Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Yes. As I stated, Mr. Speaker, we, as the territorial government, incur the cost of heating fuel for income support clients, along with the cost of housing. Therefore, any unearned income is taken back. Thank you.

Merci, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further, this government is working on its own fuel subsidy payment, a one-time payment. If that goes to any income support clients, would it in turn be subtracted from their regular payments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We should qualify that any confirmed purchases of heating and fuel oil by the income support clients would qualify as a fuel rebate. That would certainly be the case in the case of the territorial rebate for income support clients. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. I will just caution Members about making suggestions about intentions of other honourable Members. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes, certainly I care about what I hear in this House. I care about what I hear on the street and I care about the e-mails that I get too. I get e-mails as well. I get a lot of e-mails from people saying they want the rebate, they want to know how to apply, they want to know if they qualify, if they will get them, the same as everyone else does.

As I said, the Housing Corporation will be administering the program. In terms of criteria, I am certainly prepared to share draft criteria with the Members. I can tell you that all households in the Northwest Territories who own or rent a detached, semi-detached, condominium or row housing dwelling and directly purchase heating fuel, propane or natural gas, and who do not receive heating fuel subsidies, except for seniors, have a household income below the core need income threshold for the community they reside in, or do not reside in public housing or government staff housing, may be eligible for the one-time rebate.

As well, Mr. Speaker, all Northwest Territories households living in apartments or suites legally registered with the municipality -- row housing, condominiums and rooming houses -- who do not directly purchase heating fuel, propane or natural gas, do not receive heating fuel subsidies, except for seniors. They cannot be getting a subsidy from their employer somewhere else. If they have a household income below the core need income threshold for the community they reside in and do not reside in public housing or government staff housing, they may also be eligible for a one-time rebate of $150.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the Members have been asking me a lot of questions about other people, other situations, so I am working on that. We are working with the Minister of the Housing Corporation to try to refine this to make it better for the people who have needs. At the same time as I say this, we are trying to respond to your needs. I care about what you are telling me. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fact is the Minister has not answered a simple question of mine. What constitutes income? Mr. Speaker, I do not think what he has just read out is any different from what it was 12 questions ago. He was not even going to make this available to us if we had not asked for it. His approach is just my way or the highway.

Ms. Lee, would you just give him a question so he may answer it?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question only requires a yes or no answer. Would he answer to all to the concerns raised in this House in writing before he gives out the criteria to the public?

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

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I am unclear on what the Member is asking. If she is asking me to provide written answers to all questions asked in this House, I cannot agree to that hypothetical...we have to be more specific. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I learned in the House that when a Minister says, "Yes, I am listening to you and I understand your concern," I always thought that he will respond to it, but I guess he is not.

I want to ask the Minister if all the commitments he made in this House to provide us information on the suggestions and questions all the Members here have had about this program, would he provide us the answers before he makes any public move to give out this money? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I say, with all due respect, I think all the commitments I have made in this House are already in writing and answered. Is the Member asking me to copy the pages out of Hansard again? I suppose I could do that, but the commitments I have made are in Hansard. They are there.

Mr. Speaker, out of respect for the people who need this money, I am not going to get into a long debate back and forth about what is meant on this that is going to go on for months. I intend to have this money in the hands of people who need it by the end of March. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that he has clearly stated what his position has been from the beginning. He is saying that he has $1 million to throw up in the air, with unclear criteria, no definition of what the income is, who gets it, and it does not even have to be who pays the bill. Is that his intention, to just waste a million bucks away because...

Ms. Lee, would you ask the question? Your last opportunity to ask the question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister saying that nothing we say in this House really matters because he is going to do what he wants to do with that million dollars anyway? Yes or no?