Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed the management of wildlife is something that is incredibly politicized and bureaucratized in the North. Let's take a look, just for instance, at the very, very unattainable NWT Wildlife Act that's been out for I think over a decade now in consultation and still has very little chance of seeing its way to the floor of this House. Mr. Speaker, to the caribou now, I wanted to ask the Minister, we're putting a lot of resources, we have a lot of very good expertise and we're putting a lot of money into finding out what's going on among the caribou. I wanted to ask specific to the Bathurst herd, this herd, the biggest one, that migrates into this part of the country; what do we know today about what is causing the decline of the Bathurst caribou herd, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll just quickly outline some of the many factors that we think are affecting not only the Bathurst herd, but the herds in general. There's things called weather events where we experience a lot of freezing rain in the last number of years during the winter that has frozen the ground making it very, very difficult for the animals to feed. There's concern that the number of predators is very large and extreme. There are hunting issues. There's more roads now and access to hunting than there's ever been before. There are development issues. So those five alone are significant issues that we're trying to assess, keeping in mind that they all have an impact. The question is how much. As well, as the Member pointed out in his statement, we do have some information gaps they we are trying to fill so that we can make the most informed decisions possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, to the reference that the Minister made to the many different partners, stakeholders, that are coming into play here. Is there a collective will, Mr. Speaker, to recognize that we have an urgent situation on our hands, and a will to take action? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very clearly we are of the strong opinion that the numbers indicate that we have a problem we have to address very, very quickly and carefully. All the boards up and down the valley have accepted that information. There is some question and some people that would like to have the numbers redone, and we'd like to confirm them, as well, just to make sure that our numbers are accurate. So there is a problem, and I can assure the Member that we are going to move on this. We've been working on it now for many months to come up with the interim measures plus a broader barren land caribou strategy that we're going to bring forward for discussion. But by the middle of this month, we will have on the table some of our immediate sets, as well; shortly following that, the long-term plans. So there will be actions taken, I can assure the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Oral questions. The honourable from Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment just to talk about the public housing rental subsidies that are going to be coming into effect April 1, 2006. I just wanted to ask the Minister, now that the clients have to apply on a month-by-month basis for this

housing subsidy with their income support worker and bring it to the LHO, how is that going to change the income security officers' working relationship with the clients that are applying for housing subsidies. Is that going to affect any of that interpersonal relationship with the client? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would expect that the relationship would be no different than in the office with the income support worker than it is in the housing office right now. Those people who are in stable situations wouldn't have to come in necessarily every month. It's not our intention that that sort of thing would change. Right now, typically somebody who is in a stable situation will have an arrangement with the housing authority where they may only go in once every six months, or once a year. The same sort of circumstance is going to apply for people in stable situations when the income support offices are responsible, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I'm just trying to figure out, people that are in public housing are usually in unstable situations, Mr. Speaker, and I think anybody that's in public housing considered stable is somebody who's unemployed permanently and never wants to work and only wants to pay the $32 a month. That's my picture of somebody being stable in public housing. But I just want to ask the Minister if their housing subsidy application is not filed, what are their options? Say the income support worker couldn't make it into the communities. She fell ill or something and she missed the month. What are the other options for clients to get that subsidy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the people I was talking about who are secure...There are more than 1,300 clients of the NWT Housing Corporation right now who are not on income support. So they're, obviously, in a fairly stable situation. They have salaries and in a situation where their subsidy doesn't change that much from month to month. In terms of back-up plans, just as we do now with people who need income support, we'll have to make sure that there are alternatives in communities to make sure that the service is delivered, just as we need to make sure that people have money to buy groceries. The same sort of responsibility will be required when people need a subsidy for housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just another scenario, I guess. If a person changes, if their household income is changed and then they reapply for the housing subsidy program but they miss the deadline, the rent goes to the maximum amount of rent, then it goes back to them. Is there an avenue for adjusting and how long does that go back? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As with all programs of the government, there is an appeals process. If somebody finds that they haven't an opportunity to meet the program requirements adequately, they can appeal the decision and ask that it be reapplied. The same process will apply here.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. Written questions. Honourable Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

1. What is the number of clients assisted through EDAP in the Beaufort-Delta region in the past two years?
2. What are the amounts received by each client, by community?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Written questions. Honourable Member from the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.