Wrigley north and trying to get that environmental work done with the Minister of Transportation. So there's ongoing work in trying to secure funding from the federal government.

The avenue of trying to do that right now is still up for discussion, but I know in the interest and as I've laid out right from the early days of this government that the Mackenzie Valley Highway was one of the priorities we'd like to see some engagement on. So we've been trying to promote that in as many forums and meetings as possible.

I believe that in this proposal we have to look at the development of the Mackenzie Highway coming at it from all sides, north, south, working from the north, south and vice versa, working from Wrigley north. I think that it's an initiative. I think if the aboriginal groups in those regions can work out their differences and find a way to move forward -- and I believe I talked to the president of the tribal council yesterday and that Fort Good Hope is onside now and they are in discussions of doing the highway from Inuvik to Fort Good Hope -- this will increase the cost of oil and gas development in that area. I know there's a question about the oil and gas potential in the Colville Lake area and I think having this infrastructure there will improve that activity.

I'd like to ask the Premier, in regard to this proposal, are there any resources in the Government of the Northwest Territories by way of the Building Canada Fund or infrastructure funding? I believe there is $500,000 that has been identified for research as the federal infrastructure funds are there today. So out of the $500,000, is there a possibility of using those resources to assist with this proposal?

I don't have that detail on that one small pot of funding. What we have done as a Government of the Northwest Territories is we've raised it as a priority level to look for funding. Whether it's internal to ourselves, the Minister of Transportation, I know, has been working on something. It's not enough yet to do all the work that's necessary. We've engaged the federal government at a number of levels to see if they can come to the table with us. My meetings with the Prime Minister are along the same lines. So we're working with that. If there's partnership out there with the aboriginal organizations and governments, again we're open to that and I've expressed that with the regional leadership, as well, across the Territory.

Again, I think it's critical that we do get this baseline information done in regard to the engineering design work that has to be done before we get to building the highway. I'd like to again ask the Premier to ensure that he keeps myself and the president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council informed on these meetings and also for them to take part in these discussions between the federal government, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs, and yourself in order to move this project forward.

I will keep Members apprised of any new developments that come along. When it comes to the federal government, I know there's again ongoing discussions to try to find any lever we can to see if there's possible enhancement of what our plan is right now. Our plan will take quite a number of years. I know there's another, there's a group out there that's through the Mackenzie Aboriginal Corporation, I believe it was called, that's done a bit of legwork as well on the Mackenzie Valley Highway. They've gone to Ottawa for discussions. They have a partnership with aboriginal groups up and down the valley. Our goal right now is planning to get the environmental work done and feasibility work done. In that light, we are continuing to work with the Department of Transportation, the federal government and aboriginal groups up and down the valley to try to see if we can move this along in partnership. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, where there is a will there is a way. We were able to find money for the Mackenzie Pipeline initiative in regards to having funding available there. We were able to fund the APG. I would just like to request from the Premier that there are resources and pots of money in this government. I know we spend a lot of money in capital investment, but there are also research dollars there that can also be identified for this project. I would like to ask the Premier if he would seriously consider the Building Canada Fund $500,000 that was there for research and development, if we can use some of those dollars so we can get this work underway. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we are definitely looking at every pot of funding out there that we can internally as well. Again, like I committed earlier, if there is the will of this Assembly, there is a way we can deal with that and I am prepared to come to Members to put that on the table, looking at some options that may come available to us between now and even as we return back with Members on potential business plan processes upcoming. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Member has a copy of a draft strategy that was developed. There was a meeting, the Freshwater fishermen executive and our regional people. There was some direction given. The final version of the strategy is being rewritten. We have not received the final version yet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just so that we can understand the actual logistics of how this is going to happen, when you get the final report and we want to notify Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation that we are going to develop a northern made-in-the-North response to the commercial fishery and we no longer require their services, how do we go about doing that? What do you do, write a letter to the federal Minister? What is the process? Thank you.

I only wish it can be that easy. There are a lot of legal issues that would have to be addressed. We would have to go back and look at what the terms of where and when the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation was formed. My recollection is, although I wasn't around when it was formed, but I understand there are some issues of liabilities that were assumed. We would have to check that out. We would have to work with Fisheries and Oceans to look at what kind of requirements would be needed in order to go off in a different direction. We would have to see whether the research has been done so that inventories of all the fish stocks are available. There are a number of different things that would have to be done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Time for question period has expired; however, I will allow the Member a supplementary question. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister had indicated in previous questions on a previous day that the province of Saskatchewan has opted out of their involvement with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, so certainly the precedent has been set. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how we could follow suit. As far as the work of Fisheries and Oceans, fortunately the headquarters for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is located right in Hay River, right on the shore of the Great Slave Lake, right where the fishermen are, right where they have the lab to do the inspections and they have people in management, conservation, protection, who are all over the issue of sustainable quota in the Great Slave Lake. That is a bonus. I think that Mr. Minister should be able to look at the precedent of the province that he named, the province of Saskatchewan, find out how they got out and help us and lead us out of this. Thank you.

I know that Saskatchewan has written a letter requesting to opt out. I don't know if they have, in fact, opted out already. Certainly I would be prepared to go to Saskatchewan to see how they did it. We would follow suit. I always thought the regional headquarters for DFO for the Northwest Territories was in Sudbury, but I would check on that as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't know, Mr. Speaker. I used to work for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Unless it moved from Hay River...I don't know. I thought there were still some Fisheries officers in Hay River.

Mr. Speaker, I guess this is a serious issue. We have been playing around with this for a long time for a lot of years. We have a viable industry. We need to give it support. I am serious about this. I am probably only going to be here for a couple more years. Would I ever like to see something done about this thing that we have been talking about for so long. Will the Minister commit to report back to this House and to me and the other Member for Hay River what the next steps would be for separating ourselves from the monopoly of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation? Thank you.

I would be pleased to do that as soon as I receive a report that has been endorsed by the NWT Fishermen's Federation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to oral questions, item number 7 on today's agenda. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just had one question. I was hoping to get it in today; therefore I asked to seek unanimous consent, which I appreciate my colleagues are allowing to go through.

Mr. Speaker, reading Hansard back from February 9, 2006, specifically page 916, then-Regular MLA Sandy Lee was asking a question to then-Minister of Health and Social Services, who was Michael Miltenberger, inquiring in Committee of the Whole about the details about the re-establishment of the Stanton Territorial Board.

Mr. Speaker, we don't need a long, protracted lesson about what happened to that board, but all I have to tell you is that I have a particular constituent in my riding who used to sit on that territorial board and just to add coincidence to the scenario, tomorrow is her birthday. I am sure she would like to hear a very happy answer as an early present to her birthday. So the question specifically to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: is she working towards that issue of re-establishing the Stanton Territorial Board? If not, why not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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