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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are currently income thresholds in place for disabled residents who applied to have renovations done to their existing homes. This is very prohibitive.

Would the Minister please inform this House if the income thresholds that are an obstacle to the disabled will be removed as a result of the substantial increase in federal funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are looking at each situation on an individual basis and in the context of the question, we will have to certainly look at that, as that sometimes impacts upon an individual. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will funding be made readily available to help disabled persons adapt their existing homes when they find themselves faced with a sudden and ongoing disability? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we certainly will do that under the seniors and disabled preventative maintenance initiative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister please indicate what steps his department will be taking to assist disabled persons who want to be able to access an affordable home of their own, given the increase in federal funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I can use an example, we have in the past established barrier free units in several communities, so it varies from community to community, of course. In the context of the question, we will certainly meet with the individuals to see how we can ably assist them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the decision was made by the Somba Ke board about 1999, the day they were going to change the program they delivered. They basically put their program eggs, if I may use that term, in the basket of federal corrections and moved to become a program that housed and dealt with inmates. Since that time, they have found that the number of inmates they thought were going to be present or available have not met their projections, causing them significant problems in terms of their cash flow.

What that decision also did was that it completely excluded the involvement of any Health and Social Services programs in the facility because it was geared at that point for the use of inmates in a correctional setting, which would make it inappropriate for the Department of Health and Social Services to have an involvement. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the information. In some of my discussions with people involved with the facility, the basis of governance for it and the involvement of the community in the facility really seems to need some help. I wanted to ask whether this government would be prepared to look into participating in efforts to renew the region and the community involvement and interest in the facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that from a building point of view, a facility and mortgage point of view, the Housing Corporation is fully engaged and actively involved. In terms of the program side, which the Member mentioned, as a department, we of course are interested to see what is possible. This is a resource that is clearly mortgaged. The mortgage is held by the NWT Housing Corporation. I have been out there. It is a very well set up facility. What we need is, of course, the inclusion of this particular facility back into the planning process. We have to come up with a way to identify whatever possible need may be there, either as a community resource or as a regional resource.

We had discussions yesterday, for example, with my colleague, Mr. Lafferty, about the need for alcohol and drug facilities, what other potentials are there. The message being, Mr. Speaker, that we are interested in working with the board, the community and interested parties to see what is possible and how we would fit that into the budgeting and planning process, given our limited budget. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, the approach that the Minister has outlined is one that I would very much like to get behind. The exposure of our government through the Housing Corporation and the mortgage is substantial, and we should be pursuing avenues to make sure we are not going to be left out on the hook for a facility that just has no further use. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit to going out and having a visit with the people who are running the facility and look for ways to accelerate the long-term planning and stability of this facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact, I have already had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Handley and Mr. Dowdall, the executive director. As the Minister of Health and Social Services, I am and will be receptive to whatever kind of feedback and input I get from the people in Yellowknife, the stakeholders, the user groups, in terms of alternate possible uses for this facility. Of course, I will be working with my colleague, Mr. Allen. I am receptive to that. I already had the opportunity to meet, as I have indicated, with the executive director. Thank you.