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.