Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, earlier this year the Minister of Housing presented proposed social housing rent scale changes. The proposed changes unleashed a great deal of anxiety, although everyone understood the financial pressures from CMHC, that rent changes were long overdue and that some high-income people could afford to pay more, there was also strong concern that the proposed rent scale changes were not workable, that they did not adequately consider the cost of living in remote communities, that they did not adequately consider the condition of units, that overcrowding and other factors which were not considered adequately could result in the failure of the new social housing rent scale. There was a special concern that the proposed changes regarding elders could pit them against their own employed children.

A most important concern was that if the changes were not phased in gradually, individual tenants, potential home owners and local housing authorities and associations could not and would not be prepared to implement and accept the changes and the intent of encouraging home ownership might fail.

Madam Speaker, since the first proposed social housing rent scale was tabled in this House by the Minister, a lot has happened and some good things have happened. There have been extensive district consultation meetings in all regions which produced, I think, constructive and reasonable recommendations. Then the Advisory Committee on Social Housing was invited by the Minister -- and I thank him for that -- to work together with him on revisions on the draft rent scale which could make it more workable. The Advisory Committee on Social Housing worked especially hard in Taloyoak from September 23rd to 25th to work with the Minister and propose and agree on revisions to the social housing rent scale which would make the new social housing rent scale more acceptable and more workable in our constituencies, as was spelled out in our report in this House on October 27th.

Madam Speaker, the Minister has stated that he would make a response to the recommendations during this session. I think this is the last day. I'm most anxious to find out what the Minister is going to do about this report. Thank you.