The Member is absolutely right; we want to have consistency across the programs that our extended health benefits should be in line with what is covered under NIHB. The improvement to NIHB, if needed, should be advanced as well. But those programs should go up together. I’m not sure if our extended health benefits are much more lucrative than the other.

The point is, we need to open this discussion so that people understand what the extended health benefits are. These are extra benefits that are being provided and there are some people in our system who are not able to access that at all. Should we not be considering how we could bring them on? That’s the discussion we’re having.

In most of our programs we do allow for some sort of income testing, regardless if it’s the Fuel Subsidy Program in regard to the seniors maintenance repair program. So we do that already in existing programs. I’d just like to know if we’re also going to be looking at the whole area of looking at income testing and, more importantly, so that they all conform with other programs we have which are income tested.

Right now my focus is on working on the Supplementary Health Benefits Program so that there is fairness and equity in that. I need people out there to know that the government’s plan and intention is to provide coverage to those who need it, that we will continue to provide the Extended Health Care Benefits Program and we will continue to work and have programs that are comparable, if not better, than what’s provided in the rest of Canada. But in the rest of Canada there are no extended health benefits that either don’t charge premiums or has some kind of user pay and there is a very strict income testing. Not only do they test income, they look at all of your assets before you could ask the government to pay for your drug coverage and eye glasses and dental.

So, Mr. Speaker, for people out there, I don’t want the seniors or anybody to think that they’re going to have their benefits taken away. What we are saying is that anybody who can’t afford it, the government should still be there to look after them, but we do want to build in an incentive for people to look at insurance and private insurance first. We don’t want to be in a situation where we have a built-in incentive for people to get out of insurance coverage when they already had it because our plan is more lucrative, and also that we need to build in some personal responsibility to our extended health care benefits, because it is very important, it is very valuable, it is very expensive, and it has to be a partnership between our residents and our government. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow up with the Minister of Health and Social Services. The Minister did indicate to the House that March is National Nutrition Month. I want to ask the Minister in terms of going back to the issue of having traditional foods at the Stanton Territorial Hospital and other facilities. I want to ask the Minister in terms of instructing her officials to start looking at possible ways of having the traditional foods such as fish, for example, starting to be served at the hospital for

clients who are of aboriginal descent who are at the hospital there.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I did undertake to look into this last week. I have to be honest; I haven’t had a chance to have a direct discussion on that issue as of yet, but I will undertake to talk to my deputy minister, who is also the PA of the hospital, as well as the Aboriginal Elders Advisory Committee there and see how we can accommodate providing fish and other traditional food at the hospital. Thank you.

I look forward to if there is any type of update the Minister can give later on.

Mr. Speaker, I spoke to the chair of the Elders Council, Mr. Paulette, and he said that they are very much in support of this. Actually, after we had our discussion here in the House, Mr. Paulette called me and said that the jam is in terms of the bureaucracy in the system and how to get this traditional food into the system. So that’s why I’m asking the Minister if she can have some discussions with her officials to clear the way to get the issue of the fish into the hospitals, in terms of probably within a month or so.

Yes, I will do that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got a question for the Minister of Transportation. Earlier today a media release went out that there will be a press conference or media event held this afternoon at 2:30 at the Lahm Ridge Tower. I’d like to ask the Minister -- we have media facilities here at the Legislative Assembly -- why that event was held off site at the Lahm Ridge Tower and not here at the Legislative Assembly, pertaining to the Deh Cho Bridge. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, good question, indeed. Mr. Speaker, usually, if there’s going to be a briefing of a political nature or the Minister is going to be involved or MLAs are going to be involved, we’d hold it here. This is a technical briefing provided by our staff, our officials, and it’s more convenient to have it at that facility. That’s the reason for holding it there. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it must be quite a popular event considering I haven’t seen much for media here in the building today. I’d like to ask the

Minister whether or not Members could be given a copy or a transcript of what transpires at the media briefing, technical briefing that was held this afternoon so that we can compare what the government’s telling the media and what they’re telling us. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there is some suggestion in that comment. However, Mr. Speaker, we’ve given the information to the Member already. He has it. We could give it to him again. It’s the same briefing we provided to the Members yesterday. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not the financial disposition of the project will be discussed during this technical briefing with the media. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this is a technical briefing on the construction of the bridge and that’s what the contents of the briefing will be referred to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m a bit surprised that the government wouldn’t be talking about the financial disposition of the project. I’d like to ask the Minister who’s providing the briefing. Is it the deputy minister of the project management team at this technical briefing? Thank you.

The Members have requested that we provide more information to the public and the Members have requested that we have better communication. We’re trying to do that. We have informed the Members that we would do a technical briefing. We have worked hard to get it prepared. The information will be provided by our officials, including the deputy ministers. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation when the department and the government plan on having a briefing with the media on the financial disposition of this project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We haven’t scheduled such a briefing as of yet. Thank you.