Mr. Speaker, through our partnership between ENR, MACA, Health and Social Services and through the work of our HR field staff, we work with schools and harvesters throughout the region. I think one of the things we do is to ensure that this program continues to run and that they continue to receive the funding that they do from the different departments in this government. So it is a valuable program and I think it's one that has been funded very well and well taken advantage of by schools across the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Member for Nunakput.

Thanks for the response; it was exactly what I was looking for. It's good to see cooperation and coordination at work in our programs, especially with elders and youth.

Mr. Speaker, I just have more of a comment, but more of a question, my last question to the Minister: can the Minister share some examples of projects undertaken in the most recent fiscal year. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the last year we've had over 40 schools across the Northwest Territories take advantage of this program. We've had about 1,500 northern youth who were educated in some type of aspect of trapping and traditional way of life. One of the examples would be the JBK Elementary School in Fort Smith. They've been participating in this program since it started in 2002 and they had a winter camp in Thebacha and exposed students from K to 6 and staff over the course of eight days to trapping and other harvesting techniques.

Also, Colville Lake is another good example. They have a fully integrated approach to their program and they have Living on the Land as part of the everyday school life with the program running as a main feature of education over the past 12 years, so there's a couple of examples. Again, the Take a Kid Trapping Report that is usually tabled would have more specific examples across the Northwest Territories, but I think that's a good example of how it's utilized across the NWT.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement I talked about early childhood development and the impacts of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. I'd like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if he could update the House on what activities or what work has been going on at the national level in this area of FASD? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, the national level Ministers responsible for Health and Social Services or Persons with Disabilities, get together on an annual basis. There's actually a side group been established to work on issues related to FASD. We fund the national FASD Research Group that goes out and pulls together data and helps develop promotional materials to encourage people to abstain from drinking while pregnant. As the Member said earlier, FASD is 100 per cent preventable but not curable. So they're doing a significant amount of work.

Next year, the Northwest Territories will be taking the lead on that FPT group; it will be the lead responsible for the FASD network over the following year.

Mr. Speaker, that's very good news that the NWT will be taking the lead in this. Can the Minister advise the House what is available right now in the area of programming and so on for FASD?

Mr. Speaker, across the Government of the Northwest Territories there's a wide range of programs and services available for children living with disabilities. Specifically related to FASD, the Stanton Territorial Hospital Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Family and Community Support Program has been established and it basically conducts diagnostic clinics to screen and diagnose FASD in children between the ages of seven and 17.

This team consists of doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists and other speech language therapists who can work with these children and help identify their limitations and help develop individual plans for care. At the same time, Education, Culture and Employment through their inclusive schooling has support workers in schools who can work with individuals who have been diagnosed or not diagnosed as the case may be, to develop individual care plans to help them through the school system. So there is a wide variety of things that are happening out there.

Can the Minister advise the House how much money has been spent on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder programs in the GNWT?

I don't have at my fingertips the cost of the Stanton Territorial Hospital program that I previously mentioned, and I'll certainly get that information for the Member and committee, but we do provide money to different organizations across the Northwest Territories, not specifically for FASD but for children who are struggling with a range of disabilities which can and often does include FASD. So what I'll do is I'll pull together some of that information and I'll share it with the Member and with Committee of the Whole.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. It would be nice to know the trend of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Can the Minister tell the House if they know the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd love to say yes, but I can't, obviously. There are a lot of adults out there who were never diagnosed and we don't have the clinical diagnosis for them, so there probably are individuals who are FASD who have never been accurately diagnosed.

I could get some information for the Member on the number that have been diagnosed through the Stanton program so that we have some current numbers, but there isn't a real solid set of information out there on the exact numbers that would exist in the Northwest Territories. But I will provide what I can to the Members across the hall.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each year the winter road project is supervised by outside supervisors brought in at a cost. The cost includes such things as the vehicle, gas, room and board, and a significant amount of overtime. My question to the Minister of DOT is, utilizing the GNWT and SSI MOU, will the Minister consider hiring local residents for this year's season? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

Yes, I heard the number 17. Today it's two, so that totals 19 positions that we may see. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, but will the Minister consider using the principles of the MOU, I know you have to reflect on the principles of the MOU here between both governments, and entertain the idea of a negotiable site supervisor's contract with a proponent from Sahtu?

Upon review of the status of having a Sahtu regional office, it's the department's view that, until we have an all-season road, which I am the biggest advocate for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, that it would not be in the best use of our dollars to put a regional office for transportation in the Sahtu region at this time.

I'm asking the question if the Minister would entertain the idea of cost savings on a negotiable arrangement to hire local and supply local for the vehicle and eliminate the provision cost and the hotel cost for outside supervisors. Would the Minister accept that?

As I've already stated, we already hired two casual maintenance supervisors from the region to monitor the winter road activities. What I could convey to the Member is I would have to look into whose vehicles we're using. We're already employing two people to do that, and I will get back to the Member on where we're getting the vehicles from.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.