Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. This question is with respect to the fishery at Tathlina Lake and at Kakisa Lake. You will recall my concerns raised in my Member's statement earlier. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as the community of Kakisa, are doing their part to ensure the fish in the lakes survive. The community is prepared to stop fishing for one, two or even three years to try to ensure the fish and the lakes survive. Mr. Speaker, the residents of Kakisa would forego a valuable resource from their traditional harvest of fish and commercial fisheries.

I would like to ask the Minister if this government is willing to do their part and provide a compensation package to the residents of Kakisa should they deem it necessary to implement a self-imposed moratorium on any fishing on Tathlina or Kakisa Lakes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, without knowing the specifics of what might be requested, if they do have a moratorium put in place, I can assure you that our government will do its part in ensuring that whatever disruption happens has a minimal negative impact. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, we have to look at the affects of logging, global warming, acid rain, oil and gas exploration and all their hazards to the environment and ultimately the lakes and the fish. The government has supported and participated in the West Kitikmeot/Slave Study.

Mr. Speaker, with regard to all the water in the Great Slave flowing through the Deh Cho, the resource communities in the Deh Cho have done a lot of research in the area already. In order to save the fish in the lakes, is the government prepared to match the effort of the West Kitikmeot/Slave Study and turn its resources towards a comprehensive and integrated study of the Deh Cho region?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, on the West Kitikmeot/Slave Study, there are a number of partners, particularly government, industry and the aboriginal governments. The West Kitikmeot/Slave Study was slated to be completed this year. Whether or not we would continue with that particular study will depend on whether the other partners are also willing to continue. We would not be able to do it on our own. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The oil and gas industry, the logging industry, the pipeline industry, and other various industries are increasing the pressures to develop the Deh Cho region. At the same time, the environment is very fragile. One oil spill, one blow-out, the slightest environmental hazard can be devastating to the water hazard tables, rivers, lakes and the fish.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider having a meeting with the Deh Cho First Nations to discuss the environmental concerns in the region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, certainly I would be pleased to meet with the Deh Cho leaders at their request. I might also say for the Member's information, I believe he is aware of it, that we are currently already doing one assessment of the oil and gas impact in the Liard area. A piece of that work is being done. Certainly I am interested in monitoring very carefully, not just the socio-economic, but also the environmental impact of any kind of development that is happening down our valley. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance. As I indicated, I am trying to find some justification for calling this fuel rebate a fuel rebate. I cannot seem to find any rhyme or reason as to who qualifies from region to region. We make an assumption that rents have gone up across the board. Can the Minister please answer this, is this fuel rebate related to fuel prices?

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

Mr. Speaker, as it is designed right now, yes, it is. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you look even at the Minister's riding, the people of Ndilo pay 47 cents a litre for home heating fuel, as do the people of Yellowknife. If you make $65,000 a year in your household in Ndilo, you do not qualify. If you make that in Yellowknife, you do. You have up to $72,500 to qualify. Why the discrepancy? Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, in trying to find a formula that fits this particular need and program, which is meant to provide a rebate based on the cost of fuel, then we really have three choices unless we just arbitrarily create one. I will just go through them very quickly, Mr. Speaker.

We could have used the social assistance food scale, but that is only based on a sampling of food costs and has absolutely no relationship to heating costs or the costs of maintaining a home. It is just straight groceries. That is one scale that we have used. We also have various northern allowances for government employees, teachers and so on. We could use that, but that is heavily based on travel costs to go in and out of communities and so on. It is for a different purpose.

So what is the alternative? The closest alternative we came up with is the core-need income threshold formula. That one is based on a number of factors. Certainly the cost of a building and the cost of land are part of it. That is reflected because people have to pay taxes and so on. It takes into consideration that formula, as well as land and taxes. It also takes in the cost of electricity, heating costs, water and sewer costs, insurance premiums and maintenance costs. It looks at the cost of maintaining a home. Heating costs are very much related to the cost of maintaining a home.

What we used as a core is the formula that the Housing Corporation developed years ago and has improved upon year after year, which is based on the cost of owning and maintaining a home. Not based on how much your groceries cost or anything like that, but the cost of a home. That is as close as we could come to one that will reflect what this rebate is meant to achieve, because it does include heating as well as other costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Then let us call this a house price rebate. We are trying to put a square peg in a round hole here, Mr. Speaker. Why would the people living in Detah have a $72,000 threshold and the people in Ndilo have a $64,500 threshold? I do not understand this at all. If this is not about fuel, then let us say so. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I had the same question as does the Member about why there are differences between Ndilo and Yellowknife and Detah and Rae and so on. The answer is fairly simple. It has to do with the cost of acquiring and maintaining a home. Taxes are certainly a part of that. That accounts for the biggest difference between the cost of a house in Yellowknife and the cost of a house in Detah or Ndilo. The answer there is fairly simple.

We are starting with this scale because it is the one scale that we seem to have in government that comes closest to including consideration of heating costs. That is why we chose that one. I gave it out to the Members because you wanted it. You asked for it and I made it available to you as a draft. I did that in good faith. It is a draft. It is a starting point. I said all week that I want to do that. It is as close as we could come. I want to meet with the standing committee to go over this, if that is possible, in the next few days. I am hearing what you are saying. This is just a base. Please treat it as it is. It is marked draft and it is starting point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Le dernier question supplementaire. Your final supplementary, Mr. Bell.