Thank you. One of the difficulties, obviously, with diamond pricing is that it is not as other commodities that are traded on an open system where you can see the actual value of product very easily. There have been some suggestions by the local industry that they believe they may be charged more than what customers in Antwerp are charged. We really have no way of knowing. The prices charged in Antwerp are commercial deals between site holders and the producers. They are confidential. We have no way to compare those prices to the prices that our local industry is being charged here. I can't comment one way or another. I have no way to verify if, in fact, there is any difference in the pricing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development about a consultant that the diamond projects division has in Europe, whose reason for being is to try to achieve our goal of more northern employees in the secondary diamond industry and also to

increase the potential of the Northwest Territories as a diamond centre. Mr. Speaker, I could speak of him by name, but I won't in the House. I am sure the Minister knows who I am talking about, but it is at a substantial cost to this government. If we are not receiving a benefit from having this consultant in place, then why do we retain this consultant? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Members of the House heard late last week the Finance Minister indicate that we had to take stock of our government's role in supporting the secondary industry, and make some determinations around how we can be most effective as a government to bolster the industry and to support every aspect of the industry. We aim to have that discussion and that analysis going forward. Obviously, we have had the immediate issues of the two factories to deal with here over the summer, into the fall and into the winter. So we have been working through that. But we will have to make some determination around the amount of resources we need, the horsepower we need, the expertise and intelligence we need to draw on from the international community. This is an industry that is very much a global one. We do have to have some understanding of what is going on in Israel, India and in New York in order to effectively understand how we can crack this industry, not only for the Northwest Territories, but for the country. So in the coming weeks and months, we will be taking stock of our resources and making a determination at that point as to what type of resources we need to employ. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister how many of these so-called diamond industry expert consultants have the diamond projects division and the Government of the Northwest Territories got on stream. Where are they located? How much is it costing the government to retain these consultants? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is a significant amount of detail that the Member is looking for. I will certainly provide that in writing in follow-up. Off the top of my head, the suggestion would be that, internationally, I think we have two diamond consultants who provide us with intelligence and also do some evaluation work for us and administer our certification program which is, as the Member knows, very important to the government. One is located in Israel, the other in Antwerp; and somewhere in the neighbourhood of $200,000 a year U.S. would be my best guess. I will get detailed information for the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. In my Member's statement, I spoke about some of the inconsistencies that the constituents are experiencing with how the Housing Corporation reviews and applies the level of rent scale. I am just wondering if the Minister can tell me what guidelines we are using today. How do we determine who pays what rent and at what levels, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, the Honourable Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with regard to the rent, it is based on format of thresholds for low income tenants who pay a lot less than people who are in the high income range. So it is based on the amount of income that you receive. It is calculated through a phase-in approach, that I mentioned, by way of the rate scale system that we have, which was supposed to be phased in over four years. We are now in the second year of a four-year phase-in, so we are now looking at readjusting that to phase in over this year and next year, which, as it stands right now, is basically 30 percent this year and 10 percent next year, but I know that is an issue with the Member. That is the process of how we evaluate it. It is based on the amount of income that a tenant receives. The higher the income that you have, the higher the rent you pay.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Your supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Perhaps the Minister can answer for me, when does the corporation expect to review some of the guidelines that currently exist to make it more reflective of the needs of today, of our constituents, and, indeed, of our clients who are using the Housing Corporation programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with regard to the way the Social Housing Program is delivered, it is a social program that is delivered through CMHC -- which are national programs that are delivered across Canada for social housing -- where, as an agent of CMHC, we, as the territories, along with Nunavut, probably have one of the leaner rate scales in the country. Again, it is a national standard that we follow. Again, this is social housing. It is designated for low income tenants, but also we accommodate people

who want to move into social housing with the awareness that, as a high earner, you will be paying more for those units. Social housing is for those clients who receive low income. That is why we have a rate scale that is set through income thresholds. That is how we determine your rates. It is a national program that is across Canada, which is delivered by way of social housing through CMHC. We are delivering the program similar to other jurisdictions in Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just wondering if the Minister was speaking about national guidelines as well. I guess I was looking more for how we get an appeals process going because that's the real problem here, Mr. Speaker. A lot of the issues I'm hearing are that the Housing Corporation is not responsive; how do we get them to understand my unique circumstances? Like in the case I was talking about in my Member's statement, Mr. Speaker, how does that person appeal the process, is the question. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, rate increases are based on the tenant's act, which is an act which is enforced through the Department of Justice. At this time, in order to increase any rent, you have to give three months' notice. If you're not satisfied with that decision, you appeal that to the tenancy officer who is there to oversee the tenant's act. That's the appeals process that you go through. You appeal a decision you don't like or an eviction that you receive through the tenancy officer who is responsible for enforcing the tenant's act. Again, that follows the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I believe that some of the tenants are aware that if they do have rent problems, that there is a tenancy officer who they can deal with and bring their concerns to. But I was thinking of the Housing Corporation programs in general, Mr. Speaker. Is there an appeal process? I know our current housing act is very old, it's from about 1978. I believe it's time to review it. There's just no room for an appeals system in that current structure. I would just like to get the Minister's assurance that they will take the time to look at that act and review it and update that act is what I'm really after, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister do that? Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Krutko.