Good afternoon. Before we begin, I would like to recognize some students from Fort Providence. Their teacher is Gordon Walters. They are grade 10 students who came in yesterday and are going back this afternoon some time. I told them to take a minute to sit in the gallery so they could be recognized.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, the first workshop for the Slave geological province regional study occurred on February 28th and March 1st and 2nd. This workshop brought together representatives from aboriginal groups, industry, environmental groups and government. The basic objective of the study is to develop an environmental and socio-economic information base for the area that geologists refer to as the Slave geological province.

Prior to this workshop, there were discussions with these groups on a bilateral basis. This workshop was the first opportunity for all groups to express their vision, interests and concerns surrounding the sustainable development of the Slave geological province. The main purpose of the workshop was to build a partnership among all parties, as the Slave geological province regional study must reflect the priorities of all partners so that mineral development can proceed responsibly.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that after three days of hard work and considerable discussion by 50 to 60 participants, there was consensus on a course of action for the next stages of the study. A working group has been established consisting of a representative from Nunavut, Treaty 8, Treaty 11, Metis Nation, NWT Chamber of Mines, DIAND, GNWT, the guiding and outfitting industry and the environmental organizations. This working group will be responsible for refining the terms of reference for the study and organizing future planning meetings.

Mr. Speaker, it was also decided that the GNWT and DIAND would lead in bringing together all existing information, in order that the study address information gaps and not duplicate work that has already been done. Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased with the progress that was made at this first workshop. There has been a clear indication that all stakeholders are willing to work together in designing an environmental and socio-economic study for the Slave geological province.

Mr. Speaker, this workshop was the first time all stakeholders, including Dene elders and political leaders, major mining companies, small industry, Inuit representatives, Metis, our government, the federal government and environmental organizations have met around a table to work toward a consensus. I look forward to many more successful meetings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the staff housing strategy was implemented three years ago, the government was very careful to follow its own law. This law requires that individuals receive formal notice of rent change three months before the new rent takes effect. This law is in place for good reasons. With the high cost of living in the north, many northerners don't have a great deal of disposable income.

The three months' notice gives people a chance to plan for expenses and figure out where the money will come from for rent. It also gives people time to look for alternative accommodation if they just won't be able to pay for the rent. This can mean finding a new place to live or making arrangements to share housing.

Mr. Speaker, the government gave this consideration of notice to its staff when it increased staff housing rents and even then, people had difficulties. It is amazing to the ordinary Members that the government does not feel it must show the same consideration to people in public housing units. We find it hard to accept that the Minister of Housing can apply something different for public housing tenants than the law which applies to everyone else. The issue is not whether the law allows the Minister to do this, but whether it is acceptable to apply a different standard for public housing tenants.

Over the past few days, the ordinary Members have been trying to get detailed information from the Minister of Housing regarding the notice of April 1st for rent changes. Yesterday, in his statement, the Minister indicated that every tenant will be individually informed about the new rent scale. Given that the rent changes are now less than a month away, this means, Mr. Speaker, there are still many tenants who are confused and don't know what this really means for them.

Mr. Speaker, this is of grave concern to Members. Once again, the corporation shows that it has different rules than everyone else. Just as it remains a corporation without the need of a board, it can implement rent changes in a way which is totally unacceptable for other NWT residents. Members will be pursuing this issue further during question period. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, I was in Inuvik for a constituency visit. Somebody mentioned that I was in the real western Arctic. The sun was shining and it was fairly warm, compared to weather in Yellowknife.

There were lots of activities going on in Inuvik during the weekend. There was a Royal Canadian Legion rally. All the NWT branches were represented there and they were having their meetings at the legion. The Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association were gathering for their annual general meeting. There were a lot of young athletes in town who were participating in the Inuvik regional winter games training and development camps. The dart league was having a casino; there were the usual bingos; the government had a curling funspiel; there was old timers' hockey in Aklavik; and, even on Saturday night, there was a business meeting of tourism people led by a person from Calgary starting a study on tourism organizations. For a Saturday night, they had over 20 people at the meeting.

I also had lots of opportunities to meet and talk with people. There were a lot of issues and concerns brought up by people, a lot of them revolve around government, social and health issues, education issues and housing issues. My colleagues have been raising issues about the new rent scale and the lack of information. It's no different with some tenants up there, that they're not getting complete information on the proposals.

