Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the harmonization strategy fails to meet the needs of seniors and students in the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS the strategy penalizes seniors who are forced to take in family members when there are no other accommodations available in the communities by adding the senior's pension income to the household calculations;

AND WHEREAS the complete lack of rental accommodations available in the small communities is not conducive to family members moving out of a senior's home;

AND WHEREAS the strategy continues to place the responsibility for rental remuneration with the head of the household, in many cases a senior on fixed income, rather than apportioning it among working members of the household;

AND WHEREAS some seniors on fixed incomes who have secured loans based on available income will have difficulty servicing their debt due to rent increases;

AND WHEREAS the harmonization will treat student financial assistance loans as income for purposes of calculating rent assessment in public housing;

AND WHEREAS there are still too many inequities and fundamental unfairness in calculating income for the purposes of income support and rental assessment in public housing;

AND WHEREAS further investigation and assessment of the impacts of the harmonization strategy on seniors, students and single parents is required;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for North Slave, that the implementation of the harmonization of income support and social housing strategy be scheduled to April 1, 2004. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.