The honourable Member for Hay

River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

The honourable Minister of Justice,

Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi. Mr. Speaker, this

particular program was introduced in 1999–2000. We have had limited success with this program. That’s one area we looked at as a department as part of how we can improve in these areas. That was an area we looked at as part of the reduction that has been brought forward. Due to the fact that we haven’t had much success in this area.... Part of that introduction was to increase lawyers in the Northwest Territories, specifically aboriginal lawyers. But there had been a limited intake in the program. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned,

I have a constituent who is currently in their second year, who is in law school because of the bursary program, and has not heard back from the GNWT Department of Justice about articling or summer employment opportunities. It just seems ironic that we’ve had limited success so therefore let’s just pull the rug out from under the whole thing. What about the students who are currently enrolled in law school, who are depending on the law bursary program to conclude their studies?

Mr. Speaker, currently, for

the past seven or eight years we’ve sponsored these students to return to the Northwest Territories.... Out of the 19 we’ve sponsored, five returned to article here in the North. Two are in practice: one is in the legal division and one is in Behchoko. One is currently articling.

Mr.

Speaker, we hoped that we had more

applicants in this area. At the same time, when we talk about the summer employment, the students would have to notify our department by February 28 for summer employment, as with any other students, to be employed here in the North. Also, if they have successfully completed their degree program, the law degree program, they may be considered for an articling position within the Justice Department.

So it’s just a matter of applying to our department. Certainly my department will do whatever we can to have those individuals within our system. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, my constituent

is in second year of law school. They would like to complete their degree. Why can’t the students who are currently enrolled, at the very least, be grandfathered and receive support for the remainder of their degree?

It may be that when these young people do graduate from law school there may be some attraction to stay down south for awhile. Ultimately, a lot of people will return to their roots and will return to their homes when they get ready to settle down, perhaps raise a family. They will come back to the North.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe we can cut off support to somebody who’s already gone to law school. I mean, I think it’s wonderful. I think it’s amazing. These people who are undertaking such a thing as a law degree, especially our young northern and aboriginal students, should be congratulated and supported in any way possible.

Will the Minister commit to continuing to support my constituent for the continuation, to the completion of his law degree?

Mr. Speaker, right now we

still do offer, for this year, up to $5,000 per student to continue for another year. At that point in time the student will have the opportunity to explore other bursaries. There’s a whole bunch of scholarships out there. When you attend a university or a college, there are all these bulletin boards that have opportunities for students to apply. Based on their academics, they can easily access up to ten, 15 different scholarships.

So certainly our department will continue to support these students for this year financially and also support them in any way we possibly can with summer employment, if they do apply in time, and also articling when they want to return to the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr.

Lafferty. Final

supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, when students

take up studies in the area of law or medicine, these are more costly than other academic fields. Although our SFA support is very generous, it’s not generous enough when your tuition is $10,000 a year for law school and the cost of books is $1,000 a year.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot conceive of this government discontinuing support to someone who’s already out and going to law school, wanting to complete their studies. What if other areas of scholarships or foundation support don’t come through? Is the Minister suggesting that the student, if they don’t have the financial resources or the support of the government, should just drop out of the program?

Mr.

Speaker, that

certainly is not the case. We’re not encouraging students to drop out. We’re encouraging them to stay in school and be successful in their particular program.

This particular constituent is grandfathered as well, along with other students who are in the current system. So we do continue to support them during this transition period.

Mr. Speaker, it’s important to highlight that we are here to support them as the Government of the Northwest Territories, and our SFA program is one of the best in Canada. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr.

Lafferty. The

honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much,

Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement with regard to dental emergencies in the community and just to highlight the urgency. I just got another incident in terms of dental emergencies, so I’d like to bring that up with the Minister. What is the current and existing guideline that governs dental emergencies in the community?

The honourable Minister responsible

for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My

understanding is that dental emergencies would be handled in the same way as any other medical emergency. When they present themselves to our local health facilities, the health care professionals in those facilities would examine them and make appropriate calls as to the treatment and plan of action. So dental emergencies are considered medical emergencies.

I also appreciate the information the Member has given me about a particular constituent, which I am in the process of following up on.

I think I’ll just speak to the

medical emergencies in the smaller communities, as well as the need to develop a policy. I’d just like to know what current plan or what strategy the Minister’s office is going to develop with regard to developing a policy.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say, for

the record, that I appreciated the opportunity to see first-hand and hear first-hand the challenges that the residents in small communities have with respect to dental care. For our aboriginal people it is covered by the NIHB services, but we have not been able to obtain service providers. There are lots of dentists and dental clinics in the North who have not taken up the opportunity to bid on this contract, in particular for the Deh Cho region. They had a challenge in obtaining a contract, and I believe only in the last month were they able to find a dentist who was willing to travel to those communities from Quebec. I’m hoping that with a new contract out, the contractor will be able to enhance our services there.

I’m very happy to see that the

Ministry is working toward assisting the people in need in the communities.

Just once again, what type of guideline or policy is in place currently within the department for dealing with situations like this?

Once again, I think that dental

emergencies are handled as any other medical emergency. I would expect that the health care professional in Fort Liard right now is responding to that situation.

On the larger picture of providing dental services to people in our communities, the service level in the Deh Cho region for the last number of months has suffered because we did not have a service provider. Now, with a new contractor in place, we are hoping we can increase the services there.

On the larger picture, I learned a lot about the requirements for additional dental service, and especially dental service for aboriginal children. It will be something I will be bringing up with the federal Minister of Health, because I think they could do a lot more to step up and be more stringent and more committed to this service to our aboriginal peoples.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable

Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Going back

to my Member’s statement talking about seniors and the struggles they face, I want to direct my questions today to the Minister of the NWT Housing Corp. A lot of seniors would like to stay in their own homes, but the monthly utility costs are getting to the point where they can’t afford it. I’d like to ask the Minister of Housing whether there’s a program within the Housing Corp that assists seniors with monthly utility costs, which would enable them to stay in their own homes.

The honourable Minister

Responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker. The one main program that is there for utilities, mainly fuel, of course, is the Seniors’ Fuel Subsidy Program that is administered by ECE. In addition, there is the fund that is administered with land taxes. We have, through Housing, a Seniors' Home Repair Program that homeowner seniors may be eligible for if they apply. These are three funds that speak to the area that’s been raised by the Member.

I thank the Minister for that. The fuel

subsidy, I think, is a one-time deal, if I’m not mistaken. It’s very helpful. I’ve had seniors who’ve accessed that fund before. It’s much appreciated, but what I’m talking about are the monthly utility costs, like fuel and electricity. I think that would go a long way in assisting seniors to stay in their own homes and not have them move into public housing and take up public housing stock.

I’d like to ask the Minister if the department would consider such a program that would assist seniors with monthly utility costs and would allow them to stay in their own homes.