I've also observed that there's a different air in Inuvik. The businesses seem to be thriving, they're active, there's a period of stabilization and some growth. So all these are real good signs. If we can keep the winter roads open as late as possible this year, it will continue to help the economy of Inuvik.

I just appreciate this chance to talk about my brief visit to my community and note the activities going on there. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the past several months, a number of interesting business developments have occurred in Fort Resolution. The Deninu K'ue Development Corporation, which is a commercial arm of the local First Nations, has four new projects under way. The largest deals with manufacturing of fibreglass products. The Deninu K'ue First Nation was the successful proponent of a public proposal call for bathtubs and tub-surrounds. They won that and are now building bathtubs and tub-surrounds. They have already produced the tubs and the tub-surrounds and have delivered them to the Housing Corporation. My understanding is that they are very good quality and the people doing the work are very proud of their accomplishments. It means two full-time jobs to Fort Resolution, as well as six training positions.

There is also a training program being carried out to try to teach those people to work with fibreglass. There are also three other small projects in progress as a result of the corporation's efforts to get money from the federal government. They developed what they call a "SMART program," which is an abbreviation for sensible management and real training. Their approach to that was to actually develop businesses and get them up and running in Fort Resolution.

There were three project groups. The first was made up of Paul Boucher and Monica Klugie. What they came up with was fashion, and design of fashion wear. They designed T-shirts and sweatshirts. All Members have a T-shirt. It says "Eschia" -- take it easy. Those T-shirts and sweatshirts are selling as fast as they can come off the press.

The other item they came up with is dear to the young crowd, they're bluejeans and they're supposed to be fashion bluejeans. They're called "Bare-Butt" bluejeans. They have the polar bear which is the traditional emblem of the Northwest Territories. These will be embroidered on the back with a hole in the centre so shorts can show through. That's how young people like to wear their pants nowadays, I understand. Those are coming into production and will be on the market fairly soon.

The second project group was made up of Annie Balsillie, Marilyn Martin and Irvin Norn. As Members know...

Mr. Morin, your time is up.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement.

The Member for Tu Nedhe is requesting unanimous consent. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Morin, conclude your statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Members. The second project group is made up of Annie Balsillie, Marilyn Martin and Irvin Norn. They took on the task of finding new markets for traditional handicrafts and traditional native crafts which people have tried to market in many different ways. What they did is designed the product and geared their product to a fairly narrow market, and that is to people who are in the United States that belong to the Black Powder Association. They have a magazine called "The Muzzel Blast," and there are over 30,000 readers to this magazine. So they've marketed directly to them. What they sell are authentic items from the year 1700, such as gun cases, jackets, gloves and complete outfits traditionally tanned. They also have orders in already. They've also designed their own marketing material that is in The Muzzel Blast magazine in the United States. So that looks like it's going to take off and pay dividends to this group.

The key thing that Members have to remember is that this was all brought about...and for each one of these projects they spent $3,000, for a total of $9,000. They managed to achieve these things with very limited resources. So it does show that our aboriginal people in our small communities can achieve things with the help of other people. They should be commended on their efforts and their achievement. I would also like to thank Norm Zigarlick and Vicki Blahun for their efforts and their help in developing this. I ask Members to wear their T-shirts and support small aboriginal businesses in the small communities. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Mr. Morin, you might want to share with the Members later on, who was the winner of the game.

(Microphone turned off)

Oh, you did. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the Canadian Red Cross Society in its important life-supporting efforts in supplying blood to people. The Canadian Red Cross Society has launched an education campaign designed to rebuild public confidence in the blood supply. Mr. Speaker, the Canadian blood supply is considered one of the safest in the world and this fact was confirmed by an international panel of experts commissioned by the Krever inquiry to study the safety of the blood supply.

This can be found in the interim report released by the commission of inquiry into the blood system of Canada, which was released recently. However, Mr. Speaker, despite the endorsement of experts, confidence of Canadians in their own blood supply has been declining. Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Red Cross Society has been an agent of blood supply for many years and has always been a world leader in its efforts to be a critical source of blood supply. Insistence on the adherence to the policy of strengthening blood operations and strict adherence to policy of safety enhancement for those operations has always been the society's underlying philosophy and mandate.

