Thank you, Mr. Chair. I cannot speak for the federal government. I can say that when I attended the FPT, Federal-Provincial-Territorial, meetings with the federal Housing Minister, that I did state that by making individual agreements the federal government -- with Aboriginal bands/governments, that it does put all of the other Aboriginal governments in a place of conflict and it puts the Government of the Northwest Territories in a place of conflict as well. It leaves the perception that all you have to do is ask, and if you ask you'll get more money, and not all Aboriginal governments have the resources or the ability to be able to lobby as hard as the Inuvialuit have.

So again, I cannot speak for what the federal government decides to do, but I can say that as the Minister for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation I have shared my concerns when the federal government does negotiate singly with Aboriginal governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'm looking at a motion that was passed in the House back in June of last year that called for the government to develop a comprehensive and fully costed strategic plan to get our housing out of core need at 2 per cent per year for four years. The response that came in from the government, the motion ended with a request that the government provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days. That comprehensive response was four paragraphs; there were not any dollars mentioned in there.

That was tabled in the House in October, so here we are four months later. Does the Minister have a costed plan now that she can share with the House and Regular MLAs, a strategic plan to get our housing out of core need as this motion requested? Thanks, Mr. Chair. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have done some preliminary figures on what it would cost to actually take a residence out of core need. At this point, though, we still have to put it through Cabinet, so we will be putting that through. We're just finalizing up the figures and then we'll be putting it forward to Cabinet before we provide it to the Regular MLAs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I really sincerely thank the Minister and her staff then for pushing that along. She knows that I've been urging her: that's the sort of document you should be taking to Ottawa. I know you've got to work closely with the Yukon and Nunavut governments, but that's the kind of proposal that should be taken to Ottawa. We've taken enough road proposals to Ottawa; now let's start talking about people.

So does the Minister intend to table this in the House before the end of the session? Is that the plan? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I cannot commit to tabling it at the end of this session; it does need to go through the process to go through Cabinet, but I will table it at the earliest possible opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Again, my appreciation to the Minister and her staff for putting that together, and the sooner she can provide it to us I think the happier I'll be. So thanks again. No further questions, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. I will now call the page. Call the activity. Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, community housing services, operations expenditure summary, total activity, $56,062,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Moving on. The next activity is executive. It begins at page 355 and ends on page 356. Do we have comments or questions on the executive two-page activity? I will give committee a moment. Seeing none, I will call this activity. NWT Housing Corporation, executive, operations expenditure summary, total activity, $1,385,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Moving on. The next activity. Finance and infrastructure services begins at pages 357 to 359. If committee has comments or questions, please indicate which page you are speaking to. Comments and questions, finance and infrastructure services. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know it's already been discussed in this review, but I just wanted to follow up on one of the Minister's points on the Transitional Rent Supplement Program. The Minister indicated that she would like to see these resources reallocated towards a rent supplement program. Is that a direction the department will be taking, or is that just an aspirational statement the Minister wants to give us as food for thought? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do take my role as Minister very seriously and I recognize that as Minister I don't need to make aspirational statements to the department; that I can actually say this is the direction that we are taking. So we are looking at more comprehensive supports all across the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation with the goal, the single goal, that people can obtain, maintain, and retain housing supports. Rent supplements is one piece of that puzzle. So, yes, it will be something that we are seriously looking at implementing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate the Minister's decisive attitude when it comes to providing some relief to renters. Just to again be very clear, is the Corporation in the process of developing a rent supplement program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.