Is the Minister not concerned that critically ill patients from the Keewatin will be placed at risk with respect to medevac charters, because in some cases in the region it will take twice as long to come to Yellowknife than it can to go to Churchill? Is he concerned about that?

I am afraid to ask. My question, Mr. Speaker, is to the Minister of Health, and I do not want him to take offence with it. My question is about the "NWT Way," in terms of health care. In this "NWT Way" model for health care, the model includes a proposal that would require the Keewatin Region to send its patients to Yellowknife rather than to Churchill or Winnipeg. Mr. Speaker, the residents of my constituency have a long-standing association with the health care facilities in Churchill and in Winnipeg, which has proved very satisfactory over the last 10, 15, 20 years. We do not wish to lose, at this time, that association; and we do not want to send our sick people to Yellowknife. Will the Minister of Health now alleviate the concerns of the region by indicating to the House that he plans to reject the proposal where Keewatin patients travel to Yellowknife for health care?

May I suggest that the honourable Minister may want to go back to the Hansard of December 16, 1991, and the follow-up letter I sent him with respect to the initiatives and the lack of response I have to date. Maybe then he would understand the question.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health. Pertaining to the recommendations that the Keewatin Region Health Board forwarded in response to the department's expenditure management initiatives, I tabled seven recommendations in the House on December 16, 1991. The Keewatin Region Health Board recommends that the Department of Health develop a regional-based dental service and a travelling orthodontic program as opposed to using contract services and medical travel. Can the Minister advise the House today whether he is prepared to support this proposal, given that in the proposal it showed significant savings in dollars?

I understand that we are in tough, difficult times, but I want to remind the Minister that we are talking about the

health of the people in the Territories. This is not delivering the water or clearing the streets. Is the Minister now willing to design a public consultation process for reviewing this "Northwest Territories Way" on health care?

In that case, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister confirm that to date the "Northwest Territories Way" is a model that has been put together by the bureaucracy and with little or no input by the public or professionals?

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Health. When he appeared before the standing committee on agencies, boards and commissions in Fort Smith, he assured the Members that the proposals in the Strength at Two Levels report were only recommendations and he would not proceed to implement them until further analysis and community consultations had taken place.

Can the Minister assure the House today that he has not decided to accept the Strength at Two Levels proposed "Northwest Territories Way" as the model for health care delivery?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out against the so-called "Northwest Territories Way" model for health care services proposed in the Strength at Two Levels document. I believe that this model is inadequate, and I am troubled by this government's intent to proceed with the implementation planning without the benefit of adequate public consultation, cost analysis or the involvement of health boards and professional associations.

Health organizations and the public at large from across the Northwest Territories have raised concerns about virtually every aspect of this health care proposal. They lack the confidence in the ability of the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital to function as a regional hospital. They are unwilling to witness the community hospitals being down-sized so that resources can be centralized in Yellowknife. We hear experts say that nurse practitioner models will not work.

In my own constituency, Mr Speaker, people are worried about the recommendation that our sick and elderly people should now have to travel all the way to Yellowknife for medical treatment instead of the long-established resource facilities in Churchill and Winnipeg, thereby doubling the flying time in some cases and increasing the medical risk associated with medevac travel.

The people of the Keewatin will not accept this particular part of the Beatty report. Public groups, aboriginal organizations, regional councils, professional associations and even the government's own advisory and management boards are revealing that they were never consulted when the proposed model was being developed.

Even the NWT Health Care Association, which, in my opinion, is a group that is too heavily influenced by the Stanton Yellowknife Board of Management to properly or dependably represent regional interests, has called on the Minister of Health to delay the implementation of the model until a comprehensive cost analysis can be completed and until the stakeholders in the health system can be adequately consulted. Similar positions have now been taken by the NWT Health Association, by the Keewatin and Deh Cho Regional Councils and by concerned citizens across the North.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I will also be asking the Minister of Health to respect these legitimate concerns and ensure that the implementation of the Beatty report...

My question is to the Minister responsible for Culture and Communications. It is my understanding that the Inuit Cultural Institute is having some financial difficulties and that the institute has provided the Minister with a full explanation of their current fiscal situation. Given that the contribution agreement between the Inuit Cultural Institute and the GNWT has never been fully realized by either party, and that this lack of resolve is jeopardizing much needed cultural and educational programs, will the Minister take steps to resolve this issue quickly?