Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have thought of different ways that we could appeal to the Cabinet. I am sure that you have taken notes on many of the different ideas that the Members have stated. Some of them are good ideas.
I know that any stories that we give you about the housing situation anywhere in the Northwest Territories, you are aware of those problems. Now to try and convince the Cabinet, as a whole, would be difficult. In the report that you gave to the Assembly, you indicated that you had convinced the Minister, Honourable Elmer MacKay, that there is a unique situation in the Northwest Territories.
To be able to talk to these people individually, you probably would be able to convince them, but to do it collectively, is something that I do not know if you can do.
When you have a Treasury Board that comes out and says, no, and this is the indication that you gave me earlier, directly to a request made by a Minister, I do not see how you could convince them to vote otherwise.
Certainly when we, as Members, try to convince the Cabinet, we have difficulty, and they say, no. It becomes difficult. As a last resort appeal to all the people in Canada, to southern Canada, by working with the southern media. Certainly when you look at the news today, you will hear that the federal government is dealing with the Constitution, and is giving lots to the aboriginal people. They are coming to agreements with a lot of aboriginal people across Canada.
On the other hand, something that is not being said at all in the media, is that we are also being cut in a lot of different places. As far as social programs are concerned, such as family allowance, we are just hearing on the news that family allowance will be reduced for those people who have higher incomes, but it will also be removed completely from families who are on social assistance. It will make it even harder in the Northwest Territories, because so many of our people are on social assistance.
Any time that the media, in southern Canada, takes a look at the north, they usually portray a romantic, nostalgic, type of destination, such as what we saw from Iqaluit around Christmas time, on Midday News.
We are striving to help those people, but once you remove them, there will be others who will be moving into those shacks.
I do not know how else to appeal to the federal government, other than to do a mass media appeal to Canadians. I think that might be one of the ways that we could lobby the federal government. That might be something that you could consider, as a last resort.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.