Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last few days and over the last week or so, I have had some discussions with the Member on this possibility. Also, previously in this House, the Member asked me if I would consider going to Ottawa with a request to consider funding for this particular route in cooperation with the chiefs. I agreed to this, but at this point in time, I have no feedback on that.

As far as whether or not the department would consider this as a future all-weather road, at this time, we would just be looking at it. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member mentioned today in his Member's statement, there are problems reaching Gameti, Rae Lakes with the winter road. The department is concerned about this and what we are going to be doing in the future. I will be working with the department and the Member, and I presume the community leaders, as to the possibility of using the land route in the future as the winter road.

Thank you, Minister Steen. Questions orales. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

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

Mr. Speaker, the only reason I have set the deadline to March 31 is to get the cheques into the hands of the people who are saying they need it. I am hearing from them and I expect that other Members are. There are people out there who want the money, who need the money now. They do not have time to wait for us. They have fuel bills. Some are behind in their payments and so on. They need it now. We had to set a time frame that is reasonable, both giving our people time to do the work that is necessary, do the consultation as best we can, and let us get the money out to those people who need it.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am certain there are people who are in dire need of this money. I would hope we could move quickly to get that money out to them. From what the Minister has said, it would seem that it is possible to extend the consultation period to perhaps the middle of next week and extend the claim period to say, April 7. Is that possible?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think that is possible. It is. It is just that we have to help people who need help. I want to do it as quickly as we can. If there is a good reason to delay it for a week, there is opportunity to get more good feedback, then I will consider it. I really have those people's concerns at heart, but let us help the people who need help. They are telling us right now they need help.

If we can do it by March 31, I really hope we can stick with that schedule. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think Members on this side of the House have pointed out some areas of unfairness in the program, so I think it is absolutely essential that we spend a couple of extra days to make sure that we have it right.

I would ask the Minister to commit to allowing the Members on this side of the House until the middle of next week to provide their advice to him on this program and, if necessary, extend the deadline to April 7 for applying for the rebates.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sure, if there is useful purpose in doing that, then I do not have any objection at all, if we can make this a good program. I do hope the Members work with me to keep this a simple program, so administratively we do not have to go and do an assessment of every family and so on to see exactly what their needs are. Otherwise, it will just delay things. The objective is this is a one-time rebate. Let us get it out to the people's hands as quickly as we can. A couple of days, sure. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the price of fuel, I am glad we are having this debate today because it falls in line with my question. I believe the problem we have is the whole question about the availability of programs, but also the accessibility of the programs to ensure the people the program is identified for are accessing it, especially our seniors. We have seen a real increase in the cost of fuel. Power rates have gone up, property costs, costs of living. An example, in the community I represent, the cost of fuel is 74 cents and gas has gone to $1.25.

I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs about the property tax rebate. Knowing there are other programs out there, has the department looked at working in conjunction with our seniors on the seniors' fuel subsidy to streamline those programs so they are more easily available for our elders to have access to?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to speak specifically to the question of seniors' tax rebate programs. Yes, we are reviewing this specific program. Also, we are dealing in consultation again with the Minister responsible for Seniors and other departments who have a vested interest in seniors programs.

It is fairly early, as the Member knows, and we are trying to respond to every request now through what seems like a collective approach on all of the programs. I think this will bring the question to a head. We are willing to respond to that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the big problems we have in our communities is having people made aware. I would like to ask the department, what is the department doing to ensure that our elders are aware of these rebate programs and also, what is the department doing to help our elders by getting them the forms so they can fill them out? Thank you.