Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we are meeting here, our deputy ministers are meeting to determine which department will be the lead on this. Most likely it will be one of the major departments dealing with housing and energy costs. The forms are being prepared. We will, within a few days, clarify which department is going to handle it and where people can pick up the forms. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In his speech, or maybe in his interviews outside of here, he mentioned that for Yellowknifers, the eligibility line may be a combined family income of $70,000. I wonder if the Minister could specify as to whether or not that $70,000 is gross income or net income. Can he give us any more details on the level of income that would meet the eligibility status? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, the intention is to use the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation core need income threshold scales. Those provide for household income, so it is gross income. The threshold for Yellowknife is $72,500. That is total household income. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the same policy, the Minister stated you have to have paid for the fuel to be eligible for this. That is a good point there. I am wondering about those people who got fuel subsidies from the federal government. Would they also be eligible above and beyond what they got from the federal government? Would that affect the eligibility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I am not familiar with the federal government program of fuel subsidies. Unless the Member is referring to the rebates that the federal government has paid. With regard to those, if someone was eligible and received a rebate from the federal government, then that has no bearing on our program. We are looking at ours separately.

The same applies to seniors who may have gotten fuel assistance. They would also be eligible for this one. The main criteria is that the applicant for the household has to have purchased fuel themselves. They cannot have had the fuel given to them by an employer or a landlord. They must have some evidence that they have purchased fuel.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to take advantage of the final supplementary then, can I confirm with the Minister that he will be making an announcement in this House with the details of how people can access this program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I hope to be able to do that early next week. Don't worry, be happy.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Madam Groenewegen.

Yes, it was. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Apart from the obvious, that all of the money basically leaves the North, is that we do nothing to build capacity in the North. So if in fact there was no one here who could do the work, that is one thing, but we cannot expect that in the future there will be if we keep bypassing northern business. Would the Minister agree?

Mr. Bell, the question to me, from where I sit, does sound kind of hypothetical. Would you like to rephrase that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I would like to ask the Minister how sole-sourcing to southern firms helps to build capacity in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the consultants that were hired by our department to do this particular system-wide review have expertise that consultants in the North would not have. In order to, as the Member suggests, build up this expertise in the North, I am afraid it would take more than just this contract to do that.

This is a very specific area of expertise. It would not have been available in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.