Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whether or not all of our seniors' programs should be universal or whether or not they should be income tested is part of the process that we're going through as we review our income security programs. I intend to discuss that sort of approach with the Standing Committee on Social Programs and Members of this Legislative Assembly as we come up with program design. The important thing to keep in mind will, of course, be the cost. We're going to have to take a look at what we can do for program change with an existing cost and what we might be able to do if we're able to spend a little more money or take some money out of one program to put into another. But this is going to take a lot of work to try to figure out where we can find extra money to put into the program like the Member's asking me to do right now. So I've committed that I will work with the committee to examine just exactly how we should handle this sort of program. I can't promise that it's going to be resolved before this winter heating season, but it is something that we expect to have resolved before the next winter heating season. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know it's going to be a costly initiative. I know the existing dollars are not right now in this government. But there's got to be some creative solution from this side and from the House here. We can't go back to the elders in Colville Lake, Deline, Fort Good Hope and say to them listen, we have to wait another year. Sorry, but we don't have enough money. That's unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, we have to go back to the communities and tell the elders this is what we can do, this is emergency funding, this is what we're doing with it. Oil companies are doing it with the other agencies to get fuel into the communities, either be it wood or diesel fuel. So we have to come back. So I'm going to ask again to this Minister, can he go back to this Cabinet, ask his Cabinet members to think about doing something so that we can give the elders a break in terms of this program for this winter? I understand where he's coming from, but it's unacceptable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government respects and honours the seniors in the Northwest Territories. We're probably the only government in Canada that provides this kind of fuel subsidy to our residents, but we don't have money right now to make this a universal program and there are a lot of seniors who can afford to pay for their own fuel.

There are seniors who have had government jobs and have pensions. So not everybody is going to be treated exactly the same right now. The program is set up that we have to live within the money that was budgeted. It was approved by Members of this House in February of this year. I'm prepared to look at all of the options. But you

know, as Mr. Ramsay said earlier today, we don't have a lot of money to respond to last-minute issues. So when prices go up all of a sudden, it hurts us. When the federal government cuts us all of a sudden, it hurts us. We don't have the flexibility to all of a sudden just start adding to our programs halfway through the year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Minister if he would conduct, do a sweep or a survey of all the communities that have elders that are living independently that need help there. He'll have unanimous support by the elders in terms of this is what we need. It's not much. We have money. We're putting our money to other priorities. We're talking about priorities and there is money in this government. Shift them to the elders first. Do the basic thing. Do the right thing. Help them out for this year. That would eliminate all the stress and conflict with our elders in the communities. Put the money in the people, not in the buildings. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, this government does respect and honour its elders. We don't charge rent for seniors in social housing. We have increased, in this year's budget, the pension amount that we provide to seniors. We do provide a heating subsidy to seniors who are in need and our income support, as a means of last resort for seniors who need help. So, Mr. Speaker, I will continue to look at the program and see what we can do, but I don't want to give the Members false hope that I have a lot of room to move. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not giving myself here false hope. It's giving false hope to the elders. We have to take care of them. We have to do something out of the extraordinary to take care of them. Give them the fuel. They are complaining to me in Colville Lake. So will the Minister do the honourable thing and respect the elders, give them the fuel that they need this year, talk to your Cabinet Ministers and give them a break? Don't break the elders. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've heard the honourable Member from the other side and we'll look at what our options are. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to use the remainder of the question period to pose one more question to the Premier and it's in regards to what I heard this morning from the study that was done by Alternatives North, which suggests that the potential income, or revenue, or profit, from the pipeline development for industry could be as high as $17 billion.

I think we understand that this is a mega, mega project, and the latest figure I've heard was a $7 billion investment required by the consortium and the cost is going up. But even at $10 billion, a $17 billion profit is quite healthy. It's an 80 to 100 percent return. I think anybody would go for that.

I think what we are looking at is what portion of $17 billion or any relation to that does this government stand to gain from that. Could the Premier enlighten the House as to what his response is to that?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a copy of the presentation that was made; we've seen some media reports on it. We're doing a review of it now to try to figure out how they arrived at the numbers they have. If it is $17 billion profit, I agree with the Member, that is a lot of profit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to be clear that I don't have a problem with people making a profit. I mean that's what makes the markets go around. Good on them if the companies can come and make profits. I'm interested in what is the GNWT getting in this development project. I think it is the resources of our territory; it has a lot to do with our future economic prosperity. Good on the aboriginal governments for working hard to get what is beneficial to them, but I have to tell you that we have to be very concerned that in the whole mix of things we've got nothing so far...