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

I am certainly well aware of and appreciate when we had our discussion on the document on energy in the Northwest Territories. That was one of our suggestions. I’m certainly glad that the Cabinet and the Premier, the Minister, has heard us and the direction where we want to go. My contentious issue is to deal with in terms of the Regular Members’ involvement on this proposal. I certainly want to be very clear in terms of this proposal if it’s a go or no-go, that we have some close discussions in terms of where do we go from here if the proposal is a no-go or a go with the ATCO Group. I guess that’s what I want to ask. I

want to ask the Minister if he would, again, clarify for the Members that this process will happen.

Mr. Speaker, as I had mentioned, once I receive a report back, meet with Cabinet and then go to Members, at that point we’ll be making a decision as to how we proceed and the manner in which we would proceed. There’s a fair bit of work yet to be done before we get to that stage, but, yes, I intend to go to committee and the Members of this Assembly. As we’ve heard, the cost of electricity, the way we generate electricity and all of that is a growing concern, and has been for quite a number of years, and we do need to do something for the best interests of the residents we serve. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I’m clearly aware that when we talk of change of this nature that it causes concern in many corners or some corners. I’ve read the e-mails and the newspapers so, yes, I know that, particularly in Yellowknife, the issue with the school boards has struck a nerve. Thank you.

Recognizing what we’ve already put our public through, would the Minister agree that there is an opportunity here to get ahead of the planned schedule, the April 1st , and then re-

evaluate by acknowledging ahead of time that, in fact, this model and the communications that we’ve had are not appropriate here and in perhaps some other locations, tax-based communities? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve recognized from the outset that there’s a two-track process that we’re engaged in here; that there are unique complexities and challenges specifically in the North Slave and Yellowknife area, and that whatever is finally decided on, this region, in all probability, will take more time than the other regions. We’re committed to doing the work over

the next seven weeks to fill in as many of the blanks as we can and have that discussion among Cabinet and Regular Members about board reform and how do we move forward with that 16th Legislative Assembly initiative.

Will the Minister take this opportunity to communicate now rather than waiting until April 1st and putting the public through

unnecessary angst? Will the Minister commit to communicating very soon, say within a week, or preferably by Friday -- that’s tomorrow -- that in fact this model doesn’t fit this area and we need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a lot of information and so on before moving forward? Thank you.

I just want to restate our commitment and recognition that this is a two-track process and that the complexities in Yellowknife are probably going to require unique solutions when we look at board reform. I’ve been saying that right from the start. We’ve recognized and we’ve picked a milestone date in April, and the folks are working hard, and will continue to work hard, to get all that information together. Then we’ll be able to look at it in a careful, measured way and map out how do we move forward on this particular initiative. Thank you.

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

I appreciate that the Minister has been totally consistent on this but, given that, it’s clear that that’s not sufficient. That public angst and anxiety continues to build to extreme and unacceptable levels. Will the Minister commit to diffusing that situation by coming out with something further and more meaningful? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the commitment that I’ve made repeatedly in this House is I would hope would provide comfort. We recognize that this is a complex situation, that in Yellowknife there are some unique challenges to be sorted out, and that we’re going to collectively decide after April where we go from here. That date is an opportunity to bring all the work together from across the North and look at the 16th Assembly priority and see how we move forward from there. It’s seven weeks away and the decision then will be made about next steps. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, after her comments in the House yesterday, the Minister of Health mentioned that she committed $75,000 to Fort McPherson for a mental health position with the hamlet and the band in Fort McPherson. After the comments in the House, I checked back in my community. I got my EA to check around the community and talk to my political leaders, and no one is aware of this $75,000 that’s been committed to Fort McPherson. I’d like to ask the Minister, could you clarify your statement you made in the House yesterday about $75,000 for the community of Fort McPherson for the mental health position?

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

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank the Member for giving me an opportunity to clarify what I was advising the Member. Mr. Speaker, the Member for Mackenzie Delta and myself, as the Minister, have been working very hard for the last 16 months to resolve a situation in Fort McPherson whereby a contract that the Beaufort-Delta authority has had with To’oondih Healing Society for a mental health and wellness position has basically broken down. The person that used to work for the Healing Society has left the position as she felt that she couldn’t meet all of the training requirements that were necessary for that position.

I agree with the Member that the community of Fort McPherson is entitled to and they do need to have someone who could provide this service. In fact, they want to have more flexibility to provide the service. When I was in Inuvik two weeks ago I talked to the chair of the authority and the CEO about that the option, and what I would like for them to consider is to transfer that money to the community government of Fort McPherson, if they wish to have this money, so that they could hire their own person. That would allow the community to provide the services in a way they would like to do it. I have a letter in front of me that I’m going to sign to send to the authority to confirm this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The time for oral questions has expired; however, I will allow the Member a supplementary question. Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, in regard to the Minister’s comments, I’d just like to clarify for her that the individual that was in the office, as far as I’m concerned, was overqualified. She did not have a master’s degree in psychology and that was the problem with the Inuvik Health Board, is that because of their definition of certification we had

this problem. I’d like to ask the Minister, in order to avoid this problem happening in the future, is there anything that the Department of Health and Social Services can do to find a system where small communities can deliver programs and services where there are none, with reclassification of those positions and funded directly from headquarters?

Yes, that is something that I had directed the department to look at and that was supposed to have been done prior to some of the changes that we proposed to make under mental health and addictions programming. It did not work out. It’s back on the drawing board and it will be part of the Minister’s action plan that I will be bringing forward to the Standing Committee on Social Programs. I am committed and I am working to look at and redesign the Mental Health and Addictions and Wellness Program in a way that there will be…There is a need for those with master’s and whatever qualifications that we need to have, but we need to address the fact that there’s not enough flexibility in our Mental Health and Wellness Addictions Program delivery where we need to have room there for the community to have a say, for the community to talk about how they would like to be involved in the healing and wellness programming. We want to be able to accommodate on-the-land programming, youth programming, elders programming, all sorts of programs.

There is so much more work to be done here and I’m opening that up and will come with a proposal for further discussion with the Members on the other side, with the Standing Committee on Social Programs, as well as the ministerial and Regular Member joint committee on small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 9, written questions. Item 10, replies to written questions. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, replies to the budget address, day six of seven. Item 13, petitions. Item 14, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 15, tabling of documents. Item 16, notices of motion. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, February 16, 2009, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns

on February 12, 2009, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 16, 2009.

And further, that any time prior to February 16, 2009, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Item 17, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 18, motions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.