Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past few days in the House, there have been some discussions and statements concerning wages for summer students. I, for one, am pleased to see that the proposal to reduce said wage scale for students was dropped from the government proposal during the recent collective bargaining negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, if a student is hired to replace a worker, that student will be judged on the abilities that they bring to the job and thus will be remunerated as such. They should not be penalized for being a student because, at the end of the day, the more money the student makes the less money that student will need from the GNWT in the form of grants and other financial help. It would also help the student in the debt load they will have to carry to pursue their academic or vocational training. Mr. Speaker, I see no problem with this.
We have to realize that the GNWT, by hiring students for summer replacement at the designated rate for said occupation, will not only monetarily help the student, but will also give the individual a sense of worth in the occupation they are employed at. Our community was quick to react in early March when it was learned that the students may be paid less. Several parents and students contacted me because they had anticipated working for the GNWT and thus the anticipated pay to be received would help offset the cost of post- secondary education to the students and parents. By dropping the rates, some Members have alluded to the idea that this would stimulate the government hiring more students. But, if, for example, the government only has 12 available positions to be filled for summer relief, are we going to invent extra positions to place students because we've lowered the student employment salary rate? 1 don't think so. In the private sector world, there may be an opportunity to hire more students when the salary rates are lower, but that is out of the context of decreasing the rates for summer hires by the GNWT.
I congratulate the government for dropping the proposal to lower student rates for the reasons I have just mentioned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.