Mr. Chairman, I would ask Mr. Menard to respond to this.

In consultation, the Member is right. We have not yet advised the hamlets, other than the fact that they know something is coming. We are just getting the letters ready this week for the Minister to sign. We waited for discussions in the House before we did that. Out of protocol, I advised the tax-based municipalities. We have been dealing with the Association of Municipalities, at least at the bureaucratic level, on an ongoing basis. We have been dealing with Inuvik for two years with the joint committee on the turnover of the utilidor, which affected the rate and whether they should have metering or not. We know there will be different swings in Inuvik. We are anxious to sit down with them and look at these things to see if some of them are too onerous on people or not. It depends on use. The more they use, the more they will have to pay. We hope to encourage conservation and everyone will take the responsibility for paying for the services. I feel there was adequate consultation, from the department's point of view. At least as much as we could, without knowing

what the final decision would be on the rates. That is my feeling. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, according to the information I have, there are about 13 municipalities that are experiencing accumulated deficit with water and sewage delivery. For the fiscal year ending March, 1999, if the initiative goes ahead, more burden will be placed on these communities. I understand Mr. Menard indicated just now that we have to conserve water. I think it is the understanding of each and every Member of the House, perhaps the population of the NWT, that we have more water in this land than anywhere else in the world. In fact, every year the snow falls and subsequently melts in the spring. Sometimes it is very hard not to get your feet wet when you are walking around your community or on the land that we so love, Mr. Chairman. Given what I have said, can the Minister identify communities in all parts of the NWT where the water supply is such an issue and concern that conservation is crucial? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think there has been much discussion in this Legislative Assembly about the transferring of various programs to communities. I think with the transfer of these programs comes accountability and responsibility, which I believe this government has been working with since its inception. The program being transferred to communities makes the municipalities more accountable for the way in which they are delivering the water and sewage program. They will begin to realize what the department has been indicating to them for a period of time, which is to say that they should be delivering a water and sewage program in an efficient manner. Part of the reason the program is considered a closed program is so that users of this program do not pay more to subsidize other programs that other municipalities may have.

With regard to the particular question the Member is asking, I would again have to defer to Mr. Menard because I don't know if there are any communities that have conservation difficulties.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't think the availability of water is the issue. There is no place in the Northwest Territories that doesn't have water available to it in any amount. It is the producing and delivering of it that is costly. That is where conservation comes in. If people conserve a bit, they pay less. Right now, it is the government that is taking the burden of the cost. Other than Nahanni Butte, I think every community in the north has an ample supply of water. It is just the varying cost of delivering it and making it available to home owners. That's the area we are looking at for conservation because there is quite a bit of wastage, particularly when people don't pay very much for it. We are trying to grapple with that issue as well. That's why I

mentioned conservation. It's the cost of delivering it that's the issue, not the availability of it.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, one of the problems we've often talked about in this particular jurisdiction is overcrowding in social housing. One of the reasons some tenants tend to consume more water than expected by the municipality is because of overcrowding. I wonder if the honourable Minister has considered the overcrowding problem when they introduced these changes to the water and sewage services subsidy policy? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I don't believe this policy will affect residents who are in social housing. It is only those who are in private residential houses that this policy would affect.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, on page five of the Minister's remarks today, he refers to the policy changes making a contribution to the government's effort to address the overall operating deficit. I would like to ask what is the projected net financial effect of this policy for the coming fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With the way the present policy is being amended, for June 1, 1994, I believe the impact to the government will be in the neighbourhood of about $201,000.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, I take it that with 9 months at $201,000, with 12 months, it would be a little bit more. Does the Minister have a breakdown of the source of these additional revenues that would accrue to the Government of the Northwest Territories, by community? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe the $201,000 was for a period of ten months. I will ask Mr. Christensen to respond to the detail Mr. Patterson is looking for.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We don't have a listing handy of the impacts of the policy on the

communities, but we do have a listing of all the various components that make up the policy.