The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

allow a family member to stay with a senior throughout their grieving period or throughout their illness and not be penalized for having to pay rent for that particular period. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we can consider that. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Personnel. Mr. Speaker, I usually try to give notice of questions to Ministers, but today I haven't given the Minister any notice of this because of the way my constituents were treated. In the past month, several of my constituents, who are employees of the GNWT, were given notice in the form of a note posted on their door on March 3rd saying they had to be out of the premises on March 31st because the lease had terminated. I would like to ask the Minister of Personnel, is that a fair way to treat an employee? Thank you.

Minister of Personnel, Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not knowledgeable of that circumstance so I'll take the question as notice and check into it. Thank you.

Thank you. The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that it is the plan of the Housing Corporation to take over staff housing for the government, which was a departmental responsibility of Personnel. I would like to ask the Minister of DPM since a lot of DPW staff have taken the responsibility of looking after staff housing in the past, is there a plan to transfer DPW staff to the Housing Corporation? I would like to ask the Minister of DPW what he plans to do with the staff who have had the responsibility for maintenance of staff housing. What will happen to the staff of DPW? Thank you.

Minister responsible for Government Services and Public Works, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have transferred the responsibility of the administration of staff housing to the Housing Corporation. We're also looking at the best vehicle for maintenance of staff units as well as maintenance of government buildings in our communities, how to get the best system in place to maintain all of the capital infrastructure. We are working on that now and how we can accomplish that should be known by June. It may vary in different communities; it depends on the community on which way we can solve the problem the best. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mrs. Marie- Jewell.

Just for clarification, Mr. Speaker, is it fair to say that, in addition to the many responsibilities of the housing authorities in the communities for maintenance of public housing, the responsibilities of DPW staff may be transferred to the housing authorities to ensure that maintenance of staff housing can be addressed, which has been transferred over to the Housing Corporation? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We plan on working with the community and the staff to see which will be the best way to handle the situation. For example, in some communities, there are two or three maintenance people from the housing authority and they may or may not be union people. Then you have one or two maintenance people from DPW who are union. So we have to look at how we can mix this all together, serve the community the best and still treat our employees properly. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Public Works and Services. This is subsequent to my Member's statement regarding the high cost of gasoline. In the eastern Arctic, the rate of dependency on welfare is very high. The suicide rate among the Inuit people is the highest next to Dene and others in the country, Mr. Speaker.

The trapping industry is virtually destroyed by animal rights activists, but there are people who are dependent upon trapping and hunting, Mr. Speaker. We spend a substantial amount of money in trying to deal with health problems in the country, especially in this particular jurisdiction. Too much free time can be very difficult for young people, Mr. Speaker. Hunting is healthy. Country food is no substitute, Mr. Speaker, for canned food that we buy in stores. What is the honourable Minister doing to try to solve the problem of the high cost of gasoline in the eastern Arctic? Thank you.

Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the present time, we are finishing a review of all the petroleum products and cross-subsidy in the Northwest Territories. Hopefully, in the very near future, I will be able to take a paper to Cabinet and try to get some recommendations on how we are going to restructure the pricing of fuel and gasoline in all of our communities that are off-highway and serviced by POL.

Right now, the subsidy is based on the price of fuel in the community and the price of delivering that gas. We were instructed to look at all the costs that surround keeping the liquid in the community as well. So we have to look at the capital costs and come up with a price structure and a subsidized program that does make sense. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier is aware and my colleague from the Kitikmeot region, Mr. Ng, is aware, almost every meeting we have attended with the Kitikmeot Regional Council, there is an outcry from the delegates because of the high cost of gasoline. Mr. Speaker, how soon will the honourable Minister bring the matter before Cabinet?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fairly soon my department will be briefing me on this issue. Then I will speak to Members about it and then take it to Cabinet. Hopefully, we will get it done by June. I would just like to assure the Member, as well as other Members of this House, that we wouldn't make any drastic changes to anything until we consult with Members. Thank you.