Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are good things that this department is doing in terms of supporting small businesses in small communities. Just to name a few, like, there's a Business Incentive Policy and plus there's policy (inaudible) in terms of how it is that this department provides funding for small businesses. One proviso is if there's an existing business in a small community the department heeds to the policy of, you know, not creating any market disruption and policies like that. How often are programs reviewed to ensure effectiveness and incorporate feedback from clientele?

I don't have an answer to that question. I'll have to get back to the Member on that.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Mr. Speaker, when necessary ENR has been providing information and working collaboratively with our federal counterpart.

Recognizing that the GNWT does not have jurisdiction over the offshore, how much influence do we have as a government on recommending areas for protection?

Mr. Speaker, as far as the protected areas, we do have some influence, I mean, we would work closely with our federal counterparts; work closely with the communities. I understand in this particular situation, the community of Paulatuk are keepers of this particular area, so we will work closely with them. But as the way things are working now we do have a bit more influence than we may have had in the past.

Mr. Speaker, recognizing that all ecosystems are connected, would the GNWT be involved in the creation of a management plan for the new protected area designated for Darnley Bay?

Mr. Speaker, because we would have a vested interest in this particular area, we will work closely, as I said, with our federal counterpart. We will work closely with the community of Paulatuk and then if they determine that it was an area that needs further evaluation then I can see ENR playing a very significant role there because we do, at the end of the day, have to be the caretakers, so it would be to our benefit if we work closely with the federal government and the community of Paulatuk.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister of ENR, is there anything more the GNWT can do to help advance its priority on behalf of the people of Nunakput and the Northwest Territories and urge Canada to keep its commitment to protect ten per cent of marine areas over the next four years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I can work with my federal counterpart and see what they have in the works for this particular area and see what the next steps are, and again, we will work closely with them and the community to see if we can advance the community's wishes.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for MacKenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement; I have a couple of questions for the Minister of Transportation. As I mentioned in my statement, most of the work was completed on the widening of the Dempster, so I'd like to ask the Minister: what is the work planned for next season on the Dempster as the widening from the border to the Peel is near completion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

I want to make a comment on the Member's statement earlier today about the weather and the conditions in the Beau-Del there. I said it's been very challenging for all contractors in the region and I appreciate all the work they've done to get the work done that they did this year. We will be finishing up the border to kilometre 74 to Peel River Crossing this year because that work isn't completed. The section of highway from 60.5 to 61 will be lifted and that work is to be carried out over the next summer, and also in the next season we will be resurfacing the crushed gravel from kilometre 30 to kilometre 74.

Mr. Speaker, I know over the last year here, the department has been working to find another possible gravel source to crush for this project here. I'd just like to ask the Minister have they found adequate resources to fulfill the rest of the remaining work?

Gravel sources are a very valuable resource and the challenge in the Dempster area has been finding access to gravel. We've continued to work on our lands and Gwich'in lands to try to access this stuff; I believe we have enough gravel probably to finish the work in the next coming season. But we will continue moving forward to try to find pits that are sourceable that can work for resurfacing and reconstruction of the highway, and we need to work with all players in the region moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I know over the summer I received a number of concerns for possibly going on Gwich'in land. So once a source has been identified, will the Minister ensure that the department has a community meeting in Fort McPherson just to give an update to the residents?

Once this stuff has been sorted out and no matter where it is, we will send our staff in there to have dialogue with the community.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are about income assistance, and in order to avoid the kind of misunderstanding that I had with the Minister yesterday, I just want to start by asking a preliminary question: is the Minister up-to-date with the changes that have taken place in the income assistance regulations? Mahsi.