Thank you. The Honourable Member for Keewatin Central, Mr. Todd.

I understand that the industry is sympathetic. They recognize the importance of the issue. It has been raised in other provinces, I believe. I am told we can move quickly under the act to incorporate some regulations as it relates to this .05 per cent beer. That is what we are endeavouring to do and we want to move as quickly as possible to get it off the shelf and get it into a facility that requires you to be 18 years or older to purchase it. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Baffin South, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. This will be my first question since you became the Speaker. In Baffin South, it is very hard to find jobs and the artists and carvers are going through a hard time. When they sell their carvings, the prices go down. The prices of carvings are far behind. For that reason, I would like to ask a question of the Minister for the Housing Corporation. The rent is high for houses and they are going through hard times. They need food, especially for the people who are unemployed. I wonder if the Minister of the Housing Corporation could assess the rents?

Thank you. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The rent is based on 25 per cent of the gross income. If people are not making very much money, or if they are unemployed, then they will pay the minimum rent. The main thing is the tenants must bring it up to the housing authority that they are not working, or their rent will be assessed at the higher rate. So they have to let the housing association know they are unemployed, then they will get the lower rate. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you for the response. I understand that there is a minimum rental rate for people who are assisted by social assistance. Some people still have a hard time keeping up their minimum payments. Would he look into this and see if he can assess the people who are having a difficult time keeping up with their house payments? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Morin, Minister of Housing.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. At the present, the Housing Corporation is reviewing all of the rents that are being paid in the Northwest Territories and they are going to come up with a new policy by spring. If the Member has some specific people or tenants he would like me to look at, I would be pleased to do that if you could give me their names. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake.

The honourable Member for Keewatin Central, Mr. Todd.

I will be tabling that information this afternoon, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs. Mr. Speaker, in the last session, we learned that the Government of the Northwest Territories has consistently turned back hundreds of thousands of dollars to the federal government for aboriginal language support. I know that the Dene Cultural Institute has been refused, by this government, requests for creating the communities' support and language position for the past several years. Is this government prepared now to reconsider this request and support the very active role the institute plays in fostering culture and language development at the grassroots level? Mahsi.

Thank you. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Nerysoo, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to indicate to the honourable Member, I am not the Minister responsible for dealing with applications regarding the official languages agreement. That responsibility falls in the hands of the Premier. I am responsible for managing and monitoring the financial resources allocated to my department and through my department. The calculations for this year show that we are going to overspend the allocations of those resources by approximately $90,000.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask a similar question to the Minister that is responsible for dealing with the applications, the Premier. I will turn my question to the Government Leader and ask her if the government is prepared to consider the requests to support the Dene Cultural Institute in fostering culture and language development at the grassroots level. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. There were no other Members who wanted to pose other oral questions, therefore, I will let your question proceed. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I did make a commitment earlier, when a question was posed to me. If there were some applications that were specific and had been turned down, if brought to my attention, I will look again at the applications. I am still committed to do that. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson.