Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a long question or a question demanding a long answer, but I’ll do my best to do it in a short period of time. The northern allowance is a negotiated benefit and it cannot be unilaterally changed or reduced or eliminated by the GNWT.

Many, many years ago – in the ‘90s – we used to have a housing allowance and a vacation travel assistance allowance. Those were eliminated as part of a negotiation. As a result, housing was rolled into the salary. At that time, there was a significant increase in salary, whereas VTA wasn’t. VTA became part of what is known as the northern living allowance.

On top of that, we’ve also calculated in a transportation component, which is the old VTA plus a cost of living component, which is based on a basket of goods and includes things such as food purchase from store, household operations, house furnishings and equipment, operations of automobiles and trucks, recreation, clothing and footwear. It does not compromise housing or electricity.

This is, as I’ve indicated, a negotiated amount. Yellowknife was selected as the base, and the bottom line of the northern living allowance is it’s intended to equalize the communities that are outside of Yellowknife to the rate and cost of doing

business and living in a community like Yellowknife. It is for the North, it’s about the North, and it’s trying to provide equal opportunity for GNWT employees. And remember that the northern living allowance is just for GNWT employees who live outside of the centre. Thank you, Madam Speaker.