(Translation) Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. What kinds of houses were being rented out up to 1991? Which rented units will be sold to the occupants? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I realize now that it was formed in 1990, but I did not become aware of it until 1991. The people I now represent, as of 1991-92, probably had this information in 1990, but I did not receive any information regarding the abstinence clause until 1991. This is why I asked that question. I will not be asking any further questions to the Minister of Social Services. Thank you.

(Translation) This is an excellent question period, Mr. Speaker. I have a further question to the Minister of Social Services. First of all, I want to say that it seems there was a lack of information distributed to the communities concerning the abstinence clause. It seems they were not provided with this; in fact the, societies involved were not aware of this abstinence clause being in force. This is a fairly recent piece of information for myself, and on top of that you have to have committees for dealing with alcohol and drug problems in the communities, and on top of that you seem to have other separate committees and employees reporting in different directions. Also, since this is very important for our future, we have to set role models, not just concerning

alcohol-related problems but for other things, and we seem to have a problem whereby funding is being held back as long as the abstinence clause is an issue. There seems to be lack of information.

I think part of the problem lies with lack of information concerning abstinence for employees. Now, because of that, we are asking the Minister of Social Services, should this policy be enforced? If so, it should be distributed as information well in advance before being pushed forward? The employees of the alcohol and drug committees have been informed that if they do not sign an abstinence clause, funding will be cut back. There should have been more information and consultation, in my opinion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I raised that question because I wanted to know if there were a lot of employees who were abusing alcohol. I am not just telling people to abstain from drinking, but there has to be a way, especially in the North, to develop these programs. I am sure a lot of people are going along with this, but if this were to become law, I am concerned that you may lose a lot of very good employees if they were caught drinking, even though they may be good at their job. Do you not think you will be losing a lot of employees because of this policy? This kind of thing can be good both ways, but you have to consider this in different ways. We, as MLAs, have to consider this policy by looking at it in many different ways. My supplementary question is whether or not you are concerned about losing a lot of good employees because of this clause. Thank you.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Social Services regarding the drug and alcohol workers in the North. Were there a lot of people who caused your department to disintegrate because there was a lot of alcohol abuse? Did this become a problem, and is that the reason you came up with this clause that disintegrated the Department of Social Services mandate for the social workers in your department? That is my question for the Minister of Social Services.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, have a statement further to the statement made by my colleague, Mr. Lewis. We, in the northern regions have so-called banking facilities through the Hudson's Bay stores and the co-ops. This is a big problem, especially when we want to transfer money outside of our communities. There has to be a resolution about the banking problem within the Territories. We have to improve our economy. A lot of our money is being spent outside the communities because of the lack of facilities. I will be asking about this further because there are other methods of providing banking facilities. This

problem, which was raised by Mr. Lewis, is something I wanted to add to. Thank you.

(Translation) I, too, would like to speak on page 18. We are representatives of the NWT as legislators. We represent the northern regions, and because of that fact I tend to keep saying that the smaller communities within this report, Strength at Two Levels, have a fear, particularly dealing with POL and the amalgamation of the NWTPC. I am wondering, at the very start perhaps it would proceed very well should there be an amalgamation, but we have to look further into the future to see if it might not proceed as well as it might be intended.

My question, then, is to the Government Leader. You indicated that a review process is being undertaken, and I wonder when you will be able to pass on this information. As a last comment, while this information is being researched, I would like to be provided with the details.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism regarding the craft centre that was recently completed in December. I would like to ask the Minister what kind of equipment and tools the craft centre at Baker Lake will be using.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome two people from Sanikiluaq, since I represent this community. Johnny Cookie, a member of Nunavut; also Lucassie Arragutainaq, a board member for Arctic Co-ops. I would like to welcome these two people to the Assembly. They are representing Sanikiluaq. Thank you.

---Applause