Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just so I am clear, Mr. Speaker, it seems that the Minister is telling us that the $1.3 million is not new money. It is actually money this House had already approved for spending on PTR and special needs. Is that correct?

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that is correct. It allowed us to advance the lowering of the PTR by one year by reinvesting in that area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in year one, we said we would spend $4.6 million, but we only spent $2.8 million. This year, it seems we have under spent again, but at the eleventh hour, come forward and said here is $1.3 million back into the formula. Will the Minister revisit the legislated PTR? It seems like we have placed the bar so low we cannot help but achieve it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

No, Mr. Speaker, we did spend $4.6 million as we had put in the MOA with the NWT Teachers Association. Two point some million was dedicated to the PTR. The other funding that made up the rest of the $4.6 million was identified as money that would go to forced growth, increased areas of cost and enrolments that were predicted at that time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is probably better answered today by the Minister of Finance. As I stated in my Member's statement, the price of propane is of interest to many residents in my community. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister please advise if there are any initiatives to address the high cost of propane for businesses and resident users in the North?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are no specific initiatives to compensate businesses or homeowners specifically for propane. In the case of businesses, as I said last March, we are monitoring the situation. We are trying to determine to what extent businesses would pass the increased cost on to consumers, their clients and customers. We are trying to figure out how a program would work if we had one. For individual homeowners, we are simply monitoring what is happening with the price of propane. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the price of fuel has gone up in all areas. The price of propane has increased considerably. I was wondering if there was any kind of survey done to take in the impact of the increasing price of propane on small northern businesses and residents. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, yes, we are doing an assessment of that. We do know that some businesses have already passed that on to their customers. The airline industry, for example, has done that. Apartment owners have done it, but we do not know the full extent of it yet. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there have been subsidies in the past to cover the cost of fuel. Even with the last one, there was some question as to whether it applied to propane. Could the Minister ensure that any rebates to fuel that are put out there will include residents who are on propane?

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

Mr. Speaker, yes. With the last program, we tried to make it clear that it applied to all the fossil fuels, including propane. Certainly any program in the future would do the same thing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I also mentioned that Hay River is on a piped propane system for most of the town. One way of bringing down the cost is converting that propane to natural gas. Is there any indication from the Minister of any sources of natural gas within the area that Hay River could access? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am aware of some very general discussions that have taken place about piping gas in the Cameron Hills, for example, to Hay River. I am sure at some point that will become a good possibility, but as far as I know right now, there is nothing certain. I welcome any proposals that people would be putting forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.