Mr. Speaker, the Red Cross's capacity to inform the public of their efforts to rebuild Canadian confidence is limited and requires support. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge that the honourable Members of this House to support the Canadian Red Cross in its efforts to rebuild public confidence in its blood supply systems operation. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I've been away from the House for a couple of days so I'm going to beg your indulgence and that of Members to speak a little longer than ordinary.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, having just returned from my constituency, I was able to get a report from the Iqaluit housing authority on the new rent scale. I was shocked to learn that of a total of 402 tenants, between 200 and 250 have still not come in to report their household income and get their new rent assessment for April 1, 1995. This is far from the 95 per cent of households referred to by the Minister of Housing yesterday. Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious problem, because if a tenant does not come in to get their new rent calculated, whether their rent goes up or even down, the rent for April 1st will suddenly become the maximum rent.

Mr. Speaker, I am satisfied that the Iqaluit housing authority has made every effort to inform their tenants of these new developments. Notices have been delivered to the households, ads have gone in the newspaper and the chairman has gone on the radio to explain the new rent scale. The authority staff have even made themselves available on Saturday afternoons to go over the new rents with tenants.

I see this as a big problem, Mr. Speaker, because people who get assessed the full maximum rent -- which in Iqaluit is $2,220 for a four bedroom house -- will not pay, will go into arrears and may get evicted. How did this serious state of affairs come about, where more than half of the tenants of social housing in Iqaluit are not coming in to even find out what their new rent is. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the problem arises from the rent scale change notice devised by the Housing Corporation to try to let tenants know what is going on. I will table a copy of this notice later today.

In two places, at the beginning of the notice and at the end, the notice informs each tenant that the maximum rent will be revised substantially upward, for example, to $2,560 for a five bedroom home. Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents who have been given this sophisticated form have told me that they believe this is a notification of their new rent. They are so shocked by the new maximum unit rent that they do not go on to read, in the notice, that the actual new rent that they will be charged will depend on their household income. In short, the rent scale change notice does not inform the tenants of their new rent. It only informs them of their new maximum rent ceiling and tells them about a process where they can come to the local office to find out what their actual new rent really will be.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue and I would request unanimous consent to complete my statement.

The Member for Iqaluit is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many of the people who haven't gone in to the local office are, in fact, low-income people whose rents might go down or at least stay the same. However, they are upset and angry and are very frightened to go into the Iqaluit housing authority office, it seems. Another indication of their anxiety is that rent payments have also dropped this past month by 30 per cent over the usual levels. The Iqaluit housing authority is over $20,000 short of rental income this February, compared to last year.

Some people have apparently given up paying any rent at all. This is a big problem. Unless there is some flexibility shown, especially for these low-income earners, I fear we will end up with many lower income people in Iqaluit having sizable rental arrears because they were afraid to go into the local housing office to find out about their new rent. They got so spooked by notice of the new maximum rent payable on their unit, that they are afraid to go anywhere near the housing authority office.

When I see the obvious confusion and fear in many of my constituents -- many of whom approached me over the weekend -- I wonder about the fairness of the process the NWT Housing Corporation has followed. First of all, the Minister says that the corporation needs to give only one month's notice because these units, unlike government staff housing, he says, are subsidized rental units. So, the corporation, probably the largest landlord in the Northwest Territories, is therefore exempt from the requirement faced by all other landlords in the NWT to give three months notice of a rental increase.

Secondly, is this really notice of a rent increase? Not the way I see it. The notice my constituents received only says that the maximum you may pay for your unit is increased. For people who are expecting to find out what their new rent will be, all they are told is that there will be a new process, taking into account all the income from a household, which will let them know what their new rents will be.

Mr. Speaker, the third big problem emerging is that elders don't like the rent scale. Many of them are feeling that by not being asked to pay any rent, their contribution to the household is not valued. The result is that working children in the family will have to pay even more than if the elders were still paying rent. Elders have traditionally made very good efforts to pay their rent. Now they are being spared from having to pay any rent but they still feel some obligation to get their working children to pay, even though the elder will be forgiven from making any rent payments.

Some children in some families are now refusing to be assessed and refusing to pay the new rents. Tensions are increasing in these families as a result. This family upheaval is exactly what had been predicted and feared in community consultations in the Baffin this past summer.

The last problem I see is that it has still not been worked out how the new tenant agreements will be set up. Whose name will be on the lease? I understand each person will be told what portion of the rent is theirs to pay. But if one person in the household pays, but another doesn't, who will be evicted? Is the good tenant in a family evicted, along with the one not paying rent? Is the elder who is not required to pay rent evicted along with the rest of the family if his or her children or grandchildren refuse to pay rent?

Mr. Speaker, I hope that the Minister of Housing can provide clear solutions to these problems soon. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recognizing the Premier is out of the House today and there has been no notice given to Members as to who is acting Premier, I want to bring up an issue, particularly with regard to this government's inability to address questions posed by Members.

Mr. Speaker, since we started on February 15th, I have been trying to ask this government questions with regard to the tanker base issue. Unfortunately, the vast majority of my oral questions have been taken as notice.

As of today, Mr. Speaker, 21 oral questions were taken as notice, and as of today I still have 15 outstanding oral questions. I further recognize, Mr. Speaker, that I have five written questions still outstanding. But in reality, there are 10 questions posed under written questions to be answered.

Mr. Speaker, we are in session to address the budget and I recognize that. But this session also gives Members the ability to address areas of concern in our constituency and to ask the government questions on decisions they've made. But it seems, Mr. Speaker, that the Cabinet, particularly our Premier, cannot and is not answering my questions.

Last week, Mr. Speaker, every Minister of this government voted to have a two-week spring break. I find that somewhat shameful, particularly when I recognize that the attitude in replying to Members' oral questions is somewhat lax. Luckily, Mr. Speaker, we have rules for a time frame for written questions to be answered, but we don't have time frames for oral questions to be answered. So I would like to take the time to urge this government to reply to our oral questions, particularly before considering a spring break. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Whitford.

Thank you, Mr. Whitford. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know what's wrong, but Ben MacDonald is not here today.

---Laughter

So, Mr. Patterson, you don't recognize him then. Point of order, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Point Of Order

Mr. Speaker, I noticed that you skipped over item 4, returns to oral questions.

Mr. Arngna'naaq, you're correct. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address one of the Member's statements today and return an oral question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on February 17th on the report...

---Applause

...on fire management and fire suppression.

In response to direction from the Financial Management Board, the Department of Renewable Resources issued a request for proposals in December 1992 for a comprehensive review of the forest fire management program and policy. The main questions to be asked were:

- is the forest fire management policy appropriate;

- is the current fire suppression methodology appropriate and affordable;

- is economic leakage to the south minimized;

- are there ways to achieve a cost-savings of $1,000,000; - are there ways to increase the proportion of local labour versus mechanized equipment; and,

- are there ways to reduce the use of large air tankers.

The contract was issued to Peat Marwick Stevenson and Kellogg. The total cost of the review was $392,674.69.

As requested, copies of the terms of reference and the 14 volumes of the final report have been provided to the honourable Member for Thebacha. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on March 3, 1995. It concerns the investigation of UNW regional vice-president for Fort Smith.

Mr. Speaker, concerns regarding the educational credentials of Mr. Keith Dowling, the UNW regional vice-president, Fort Smith, were brought to the attention of GNWT officials in July 1994. The matter was investigated. However, prior to completion of the investigation process, Mr. Dowling terminated his employment by resigning on November 21, 1994.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the honourable Minister responsible for Housing. In government, there are two major types of structures. There are departments which report to the Minister, through the deputy Minister and corporations which report to boards through a president. We seem to have a very unusual structure here in the NWT, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation has a president but reports to the Minister. It participates fully, like a department, in budget preparation but does not have to reveal budget details such as PYs to this House. My question to the honourable Minister is, can the Minister of Housing tell us whether the Housing Corporation is, in fact, a corporation or a department. Thank you.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a corporation.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary to the same Minister. Without a board, what factor makes the corporation a corporation? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We dissolved the NWT Housing Corporation board of directors back in 1992, I believe. And, with full concurrence of this House we amended the legislation to do that. That's how we can still operate as a corporation without a board. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary to the same Minister. Since the Minister indicates that this is, in fact, a corporation, there should be a board that is responsible for its actions. When will the government be reinstating a board to provide direction to the corporation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will not be reinstating the board for the Housing Corporation. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, concerns have been expressed to me about the roles and responsibilities of general contractors and subcontractors. Situations arise where sometimes general contractors do not pay all their subcontractors for work done on Government of the Northwest Territories contracts. I have a question for the Minister of Government Services and Public Works. What is the current government policy regarding general contractors paying subcontractors?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, we withhold funds from the general contractor. If, within 120 days after completion of a subcontractors job he or she, or that company, advises us that they haven't been paid by the general contractor, we make a payment to the them or encourage the general contractor to pay them out.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. After a job is done and final inspections have been made -- and before the Minister mentioned the final holdbacks are paid -- I understand there is a requirement for a general contractor to sign an affidavit or statutory declaration which states that all subcontracts, all employees and all debts have been paid off. I would like confirmation from the Minister whether or not this is true.

