Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I think the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes had raised this issue last week regarding the flat rent scale. It is not something we are considering right now. Our social housing program, or public housing program, is based, as the Member has indicated, on the household income, and it does require income verification every month because it does fluctuate. However, we can recognize that people can live with paying their rent at 30 percent of their income, compared to a flat rent scale where it would be based on the number of bedrooms or the number of rooms in the unit, it would not allow us to maintain it on a percentage of household income. In fact, it may cause the rent scale to go over, in excess of what is affordable by the client.
The other issue is that we are also mandated to provide suitable accommodation, which would mean so many bedrooms based on the number of people in the family. Going to a flat rent scale would only allow the people to rent based on what they can afford or what they are willing to pay. It would not require any restrictions, it would allow for many people to be bunked up in small units. It is an issue that we have moved away from. However, we keep all options open. As the declining rent scale causes us to look at what is available out there, we have this concept in mind. At this point we are not intending to move forward.