Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Member; all of us were offended by having these cuts just announced. The federal government told us that this was treated like a budget, that it was all done in secret, and we weren't the only jurisdiction. All jurisdictions across Canada were not given any information on it. It was a surprise to everybody the day it happened.

Mr. Speaker, since that time we have been trying to get clarification on all of the different budget cuts and some of it we still don't know because there's no detail when it comes to things like cutting departmental efficiencies in DIAND. We don't know what that means and we're still seeking information. Some other areas we have a little more information.

Since that time, Mr. Speaker, we have expressed our concern. I've done it personally with the Minister of DIAND. The Minister of ECE has written with regard to literacy cutting and the Minister of MACA has talked to his counterpart. Mr. Speaker, I am sending a letter to both Minister Prentice and to the Prime Minister emphasizing our concern about these budget cuts.

The Member is right; we are on almost like an allowance, but the big issue is that we don't get our fair share of the resource revenues. While the cuts are important, it's the big picture of resource revenues that we need to get our share of money from our resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm wondering if when the Premier spoke to...And I thank him for his response. Can we use what has happened to us with these cuts as a leverage or another example to the federal government of why the Northwest Territories is different? We're not a province; we're a territory. We're being treated unfairly. We're being taken advantage of on a daily basis and until we're treated fairly, we should be treated differently at the very least. Again, we're not a province. We're on a fixed income. I know the Premier had mentioned that he's going to communicate that in writing and I'd like for the Regular Members on this side of the House to get a copy of that letter. I'd like to see it and I'd like to see that letter state quite clearly that we are not going to accept these types of things happening to us until we're dealt with fairly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I will commit to making a copy of the letters that I'm sending both to Minister Prentice and to Minister Harper available to the Members. Mr. Speaker, Ottawa's a long ways away and they sometimes just don't understand that the situation is different for us. I find it frustrating when I hear the Minister of DIAND talking about the per capita amounts that Ottawa gives us at $17,000 compared to $8000 in Newfoundland, as if our costs were the same across the country. We know, and I'm sure that he knows very well, that our costs are much different here given our big geography, the challenges we have in the Northwest Territories. So there's a lot of these kinds of issues that we'll continue to push away at, but, Mr. Speaker, I don't want us to get caught in just talking about the cuts. I want to keep our eye on that big picture because that's what's going to make the difference, is we get our fair share of money through the resource revenues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier, in that letter perhaps he could include something to the effect that we want to see all the money that was cut from programs here in the Northwest Territories reinstated. And I'm talking every last dollar reinstated until our government gets a deal with the federal government in terms of resource revenue sharing. I think that is fair and that is what's fair to the residents here in the Northwest Territories, and that's what they're asking us to do and to represent them and I think that's fair and that has to be in that letter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly do that. I'm not sure of the exact wording we'll use, but we will do it and make the point that we don't have adequate funding. As I mentioned in the sessional statement, the current situation just simply is not sustainable and we have to get that message to the federal government, whether it's through reinstating this money or a combination of this plus, as I say, the resource revenues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Oral Questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm just going to ask some of the same questions that I was asking the Minister of Education yesterday, but my questions are going to be directed to the Minister of Housing. The rent scale policy that we have in place, the old rent scale policy, I just want to ask the Minister, can he put something on the record to indicate that the Housing Corporation is going to possibly review the rent scale policy that touches a lot of people here in the NWT; a policy which creates a disincentive to seek employment for public housing clients, creates dissention towards the LHOs, the staff, government employees, and it develops a lack of respect for public housing stock by people who are in public housing? In other words, they just don't care about wrecking the place because they don't pay rent on it anyway. A lot of them don't pay their fair share, anyway. So I'm just wondering if the Minister can let people know that, yes, his department is going to review the rent scale policy, one that is perhaps based on net income or based on annual income, taxable income, but not one that's based on bingo winnings and card game winnings and based on hearsay, what people think the neighbours make? Can he do that for our public housing clients? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for housing, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department is looking at the rental rate review in which we are hoping to have something come forward in conjunction with what's happening with the transfer of the social housing subsidy and also realizing that we do have to be open, transparent and fair to all our clients across the territory. So we are looking at it in conjunction of a universal review of the whole program throughout the territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's good. That's good news, I think. At least they are reviewing this policy, which has been under a lot of scrutiny for a number of years. I just don't think that it has worked and it's definitely not working today, especially in the small communities where public housing accommodates a large majority of the communities. I just want to ask the Minister, when can we expect perhaps a draft of the changes or some recommendations, or how far are we along with seeing some substantive change? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in conjunction with ECE and ourselves in regards to how we are laying out the whole idea of the household subsidy and also looking at the whole rental scale systems that we use, I think we are looking at arrangements that have been done in Nunavut, other places in the country, and also realizing that we are similar in nature to other jurisdictions. Seeing what's happening in those other jurisdictions and ensuring that we have a system that is either consistent with other jurisdictions, but it's fair to our tenants and the residents in the Northwest Territories. I think right now, from the issues that we've heard in this House, the concerns I've heard going into communities, we do have a system that we have to revisit. I think we are looking at that. I'm hoping to have something ready within the next number of weeks so I can take it to committee and possibly have a chance to review it then. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to know that they are reviewing other jurisdictions, because I myself have done some reviews of other jurisdictions and they seem to have kind of tossed this whole rent policy out the door and went on something like their taxable income for people, which would alleviate their level of anxiety of how much their rent is going to be from one month to the next. At least they don't have to file their monthly rental claims every month and people are more in tune to seek

meaningful employment for a given year given the fact that they know what they're rent is going to be in the next six months as opposed to what it's going to be in the next month. So I just want to inform the Minister, I guess let the Minister know, that there is a lot of ideas and a lot of options out there and I think that it's prudent that his department do a thorough review of the old policy and hopefully we'll have something in place in the next six months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at the whole area of who do we calculate rent from gross income versus another system that we use looking at the...I think it's important that whatever we do we are going to have to...Any rent that we change we have to ensure that we follow the tenants act that is in place by notifying our clients that there is going to be a change, and also whatever we do here has to conform with how we are able to not only look at the policies that we have within the government, but also ensuring that we have a system that's working in conjunction with other programs. One of them is the subsidy that presently is in place with regards to ECE, how that's going to be worked into the program so that we don't have people that are treated unfairly. But more importantly, that we look at all aspects of it from gross income to looking at a new formula of how people pay, what's the percentages. I think at the end of the day it has to pan out that we have the ability to continue to operate the corporation but, more importantly, do it in a fair system that it meets the residents' needs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Oral Questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to continue these questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in regards to the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program. Mr. Speaker, in the communities there are some elders who receive this subsidy and some of the elders that don't receive this subsidy. In some of the communities, it causes conflict between the elders. Some of the elders who say they should also be receiving because of the hard work they have done and the pensions that now they're receiving from the jobs that they worked at. They don't have any subsidies, and yet they're still struggling with other elders who are on this fuel subsidy. So I want to ask the Minister in terms of adjusting the threshold for all elders to be eligible in some sense for this subsidy. There's some elders that work hard, that are said they make too much money. They can't give you the subsidy. Elders just shake their head. So they get conflict with their neighbours. They say all elders should be treated the same. Maybe some levels some elders should get more subsidy, but that's what they're saying and it's causing a lot of friction and a lot of conflict in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.