Mr. Pollard.

That is correct, Mr. Speaker. The statutory declaration indicates to us that the general contractor has met all of his or her obligations. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. Thanks for confirming that. It is true then that the contractor has to sign a statutory declaration. What happens if a contractor signs a statutory declaration and subsequently you find that a certain subcontractor has not been paid?

Mr. Pollard.

Well, number one, we'd be most upset, Mr. Speaker. We would investigate the matter and see if we can resolve the issue between the contractor, the subcontractor and ourselves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Koe.

For the record then, if a statutory declaration or affidavit has been falsely signed, what recourse has this government to ensure that all subcontractors are paid for work performed or materials supplied on a government contract?

Mr. Pollard.

That's a legal question, Mr. Speaker. I'll take it as notice. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Housing. Mr. Speaker, last year this House was informed of the millions of dollars of cuts to social housing and the Minister indicated that these cuts would mean a reduction in the delivery of housing. However, they did come in with a supp. Can the Minister advise whether or not there was any reduction in the number of units delivered as a result of the large cuts to last year's budget. Thank you.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are delivering approximately 435 units this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. With the permanent reduction in the funding from the federal government for social housing, there is a reduced need for staff to run these programs. As well, all government departments have been asked to cut costs. How many fewer person years were in the Housing Corporation in 1994-95 than in the previous years, taking into consideration that there have been phenomenal funding cuts to the Housing Corporation's budget? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Taking into consideration that the Housing Corporation has undergone many changes: we've changed programs; the way we deliver programs; we've changed the rent scale, which has taken a lot of work, there are new home ownership programs; there has been reorganization; and we are still delivering the same amount of units that we have delivered previous to the cuts, no there has not been a reduction in PYs. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It appears that there is no control on spending or any attempt to reduce

PYs. Most departments have made cuts at headquarters to help the government get a better control on spending. What was the approximate reduction on operations and maintenance expenditures of the Housing Corporation over the past couple of years? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me assure the Member that there is control on spending in the Housing Corporation. The Housing Corporation has done the same amount of work, if not more, with a smaller amount of money. We've had to redesign all the programs and implement them. We've gone through many changes. We are doing that, and we are doing that within the existing budgets we have had. We have come forward to this House with a $17 million supp for capital projects, and that's houses that are going to be delivered into the communities, houses that are desperately needed. Also, the Members must realize that for every dollar you cut from the Housing Corporation, you're giving 75 cents back to the feds. Ultimately, you're cutting 25 cents of NWT money. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Housing Corporation isn't able to cut their expenditures with regard to PYs and all other departments have, can the Minister justify the existing number of PYs the Housing Corporation has now? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we can justify it and we will do that when we present our budget in this House. All the PYs are there and all that information will be available to the Members. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Housing. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister said that notices of "change to rent have been either hand-delivered or sent by double-registered mail to tenants" and he went on to say that over 95 per cent of the public housing tenants had got these notices. When most people get a notice of change of rent, they expect to know how much their new rent will be, how much it's going up or down. When public housing tenants got their notice recently, was their new rent a part of that notice? Thank you.

Minister of Housing, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Patterson was good enough to send me this rent scale change that his constituents have received. My understanding from this is that tenants were informed of the maximum rent they could pay for the unit they're in. They have been directed to go into their local housing authorities and sit down with the local housing authorities to work out what their rent would be and the process that would take. It's also my understanding that tenants were given packages. For example, in North Slave, they received their package on January 16th; South Slave, January 30th; western Arctic, January 19th; Baffin, January 23rd and 24th; Keewatin, January 29th and 30th; and, Kitikmeot, January 31st and February 1st. In that package, there is a lot of information. We have 7,000 information packages printed in English and 2,900 printed in Inuktitut to keep people informed. They were given those packages, and in the package was information on the new scale including examples and answers to some of the basic questions tenants may raise, as well as information on the corporation's new home ownership programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, the honourable Minister has told me tenants were informed of their maximum rent, the most they might pay. He has told me they were informed of the home ownership programs. They were informed of the complicated process of calculating the rents. But he didn't inform me that the tenants were told about how much their rent in their house will go up or down each month. So I would like to ask the Minister, is it fair to Members of this House and the public to say that notices of changes to rent have been hand-delivered to 95 per cent of the households when, in fact, those notices of change of rent, although they give lots of information about the process to change the rent, don't tell a tenant how much their rent is going to go up or down? I would like to ask the Minister, is it fair to say that tenants have gotten notices of change of rent when none of them, unless they go in, have actually been told their rent in each household is going to go up or down? Is that fair? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tenants have received notice of what their maximum rent will be. This is not a new story, this rent scale has been in the works for at least two years. It has gone through broad community consultation, regional consultation, it's been on the air, it's been in the newspapers, it's been on posters in the communities and tenants have gotten their package. They're encouraged to go into their local housing authority and sit down and discuss their incomes with the housing authorities who have all been trained to deal with it now and work out what their rent will be. Every tenant is different. Whether they're working at the time or not

working, that reflects on their rent. Hopefully, people will go into their housing authorities and sit down with their own people and discuss what their rent will be. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, in my riding over half of the tenants have not gone in three days before the Minister's deadline, before the boom is lowered and they're assessed the maximum rent on their unit for not going into their local housing authority and verifying their income. I would like to ask the Minister, rather than telling the House about how many people have got these notices about the process and about the maximum, can he tell this House how many people have actually now got notice of the rent change for their household? What percentage of the households in the Northwest Territories have been given the detail of how much their rent is going to go up or down for their house? That's the real question. Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll go back to the Housing Corporation and get them to get in contact with every local housing authority to get the numbers of actual people who have gone in.

Item 6, oral questions. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Housing. As the Minister knows, many of our public housing tenants have difficulty with English, which is their second language. Is the information on the rent changes being translated into all official languages or just Inuktitut?

Minister of Housing, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The information is translated only into Inuktitut and English. It's in both languages. But in all the western Arctic communities, as well as in the eastern Arctic communities, this change in the rent scale has been explained to people by their own people who speak their own language. Thank you.

Supplementary, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This rent scale has been talked about for more than two years. Don't you think that it is reasonable to expect to have this information translated into other official languages, other than just Inuktitut?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, if people request that this rent scale be translated into, for example, Cree, Chipewyan, Dogrib, Gwich'in, North Slavey, South Slavey -- and I understand, from the Official Languages Act that we passed in this Legislative Assembly -- those people have a right to request that and then it would be translated; it has to be translated. However, we haven't had that request. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions, supplementary. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm surprised at the Minister's response because with this type of initiative or implementation of rental increases to the public, you would think that the government would have the initiative on their own, without being asked, to have the material that is being passed on to the tenants translated to all the languages. How can the Minister justify that he has to wait for somebody to come up to him and say they would like to have this translated? Is that reasonable?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's very costly for translation to all languages and we do not have the money within our budget for translation. If the Member is aware of some other group amongst the western Arctic aboriginal people that request or need it translated into their language, or any other documents this government produces -- for example, the budget, anything, these are all important documents -- if she's aware of that, then please let me know and I could try to fix that, especially when it comes to the rent scale. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the government with regard to a decision to downgrade GLO positions in my constituency from full-time to half-time. Earlier this session, the Premier announced that she would work with the other departments to see whether ways could be found to continue to support these valuable Inuit employees in the isolated communities by getting other departments who are using the GLO services to help pay for their wages. I wonder, Mr. Speaker, if the government could tell me what the status is of the government's efforts to get other departments to assist with GLO wages. Thank you.

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Premier has been working on this particular issue, and I believe that she's going to report to the House on the issue when her budget comes before committee of the whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you. I know the information came to us that the GLOs were given an alternative, either to take half-time pay or resign from the government if they do not sign the government offer. Is it also true that the GLOs in the Baffin, none of them have accepted a half-time position? Thank you.

Mr. Pollard.

I'm not aware of the answer to that question, Mr. Speaker, so I'll take it as notice. Thank you.

The question is taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Whitford.

The Minister of Housing, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All tenants and all people in the Northwest Territories can sit down at any time and make appointments with project officers to discuss the home ownership program that we have available for all people in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Koe.