Mr. Speaker, we have initially set out to show the priority that health funding has to this government and to the people of the Northwest Territories and I think that message has been received in a very clear, resounding way across this country and with the Government of Canada. This will continue to be highlighted in our discussions. It has also paved the way for the federal government to acknowledge that many of the programs that are provided to us on the per capita basis simply do not make any sense. Tying in with this, will be the nature of the formula financing arrangement. Many of the elements that constitute this basis of this agreement are really at a no win for us because we end up being penalized for initiatives and don't benefit as other Canadians do when programs are initiated and funds are made available across this country.

We know that an increase is going to become more important to us. As we push major development projects we must find some way before devolution finally happens and when devolution happens that there be a net fiscal benefit to this government when we are advancing development projects such as diamond mines, and oil and gas and pipelines. This government should never have to fiscally spread its resources so thin that it affects health services and the social network that is so badly needed in our communities. So those are the prevailing thoughts that we have as we look at the upcoming discussion. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we hope that many of the shortcomings that we have in the formula financing arrangements and the funding arrangements that caused difficulties with the federal government over the years will finally be addressed. As to whether or not we will be totally satisfied will remain to be seen. We are optimistic because the Prime Minister has personally made a commitment to initiate this process by asking the clerk of the Privy Council to lead discussions on it, and he has asked to be personally informed of the discussions that will lead to some changes. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week following my return to Yellowknife and to the legislature, the Secretary to Cabinet, Liz Snider, had the first face-to-face meeting with the Clerk of the Privy Council Alex Himelfarb in Ottawa and had the first discussion with the federal official at that time. There is an agreement that, by the end of March, we will know the details of the process that will be used to address the fiscal challenge that the North faces as acknowledged by the federal government and how that's going to be done. Keeping in mind that we have formula financing negotiations coming up, there's an agreement to meet again in about two weeks, on March 10th. They have confirmed the substance of the meeting that we had with the Prime Minister, because there were none of our officials present at that time, just political people; the first face-to-face was held to confirm what was discussed there. That the $60 million is, at this time, understood to be available over five years in the three territories but, the discussion is still open to possibly three years. It is a full amount but it could be topped off in the coming year pending the discussions that we are going to engage in. The Prime Minister has committed to being kept informed of the discussions and that we will be meeting again in the next two weeks. The Minster of Finance, Mr. Handley, is also engaging in the discussions because of the tie-in to formula financing negotiations. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can look at the teacher turnover in the last five years that this government provided staff housing and look at any five years since staff housing was discontinued and see what the change in turnover is and has been and provide that to the House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will speak to the Ministers who are directly involved with this issue to look at assessing the cost and time that would be needed to assess whether or not providing housing in the past or since then has impacted significantly on the teacher turnover over a number of years, and also to see if the graduation and success rates of our schools have changed as a result of the change in our housing policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we knew years ago that other northern jurisdictions are out of the business of housing. They are able to attract professionals, doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers and other professional people who are required in our communities. So we know that the cost of providing housing in the past was very, very high to this government. Any suggestion to go back into it would be fiscally impossible to entertain at this time. Thank you.

Policies of this government and this Cabinet are brought forward by Ministers and officials under direction of Cabinet and are designed, worded and crafted to meet the goals and objectives of government. So they are policies of government. They are not cast in stone and we try to adhere to them to the best of our ability but, as you may know, it is suggested that sometimes we fall short and miss the mark. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The suggestion was made in good faith yesterday by Members of the Legislature, so I had agreed at that time to share that with the appropriate Ministers. I have done that. We will respect the Ministers' right to contemplate the suggestion. I am sure at the appropriate time, they will indicate to me whether they are in agreement with that suggestion and come forward with the appropriate initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity yesterday to have some discussion with Members of the Legislature informally when this issue was first raised and I had committed to the MLAs at that time that I would have a discussion with my fellow Ministers and following that, give them some indication as to what we would be prepared to do. We started that first step of the process today. So we will be sharing whatever decision we make in the next few days. Thank you.