Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the fuel rebate. Last week, the Minister of Finance said, and I quote from unedited Hansard, "The reasons for having a flat rate are to keep the administration simple and efficient for us to administer." Mr. Speaker, the Minister also said that we need to get assistance to the people of the North who need it most and get it there quickly and there has to be a cut-off somewhere.
Mr. Speaker, I think we would all agree when we are talking about a subsidy or rebate for homeowners and renters for fuel that there will have to be a cut-off somewhere. However, Mr. Speaker, if we had a sliding scale for this support, we could assist more families and, Mr. Speaker, we could do it for no bigger cost.
Yes, some families would receive less than others, but we would at least provide some help to more than the 3,300 families now being targeted. Mr. Speaker, that is almost 25 percent of the households in the Territories.
Mr. Speaker, last week I questioned the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation about programs administered by that department and he confirmed that the Housing Corporation does administer programs on an income-tested basis. The amount of support varies by community and by household income. Mr. Speaker, the administration would not be more difficult than what the Housing Corporation now provides if we were to administer this new fuel subsidy by the same methods. It would take only a simple chart if a person applied for a rebate and demonstrated that their income was between "x" dollars and "y" dollars, then they would qualify for a subsidy amount of a certain amount of dollars.
Later today, I am going to ask the Minister of Finance which side he is on. Is he going to be on the side of fairness for Northerners or for ease of administration for government employees? Mr. Speaker, I hope he comes down solidly on the side of fairness for Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause