Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement today is on the proposed fuel rebate. Mr. Speaker, in the haste of putting this together, I do not think the government thought it through.

In Fort Resolution, the fuel rebate income cutoff is $61,500. If you make more than that, you do not get the rebate. In Lutselk'e, the cutoff is $69,000. The price of home heating fuel in Lutselk'e is 97 cents, Mr. Speaker. However, the income cutoff for Yellowknife residents who qualify is $72,500. The home heating fuel cost in Yellowknife is 47 cents. Where is the sense in that?

Mr. Speaker, a lot of people will not qualify for this. People in the communities are short of housing, live together, and the combined income of one household brings them above the cutoff level. Nobody qualifies.

The government should rethink this. In fact, what the government should do with this money they want to spend before the end of this fiscal year is put it into tourism. Tourism needs money. Introduce the hotel tax that is going to penny pinch the people in the Northwest Territories for $1.3 million. There is about $1.4 million that the government wants to spend. Let us put it into tourism. People do not see the effects. With this rebate, only a few people in the Northwest Territories qualify. Let us put it into tourism, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause