Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a couple of comments on the fuel rebate draft policy. Mr. Speaker, I have had a chance to review it and I just want to give my feedback. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we should remember that this is a fuel rebate and not a one-time, arbitrary income supplement. The driving force behind it has to be an understanding that every family and business is hurting from the high cost of fuel. We have to figure out a way to help them fairly and equitably within the limited resources we have. Also, Mr. Speaker, I think we have to remember that this is public money and we have a duty to spend it responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, as it is written, the fuel rebate has a number of gaps and it has a great potential to be highly inequitable and unfair. I will just give one example, Mr. Speaker. Under the current income threshold of $72,500 for Yellowknife, it is highly possible that a single person, a single professional who makes an annual income of $72,000, could qualify for either a $350 rebate or $150 rebate, depending on whether he or she lives in an apartment or a house. That is $72,000 income for one person. Where a family down the street, a family of four with two income earners and two children who makes $73,000 -- $500 above the threshold -- will not receive anything.
It is possible that this single person might have received a federal rebate of $125, so they will get $125 or $350 on top of that, depending on what it is. I do not want to deprive anyone of anything, but I think we have to look at the needs of working families and spread these limited resources equitably.
The last point I want to make, Mr. Speaker, is that I think everybody in Yellowknife knows that at this time of the fiscal year, government employees are out there spending money like crazy because they have to spend their budget, or they are giving out contracts. I think the Minister of Finance should discourage that. I see this as he is right in the forefront trying to spend the $1.4 million within the time limit. I think that is highly objectionable, Mr. Speaker. I am glad the Minister is willing to talk to us about this...