Mr. Chairman, is the Minister saying that we currently have no housing problems for nurses or for teachers in the western Northwest Territories?
Debates of April 20th, 1999
This is page numbers 211 - 240 of the Hansard for the 13th Assembly, 7th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was business.
Topics
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are very few specific problems that have been brought to the Secretariat's attention. Where there has been a problem brought to the Secretariat's attention they have moved to deal quickly with the Divisional Education Council in attempting to resolve the situation.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I specifically remember indications that staff were ready to go on income support because they had to pay such high rent. Now, were these instances only in the eastern Arctic or were those some of the problems that have been solved? Thank you.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am not that far away from the department that administered income support and I can say there were no teachers in the north who qualified for income support. The problem is probably more closely related to the price and what teachers believe they should pay for accommodations. We use Yellowknife market rents as the basis for rents for accommodation in the communities and many people feel that is unreasonably high.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is the Minister saying that we are still using the current Yellowknife market rent rates in the smaller communities, because if we are doing that I think that is where the problem is. If you charge $1,000 a month for a two- bedroom apartment and put that together with the high cost of food and the rest of living expenses in a smaller community because of having to fly your stuff in, and whatnot, and you have a really high cost of living. Could the Minister once again indicate how they are charging the rent for those units?
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, we use Yellowknife market rents. It is important to remember that all government employees, teachers, and public works employees receive a northern allowance in order to compensate for the increased cost of living in remote and expensive communities. That can be anywhere from $1,700 a year, in Yellowknife, to $8,000 or $9,000 a year in other communities. That increased cost is what we provide to all our employees whether they be teachers, nurses or public works employees, to recognize the different costs of living in different communities. We would be happy to provide Members with a listing of the northern allowance, by community, in the Northwest Territories, if that would be helpful to the Members of this committee.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Does the Minister feel then that this extra amount that they receive makes the high cost of living in the communities adequate? Is the extra amount adequate to make living in the communities reasonable in relation to living in other areas when they are contemplating where they should go to work? Thank you.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The purpose of the allowance is, in fact, to achieve the goal the Member has asked about. It would be inappropriate for me to express an opinion about the adequacy of it given that it is something that is negotiated with our unions through the collective agreement process. It is something that we have come to an agreement with our unionized employees at the bargaining table.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to address some questions regarding the Aurora Funds, Mr. Chairman. Just to background it, to my understanding there were two Aurora Funds and each was identified as raising approximately $30 million to $35 million. I believe 75 or 80 percent of that would be invested into northern businesses. I have tried to get some questions answered on this previously but the committee itself had some questions. Related to job creation and so forth, how effective has the Aurora Fund really been? Perhaps I can start by asking the Minister several series of questions so that I get a picture of where we are at with the Aurora Fund. I guess my first question is, how much has each particular fund raised to date in total?
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Sorry, Mr. Chairman. I missed the end part of Mr. Ootes question.
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Aurora Fund 1996 has raised $19.5 million and Aurora II has raised $22 million.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Could the Minister tell us how much has been invested in northern companies?