Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was under the impression that during the interim appropriation we had managed to hold that cut to block funding, to reverse the decision on that. I am assuming that the Minister is saying that those block funding cuts will still be in place. What is the Minister's interpretation of those cuts, as to how it affects maintaining the levels of services to our people and our economy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the cut that was made to the block grants was 4.7 percent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister tell me what guarantees are in place that there will be no further cuts to tax-based communities where tax-based communities are providing services for this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, the only assurance that I can provide is the commitments that are being made in the budget that we will be reviewing and voting on this year. I cannot make any commitments in regards to future years. I am optimistic that our investments will pay off, but there is no way at this point to make any commitments beyond this fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to point out that I am wondering if the government can make a statement such as this, that they are maintaining service levels to provide it to the northern people, and still maintain cuts to tax-based communities. How can they justify a statement such as this? Maybe the Minister could clarify that when they are cutting funds to tax-based communities, they can blame the tax-based communities for lowering their services rather than blaming the government for it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey, I have to rule that question out of order. It was not actually a question. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.