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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Petitions are generated by, of course, the local population of their desire and will, at which time I have to respect that and look into it. I guess the challenge here is the financial cost and the implications across the Territories for that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before the Minister would give any support or serious consideration to a petition from Hay River, would he clarify whether this petition would have to be supported by all members of the South Slave Education Council before he would give it serious consideration? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, the authority to create separate DECs lies in the control of the Minister. I am not sure that we would require the approval of other DEAs in order to create another DEC. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Final question, Mr. Speaker. When the Minister talks about increased costs for setting up a Hay River DEA, what figures will he accept to take into consideration? Would these be figures brought about by the DEC in Fort Smith, or would they consider figures coming from Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, the figures we would use are generated by individuals in my department of what it would cost to generate. I think that would be an appropriate way to proceed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. At this point, I would like to say the House will take a short break in order to join Her Honour, The Commissioner, in the Great Hall for a reception. We will resume at the call of the Chair.

-- Break

Thank you, colleagues. The House will now come back to order. We are still on item 6, oral questions. We left off with the honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey. You have finished your supplementaries. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up a little bit more with the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation with respect to the new program alluded to that will be coming into effect on April 1st. I just wanted to confirm that this is a new program to encourage new construction and if I am correct in what I heard, that it is available in tax-based municipalities. Could the Minister please tell us what the name of this new program is? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a program that was jointly funded through CMHC and the NWT Housing Corporation. It is a combination of existing NWT housing funds with a new agreement we have reached between the territories, provinces and the federal government for new initiatives and new funding for those communities that need more affordable housing, and also perhaps more new rental units. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, is this money available to people who are developing new houses for other people as well as individuals who will just be developing a home for themselves? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. According to our knowledge and our understanding, there are two new initiatives or two categories. One is called affordable housing, which alleviates the housing shortage in large urban areas or centres. The other is based on the rural and remote needs, so that our contribution actually received from the federal government is $1.89 million annually. That is the subject of this new program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The funding for the affordable housing and the rural and remote needs combined for both of these programs is $1.89 million per year, but that money has been committed by the federal government to be joint funded for a period of four years. Is that correct? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to confirm, the NWT will receive $1.89 million annually. Over a four-year period, it will be a grand aggregate of $7.54 million, and would address the two categories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.