Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent, with regard to the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program. I have to agree with you, when you basically make the statement that anyone earning over $50,000 can receive a subsidy. I do not think that should have been the intention of the program. I do have a problem when a single person is allowed $12,000 to basically live in a unit and I do not think it is fair to areas, especially north of the Arctic Circle, who have to use a formula similar to the one you suggested.

In my riding, where we do have a lot of elders who own their own homes, they cannot afford to basically continue to pay the high cost of operating and maintaining homes, especially north of the Arctic Circle. I do not believe you took that into consideration when you made your decision. I would like to ask you, Mr. Minister, if you would consider changing your decision and looking at the overall cost of subsidies and take into account that there is a difference in cost of living in the larger centres and south of the Arctic Circle versus between these that are north of the Arctic Circle where they do have a higher operating cost to maintain their units and keep them heated during long winters. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider looking at changing his decision and allowing those communities north of the Arctic Circle to be excluded from this decision.