Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The area of discussions right now on resource revenue sharing tied to devolution is one that we’re starting to look at a reengagement strategy with the federal government. There have been a couple of recent meetings that have been held at a staff level that shows that the federal government is interested in coming back to the table. I’ve contacted regional leaders about reengagement, as well, and we’ll be having further discussions on that.

There have been no real negotiations for quite some time and the numbers the Member has used, when you look at what was put on the table by the last federal Finance Minister, I believe the one that’s in place today, limits what we can do. There is a 50/50 scenario, as we call it, where we’d keep 50 percent of it and we would lose 50 percent through our transfer payments to a yet determined cap. We’ve since learned of that cap and that’s become an issue for us in meetings I’ve had with the Prime Minister and I’ve highlighted that’s a very serious concern for us. That is why I’ve taken the approach of looking at an infrastructure plan that would be tied to devolution and resource revenue sharing for future years. Thank you.

I personally am of the opinion that resource development is the key to the future here in the Northwest Territories and I subscribe to a lot of the things that the government is trying to do. But when we’re going out to the communities, especially in small communities where, you know, they’re disadvantaged, they don’t have the opportunities that larger communities have, it’s a hard sell. So I’d like to ask the Premier, how can Regular Members help this government deliver a resource revenue deal for our residents here in the Northwest Territories. Is there anything that we can do, as Regular Members, to help the government achieve that goal? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I think there’s a lot Regular Members can do in helping us

get the message out there, whether it’s to our northern leadership, aboriginal leadership, how we work together, the information, if there’s a request for more information. If you’re hearing back that there needs to be a certain type of information put out, let’s get together and develop a package we can put out there. The message we send to Ottawa is an important one. They pay attention to what we say and do in this Assembly. So I think there’s much we can do together in getting the message out about the North and the need for moving on with devolution/resource revenue sharing. Thank you.

I thank the Premier for that and do look forward to us trying to work together to arrive at that goal. I threw some numbers around earlier and, you know, the $300 million and the potential for upwards of $1 billion on resource revenue taken by the federal government from the resources here in the Northwest Territories. I’m wondering if the Premier and the government can put together what is at stake here. What are we talking about in terms of the revenue that Ottawa is taking, what our stake is under the plan that the Premier has talked about, the 50/50 with the cap, and what that really means to the Government of the Northwest Territories going forward? Can he provide us with an updated forecast? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in fact, I’d be pleased to put that information together and set some time up for Members of the Assembly to look at where things are at, and to look at this reengagement process we are now having some discussions on and looking to move forward in that partnership. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know I’m not supposed to ask opinions or ask Ministers for their opinions, but I’m going to go with this. I want to ask the Premier whether he believes that he and his government can deliver a resource revenue deal by the end of the life of this government for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’m optimistic that we can, working together as leaders across the Northwest Territories. Not just the Government of the Northwest Territories but the aboriginal leadership across this Territory, the community leadership across this Territory can work together to develop a plan to bring that plan forward together as one group of people in the Northwest Territories. Not a difference between who we are and who we represent, but one people of the Northwest Territories representing a diverse group, of course. But I believe if we decide to work at this and put some effort and energy from our side in the North, I believe we can address the issue of

who should be making decisions in the Northwest Territories and who should benefit from those decisions. So I believe we can put a solid plan in place and we have to work together to get that done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will be undertaking an evaluation of the programs in 2010-2011. We had originally intended on doing it this year, but we spent those resources making some adjustments to programs because of affordability issues. I have also directed the department that the evaluation used to identify gaps between programs and some recommended solutions for those gaps. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it takes different types of programs to address different types of need. For example, seniors groups and singles groups may have different programs to address their needs. I’d like to ask the Minister if the Minister can tell me if the NWT Housing Corporation has a strategy to address core need levels of the various groups such as seniors, singles and various sized families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we’re just in the process of finalizing our housing needs survey and that goes a long way in evaluating how our programs fit the specific target groups that were mentioned by the Member. If we need to adjust our programs and that, to meet some of the needs, this is our opportunity to do so. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as is the case for addressing specific groups like seniors and singles and so on, specific communities also have different priorities and different core needs. Can the Minister tell me if the NWT Housing Corporation has a strategy to address communities with the highest need on a priority basis? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, again, the housing needs survey will go a long way in determining the needs of some of the communities in the Member’s riding, and we use this as an opportunity to adjust our programs and services and concentrate on some of the priority communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Assuming that the needs survey is roughly along the lines of the past needs survey as far as core need goes, can the Minister advise me if you will provide direction to the NWT Housing Corporation to ensure there are strategies in place to specifically target core need? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation is working hard to address the needs of all communities across the Northwest Territories and all the Members. But I can advise the Member that I have provided direction to the Housing Corporation and we are taking very seriously the needs of a lot of the smaller communities and we will be working with the communities. When we have the results of the survey, I’ll look forward to sharing those results with Members and all interested stakeholders. From there, we can map out some direction for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I raised the issue of the NWT Housing Corp and the response to the Auditor General’s report, and certainly the follow-up report by the Standing Committee on Government Operations. Mr. Speaker, my first question would be focussed, obviously, to the Minister, which is: in the report it clearly says there will be a revised statement to be released in early 2009 on how to address many of the symptoms and issues raised in the committee’s response and certainly highlighted by the Auditor General. When can we expect that response to this House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re currently working on our strategic plan and we’re looking to have that released very early, and this will identify some of the progress that we’ve made to date on some of the

recommendations from the Auditor General. Once we have that done, we will be sharing it with Members of this Assembly. Thank you.

Some of the issues that were raised in that report, certainly committee’s response, was the question of arrears and how it’s done. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister have any opinion or comment on how the Housing Corporation has been addressing that issue, and where does the issue of arrears and clearing up arrears stand with the Housing Corporation? Thank you.