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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that is one of the areas that is well thought out. Again, that is going to be part of the discussion on a one-on-one basis with seniors, so that we can ascertain whether there was a commitment on the part of a previous government. Then it becomes more of a question of whether we are obligated to honour that commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the other area that I also touched on was pensions. A lot of these people have 20 or 30 years with either this government or they have worked their way through industry and they built up their pensions over the last number of years and they are now living off those pensions. They earned that pension.

I would like to know if the government is going to look at the pensions, knowing that some of these people have put a lot of money into these pensions and now we are going to be clawing them back based on a certain percentage. I would like to ask the Minister if he will also do a thorough review on the average pensions and also the ones at the maximum end of the scale and the ones at the minimum, to ensure that we are not taking anything more back from the seniors than we would be taking back from other clients of the Housing Corporation?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will speak in the context of the NWT Housing Corporation Act where we may be able to introduce several options to the seniors. Again, in the context of public education, we want to make the seniors aware that they are entitled to heating fuel subsidies, taxation subsidy and a number of other subsidies that are in place. We want to take a comprehensive look at what we can do to assist those seniors who will be adversely impacted and then again, try to prorate what level of rent will be assessed. We want to give them an opportunity, if they want, to elect to go back into home ownership or perhaps remain in public housing units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister also commit to have a thorough inquiry or review with all senior societies and seniors in general up and down the Valley, and take the time to ensure that they are being properly heard and that we are finding a mechanism here where we do not shortchange the seniors by this harmonization that is taking place?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the guiding principles in the harmonization, and the reason why we proposed a deferral, is to take a comprehensive approach to how we want to deal with all seniors across the NWT.

I think when the Member expresses those details, we need to comply with that request because we did talk to several seniors. Some indicated support for the program and others indicated they were not in support. We need to look at it overall and come back to the Members with some certainty as to how the seniors feel and where they would be most impacted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not believe there were funds involved in terms of the transaction. It was provided by the Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. I would just caution Members on the language. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In many cases, a lot of the opinions provided are such that they are provided on a confidential basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly through the provision of a summary of this, we can provide the information that was provided. I think it will be clear what information was contained in that document. Thank you.

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