Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member talked about the increase in payments in income support in the region. One of the things that have driven up the payments is that benefit levels have substantially increased since 1999. The amount that is paid for food, the amount that is paid for accommodation, all of those payments have gone up substantially since 1999. We have a very rich program in comparison to the rest of Canada. Is it rich to people who have to try and get by on it? No. It is a program of last resort. But, yes, the costs have gone up in some regions because the benefits have increased substantially.
The issue of whether or not we would separate it into a number of different programs; in fact, one of the issues that I will be talking to the Standing Committee on Social Programs about is reducing the numbers of programs that we have, because as a policy the government should have a consistent approach to how benefits are provided to people in the Northwest Territories. Therefore, in fact, the policy framework that I mentioned to Mr. Braden that I will be presenting to the standing committee will propose that there be fewer categories, not more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.