Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

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

To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Speaker, they are not. They are an agreement between a group and a corporation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Just to remind the Members that question period is almost over here and we have a big full list. Shorten your preambles. Mr. Nitah, supplementary.

I am not sure whether that question is directed at the Minister. As the Chair understands it, he is not responsible for the City of Yellowknife. He is responsible for the territorial government. Would you like to rephrase that question, Mr. Nitah?

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. I will rule the question out of order.

-- Interjection

Is the honourable Member questioning the Chair? Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, along with my colleagues, Mrs. Groenewegen and Mr. Nitah, we were looking for some information on housing. My question is a follow-up to that to the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

The Minister indicated that a potential investment of $25,000 per unit would help put more affordable housing into the major centres. I would like to ask the Minister if he could provide any more details or criteria to the potential $25,000 per unit offer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will try to clarify some of the responses I had yesterday in the context of the program. The $25,000 cap can be integrated into the existing EDAP programs, or may be integrated into other home ownership programs, IHP, independent housing programs, or units that need to be upgraded, rehabilitated, and also may be used for capitalization for rental units. Those are some of the examples where it can be used.

The intent is that we want to keep the program as flexible as possible, that would meet their increasing demands, both in urban, rural and remote communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is good. I think we are getting some more information on it. The Minister also indicated that April 1st would be a roll-out, or an eligible date for that. Given the very active construction landscape in Yellowknife, would the Minister be able to announce any firm criteria prior to April 1st? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now that the Minister of Finance has given his Budget Address earlier today, I am pleased to say that we do have an action plan for all the communities, including the regions. We want to distribute that prior to April 1st so that every Member has an idea of the impacts this new program will have in their communities or their constituencies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, to clarify a point that was discussed yesterday, is the $25,000 program going to be available to private developers? If I wanted to build my own home, could I access it as well? Or is it more for developers aimed at multi-residential construction? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke to several factors earlier in the context of integration of this program. We see this as open to not only developers but private individuals who may want to access EDAP, for instance. That additional $25,000 cap would be incorporated into that, the application process. So we want to make sure that we have all of the program permits fully developed here in the next couple of weeks for distribution. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to seek one more bit of detail here. Will there be specifics or criteria, like a means test or an income level, before I could become eligible as a private builder to access this help? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, again, we are trying to keep it flexible, so we are going to incorporate it into the existing policies. We may have to revise some to meet the growing demand. It depends on which constituency is most affected. Again, hopefully when we get the action plan finalized and distributed it will outline the new criteria -- whether it is new criteria or enhancement to existing policies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.