Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to bring up a number of different issues under the Housing Corporation's responsibility. First of all, I want to state that it is really a day that is very difficult for many members of the community of Fort Providence. As of noon today, we had seven families being evicted out of Housing Corporation units.

I have several concerns. First of all, that these evictions are happening during the winter months and there is a double standard. There are many communities in the Northwest Territories that do not have rental facilities. If the tenants who are living in these units have a problem paying for their O and M then income support kicks in. It is really difficult for me as an MLA to have to go home and have to sit down with all of these different families and let them know that there is really nothing we can do. As an MLA, I really cannot interfere in what is now a legal process. In my discussions with the Minister, I also realized he cannot interfere with this process.

A lot of these people have been in arrears for many years. A lot of them, given the economic state of our community with high unemployment, sometimes just cannot find employment or steady income to pay it back. If you are in that situation, if you are in the courts, if you have a charge or a fine, the Department of Justice has a program that will allow people to work off their arrears.

My first question to the Minister is, could the Housing Corporation not look at some type of methodology where people who are in arrears can work some of their balance that they owe and have it written off as they work it off? There must be a better system than just evicting people.