Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for Housing, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I would like to advise the Member and other Members of this House that there are procedures set out in the agreement. Since the LHOs are an agent of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, they are mandated to make the public housing unit tenants aware of those rules and procedures. That is normally carried out through the tenant relations officer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for Housing, Mr. Allen.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to attempt to answer this in the context that we allow the tenants who are in arrears to the LHOs or the housing association to enter into a debt repayment plan. This helps alleviate some of the problems of their ability to repay the arrears. We also do that on a case-by-case basis because not all tenants have the capability of repaying. Thus, we have a number of different methods to use to assist those tenants to liquidate their arrears to the local housing associations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister responsible for Housing, Mr. Allen.

Mr. Speaker, I am not so sure I can provide that specific detail because of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, but I will double check with our legal people to ensure that if we can, we will. If not, then I would like to advise the Member I will take the responsibility of checking into this. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Nobody in this House disputes the fact that that is an important and essential part of representing the communities in the North, maintaining that contact. It is also important that Members have strong family ties.

As I said earlier, Regular Members sometimes spend over 150 days per year in Yellowknife because of their duties. They are not afforded the same opportunity to travel home as Ministers. The question remains. Why do Ministers deserve more trips than Regular Members?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following along the family issue, I quote from the policy when it says, "it is unrealistic to expect Ministers and their families to break all their ties with their home community and extended family." I think we all agree with home travel. How does home travel for Yellowknife Ministers strengthen their community ties?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, we have cut out compassionate travel for members of the public, but if you are on Cabinet now you can travel to a funeral, it sounds like. I think the public will comment on that. The Minister of Education has a reason to visit every community in the Northwest Territories. He has schools in every community. Almost every Minister has a reason to visit every community, and you can make sure your visits tie into community events.

I am afraid, Mr. Speaker, I am having trouble understanding the rationale here, and taking your wife along. Mr. Speaker, I was a Member of Cabinet for four years, I travelled extensively to federal/provincial/territorial meetings across Canada and I did not find one provincial jurisdiction that paid for the spouse to travel. We are proposing spousal travel. Why do we have to be like the feds and why not like the provinces?