Thank you for that response. My understanding is that, indeed, we have not had that opportunity the last few years and, thus, it is not surprising that there have not been updates, but I’d love to stand to be corrected on that.

My third question is: Looking at the composition of the steering committee working on this review, I don’t see any representation from user groups. I think that’s something we always want to include when we have a steering committee. Why is there not representation from user groups, a student association or something like that on this steering committee for the Student Financial Assistance review? Mahsi.

This particular review has been undertaken for the last couple of months now and we will be going through until next year. We’re at the preliminary stages, so those are options that I can certainly take into consideration. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that from the Minister, and I think it would be great if it was just routine practice from now on that we include a member from the public.

My last question, Mr. Speaker. I see the Minister is bringing it forward to submit in the House and, again, I’m hoping this is standard practice but I’d like to confirm. Will the committee have an opportunity to review and comment on this report so that the Minister can consider their input before it is tabled in the House? Mahsi.

With any review that’s been undertaken by the GNWT, it’s always been brought to the standing committee for their review as well. Once the report is finalized we really can’t speak to specifics until the committee is under review, and then we can open it up for a general discussion to the general public. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has not looked at the current inventory for the possibility of using our inventory for treatment facilities. However, I think I should clarify that the intention, I think, is that we would look at what we have in place now for health and social services for treatment as opposed to building new infrastructure. So the idea of looking at current infrastructure was more or less looking at what infrastructure we had on the ground now as opposed to building something new. Thank you.

I understand that we’re not looking at building any new infrastructure, especially with the situation that the GNWT is in. However, I’d like to see an inventory of the buildings that are not being used right now in the Beaufort-Delta that can house such treatment programs for the people that are going through the system and don’t have that

opportunity to get those services that they need. Thank you.

The Department of Health recognizes that there are a couple of facilities in the Beaufort-Delta that were previously used for treatment facilities and we are prepared to look at the feasibility of using those for treatment centres as we go through our inventory of existing infrastructure. Thank you.

In some of the other departments, the Department of Justice, they have a really good diversion program. The Department of ECE has a really good on-the-land program. Has the Department of Health looked at these successful programs and thought about implementing them in the treatment sector for both the youth that are battling addictions as well as adults that are battling addictions, to create an on-the-land treatment program within the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

The Department of Health and Social Services supports different alternatives to getting people to on-the-land activities. We have made $50,000 a year available to all of the communities if they want to do some on-the-land activities. It’s been a request from the communities and I’ve asked the Department of Health and Social Services to look at the possibility of developing on-the-land treatment programs across the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services, for that answer. My last question is in regard to the same thing with the programming. We have a lot of programs for people that are institutionalized. We have a lot of programming for people who are incarcerated in the Northwest Territories. There is a really good article about it today in the News/North. For those that aren’t in those institutions or that are in the community that are suffering and aren’t getting those services, what are the programs in place for those individuals in the communities? Thank you.

At this time we have within the communities – I’m not sure if it’s all 33 communities – addictions counsellors and also some mental health counsellors at the community which we talked about a little bit last week. But we do have addictions counsellors. That would be a good place for individuals hoping to access, whether it’s residential treatment in the facility or hoping to work with a counsellor to get some sort of programs on the land that could be available through the various non-government organizations or community governments across the territory. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to get back to my question with the Minister of Health and Social Services on the cancer in Fort Good Hope. The Minister gave us some numbers, and according to those numbers cancer in Good Hope is pretty high; 20 percent higher than my numbers here than in the rest of the territory, such as colorectal cancer is 24 percent in Good Hope while the territory is 20, breast cancer is 17 in Good Hope and in the territory it’s 16, prostate cancer is 9 percent in the territory, and so forth.

I want to ask the Minister is his department willing to look at any type of research from the community to look at what the heck is going on with the community of Fort Good Hope. Why is the cancer so high? Where are the sources? There are a lot of opinions out there and people are afraid and they’re scared. They’re scared to drink that water from the water reservoir. They’re scared of the Norman Wells oilfield. They’re scared of the federal government buildings that are condemned right now. There are a lot of things that are scaring people right now in Fort Good Hope. Can the Minister work with me to look at a research funding institution to go into Fort Good Hope and find out what is going on with the cancer issue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Health, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Speaker, yes, the Department of Health and Social Services is prepared to look at research with health and social services from the Sahtu. I have no problem doing that. Thank you.

I just about choked in here. I didn’t know what to say. The Minister said yes right away.

I want to ask the Minister how soon he can work with us to get a research institution into Fort Good Hope to start the process of elimination of the types of cancer that are causing so much grief in the community of Radili Ko?

I am aware that the department has a lot of work on the go now at this time, but I am prepared to talk to the senior management to try to get this going as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier has promised to take action to address the

low employment rate in our small communities with large projects. In Aklavik the employment rate is 36 percent. That is below the territory’s average, which is 67 percent. There is simply more people who need work than there are jobs, but we do have one project that is on our government’s red flag priority list A. That is the all-weather access road to the Willow River gravel source.

Honourable Premier, when will construction begin on this project during the 17th Assembly? Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.