Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As many of you might know, I was absent from the House on Friday. I was en route to Edmonton. I was transporting relatives who wished to visit and to support a sick family member.

Because there is a lack of medical services for patients who need special medical care in the North, the health care board will pay the travel costs of some family members who wish to be near a relative in a southern hospital.

In my region, where many people are part of a large, extended family, separating the patient from his or her family is very hard. As well, it is very costly for relatives to visit.

I realize there is a serious shortage of doctors here in the North, and that Health and Social Services and the health boards are dealing with a health care system that is stretched to the limit. I seriously wonder why there are not facilities within our larger communities which can provide service to territorial patients.

There must be a more effective method of health care that allows patients to be nearer than 1000 miles from the support and care of their family members.

Family support is a part of health care and is an important aspect of the recovery process. At the appropriate time, I will have questions on this matter. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have seen clerk positions that require post-secondary education. Would the Minister commit to reviewing entry level positions to ensure that job descriptions and educational requirements are in line with these jobs?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A complaint that is sometimes made about government job descriptions is that they are written or tailored to specific candidates. What procedures are in place to ensure that job descriptions are written to reflect the actual demands of the job?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, the Honourable Joe Handley. Can the Minister tell me how government job descriptions are prepared? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a territorial government, we often say buy North as a way of encouraging the development of our economy. However, by not hiring northern locals and aboriginals, we are sending a different message.

One of the barriers that limits the hiring of Northerners is how job descriptions are prepared. Many times, the posted qualifications are not in line with the actual job requirements. I have heard of cases where people who have left a particular job, working at it for many years, were not considered for re-employment at the same job. The job description had changed while the actual job had not.

At the appropriate time, I will have questions concerning how government job descriptions are written. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In January, when I put the petition forward, an addictions services facility was asked for by my region. When I asked the main question, she answered part of my question, but she sort of went around it and started talking about other services. My main question was for the facilities and if she was planning to establish one in the North Slave region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Am I to believe that a single person in the community was consulted with and a decision upon that was the result of having a mobile addictions program in the region?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the mobile addictions services that have been provided in the region, when these types of services were decided upon, did communities have input in this, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Honourable Mrs. Groenewegen. When the Minister was elected in Cabinet on January 19, she made the following commitment, "Please be patient with me as I learn the fine art of answering the questions. In exchange for that I promise not to embark on the effort to learn the fine art of saying absolutely nothing." Minister Groenewegen, I feel that I have upheld my end of the bargain. I have patiently sent several letters and waited for responses for over two months from you. Will you please respond now, in the House, about what addiction facilities your department will provide to my constituents in the North Slave? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.