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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community of Gameti is frustrated over the whole process; it's been on hold for a number of months and it wasn't moving anywhere once the bid came in, was too high. That's why I was asking about alternative measures. But, Mr. Speaker, my final question: This project was scheduled to be completed before the next school year; that was the hope. The bureaucratic red tape is no excuse for any delay; we've heard it over and over. When will the building for the Gameti school extension begin? Will it be next year? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we're still in the process of examining whether or not the scope of the project will need to change. We haven't decided whether or not we're in a position to just agree to pay the price and go forward with the project. If all of our school projects keep coming in at more than twice what the budget is, Mr. Speaker, we're not going to be able to proceed with all of the projects. We agree with the Member that the school expansion in Gameti is a priority and we're going to work with Public Works and MACA to do our best to bring the project forward next winter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Just to follow up on my Member's statement about the rent scale policy that this government never seems to want to revisit. Mr. Speaker, just seven months ago I was asking the then-Minister of Housing, the Honourable Dave Krutko, about this same issue and just looking at the Hansard I see words like "review," "revisit," in conjunction with the transfer to ECE having something ready in the next number of weeks to review. You know, all this on the review of the rent scale policy, Mr. Speaker, and it's seven months now in the works. As a committee member, I have seen nothing that this government has even looked at revisiting this rent scale issue, which, you know, the Deputy Premier said it was brought up in his constituency meeting. You know, from Inuvik to Fort Smith, people are concerned and I think this government really has to take it to task that we have to revisit this old policy. Is that going to happen some time soon, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for Housing, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure there are many people who would like to have their rent lowered. Mr. Speaker, the current arrangement we have is that housing units are based on market value. So a rent is set depending on the condition, the age, the size and so on, of the house. That's how we determine what that house is worth to rent. It's the same way one would have if you were to rent a house in Yellowknife or Edmonton or wherever it may be. Individuals are asked to pay up to 30 percent of their gross income as rent. If you went to a bank, they would ask you for 32 percent. So we're in the same range as a bank would expect. Mr. Speaker, so from the Housing Corporation point of view, we feel we're being fair. Now if an individual or family feel that they don't have adequate income to be able to cover that, then they are all welcome to go to income support and make a case for some assistance there. That's how people would get support for the rent. Mr. Speaker, if it's a case of people feeling the house is not worth what we're asking for in rent because of the condition of it, then that certainly is something that we will take a look at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, the rent scale ranges from $32 a month to about $2,000 a month, Mr. Speaker, on the rent scale that this government holds. I don't think you can get any rent from people asking to lower my $32 a month rent. You know, actually, some people are willing, probably, to pay more rent if they could probably get a fair assessment of their rent based on perhaps their net income, not gross income. If somebody's netting $1,500 and taking home $900 but their rent is still coming in at $1,800 a month, Mr. Speaker, that's...In Detah or in Colville Lake, you know, $1,800 a month is based on Yellowknife rent and vacancy rates here in Yellowknife, not in the communities, Mr. Speaker. So we have to get that straight. Also, the Housing Corporation thinks it's fair; the Housing Corporation doesn't collect the rent, Mr. Speaker, it's the LHOs, the people that live in the community have to go out and collect that rent. So the Housing Corporation really has nothing to do with the collection of rent and, therefore, it's not their issue of how much the rent is going to be. So I want to ask the Minister, is the department going to revisit the rent scale because it's old; it's 15 years old, Mr. Speaker. We've got to do something different, make a change that people...

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. I'll allow the Minister to answer that question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The rent scales and our formula for determining rent are always being revisited. I might say it doesn't really matter whether we do it based on gross salary or on net salary, we take into consideration the other costs that individuals may have anyway. So the dollar amount would work out the same; we would just...If we used net, we would take out a higher percentage of their net income. The way we do it is they pay 30 percent, or we calculate 30 percent and then we take from that, in fact, costs of operating the house and other deductions, so the net effect is much less. In fact, people in the Northwest Territories enjoy, on average, a 16 percent rate of their income on rent. It's quite low compared to national averages, but I'm sure there are individuals who have other cases that they feel are unfair.

Mr. Speaker, in answer to the question, yes, it will be reviewed, but keep in mind that any kind of subsidy is to come through the Income Support Program, not through Housing. So we will work with Minister Dent, and Minister Dent's department is doing a review of income support and I'm sure that this issue will be considered through that review as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my point is more directed toward people who can actually pay some sort of rent. The Income Support Program tops up to $32 or whatever your rent is to what the market rent was set at and that's just basically money going from Education into Housing, you know. It's just from one government department to the other. There is really no money going into another person's hands except from one department to the other, so I don't really understand how the income support is going to be affected directly or indirectly. My question is how can we accommodate people that are out there with a good job but are being hammered on their rent for a dilapidated unit and they just don't deem it as fair but they're willing to pay anyway, Mr. Speaker? You know, they don't want to just...

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. I'll allow the Minister to answer that question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to keep in mind that the majority of people, even those who draw income support, have some income; the majority are earning some money. Again, there are some who aren't. Anyone who is earning income but hasn't got the money to be able to rent the unit that's available in their community can go to income support to have it topped up. It isn't just for $32 rent; in some cases it's $1,000, $1,500 rent that they need some help to be able to pay the rent. So they can do that. Mr. Speaker, as I said, through income support we are reviewing the rates; through the Housing Corporation we're looking at our units and we'll do everything we can, and we are working hard at getting the units in better condition so people feel more satisfied that they're getting their money's worth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my point of advice, when we're reviewing this rent scale, everything that this government reviews is based on Yellowknife. Our power is based on Yellowknife; all our subsidies are based on Yellowknife; our rent is based on Yellowknife; vacancy; everything Yellowknife. When we're reviewing this, can we go out to these communities and really do some real analysis of what people are actually willing to pay and what it costs to build a unit there and how much people can rent it out at a fair market rent based on that community only, Mr. Speaker? Not on Yellowknife as is the norm. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We use Yellowknife as a rate because it's probably the most reasonable rate. We could base it on Colville Lake or somewhere else but I don't think people would like that, Mr. Speaker. So we have to use a base and we compare it to something. We also have to compare the quality and the condition of our units, as well, and that's fair that we need to do that. Mr. Speaker, it doesn't matter how we do it, we want to make sure that people have the money to be able to rent decent accommodation and at the same time meet all their other obligations. Mr. Speaker, I'll take it to the Housing Corporation, we'll look at it again. We have the income support reform exercise going on. This is an issue that I've heard in other places, too, and we take it seriously. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to follow up on my Member's statement today and my questions will be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, for the record, B.C. Ministry of Health notes that nerve damage from spina bifida can lead to deformities such as club foot. Mr. Speaker, with that said, when does the Minister see any type of update of our extended health benefits list to address this gap in services being provided to our children? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Roland.