Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in our vision for the 15th Legislative Assembly, we talk about people making productive lifestyle choices for themselves and their families and elders being supported by their community. The Government of the Northwest Territories has also included these goals in the strategic plan. Productive lifestyle choices and employment opportunities are nice words, Mr. Speaker, but these things are not going to happen if the system continues to discourage people from working.
Mr. Speaker, I want to give you a little example here. I am aware of an elderly couple in Wha Ti who have been denied their seniors' fuel subsidy because they have been assessed on overall household income. Mr. Speaker, this elderly couple has their daughter and granddaughter living with them, who is currently working at a local store for a minimum wage. Their daughter wants to work and is using her income to buy groceries and other household items for herself, her parents and her child. Yet we are penalizing the elders who are not receiving their fuel subsidy and also the young daughter who wants to work, by discouraging her from working in order for her parents to receive the seniors' fuel subsidy. Mr. Speaker, what incentive is there for her to keep working and helping her parents out?
Mr. Speaker, this is just one of the many flaws in the income support system that needs to be addressed, and it should be addressed soon. We can't keep asking people
to make productive choices on one hand and punish them with the other. This is exactly what the government, with their income support, is doing to them. Thank you.
---Applause