Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In order to carry this out the Minister will need to amend the N.W.T. Housing Corporation Act. A bill is presently before the Legislative Assembly which purports to achieve this. While the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions approves of the principle of eliminating the board of directors, it was beyond its mandate to comment on the substance of the bill. The above recommendation should not influence the requirement for a full and open legislative review by the appropriate standing committee.

Indeed, the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions believed that it was important to ensure that an adequate understanding of the implications which these amendments might have on territorial access to federal programs and funding. The Minister indicated that arrangements would be made to establish a "shell corporation" to ensure that access to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding would continue unabated. Although the standing committee requested further details related to this so-called "shell corporation", it was not received.

The Standing Committee was of the opinion that further elaboration on the legal and structural parameters of the proposed "shell corporation" might be valuable to the Standing Committee on Legislation in evaluating the policy implications of this bill.