Thank you. I completely agree with the Member that these are the people that we want to capture, and that’s the reason I’ve asked the Housing Corporation to become a little more flexible in how we allocate. We hear a lot of stories of people that are just over core need income threshold that are being denied and it’s my wish to try and get these people into homeownership. Thank you.

Perhaps the Minister can clarify for me exactly why that rule is there. Why is there an upper limit? In the bigger centres it kind of makes sense, right? I mean, you don’t want to disrupt the existing housing market, but a small community like Nahanni Butte, even Fort Simpson, which is not really a market community either and these people are being denied. So I’d like to know the reasoning why this guideline and/or policy exist. Maybe the Minister can clarify that for me.

On the higher end of core need income threshold we have too many people that are over that that are deemed to be able to secure a mortgage or are not in need of any subsidy from the Housing Corp. But it is something that we continue to monitor and look at, because the Member is correct that in some of the smaller communities there might not be a level playing field as some of the market communities. So this is all information that we plan to do a program review of the whole housing choices portfolio. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Sounds like there’s going to be a re-evaluation of the core need income threshold or the guidelines. Perhaps the Minister can tell me if that’s something they’re planning for April 1st , or is that

something that the Minister and department can apply for this intake season, which the application was October 15th .

Thank you. The whole program review will be undertaken in the ‘11-‘12 Housing Choices Program. We have to, as a department, corporation, look at the core need income threshold and see if it’s meeting the needs of the people in the Northwest Territories, and our goal was to get more people into units. So as a corporation, becoming a little more flexible in how we try to get those people into units. I believe after this intake period we’re going to see success in getting more people into a lot of these units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Time for question period has expired. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to return to the orders of the day, item 7, oral questions.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask some questions to the Premier, who is also the Minister for the Executive, and I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement. I think these questions probably fall under his duties as Minister for the Executive. I mentioned in my statement that there was a program manual that was published, I think it was last year, a program manual for managers who deal with NGOs. I’d like to know what work has been undertaken by the GNWT as a result of that program manual for managers to deal with contracts more efficiently than what seems to be happening. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have that information at hand. I will have to get that and get back to the Member. Thank you.

I think that’s the shortest answer we’ve heard from the Minister all day.

Last May I had some questions about NGOs and volunteers and so on, and Minister R.C. McLeod at the time indicated that there was work on another manual, not the manual for GNWT program managers but a manual for NGOs to help them with protocols and how they should deal with the government and so on. He was going to get back to me on that and I haven’t seen anything. So I’d like to ask the Premier if he can advise whether or not there is a manual that is being developed for NGOs to help them in their dealings with the government. Thank you.

I know there has been ongoing work around the NGO, and the stabilization of funding and the process. There have been a number of departments involved: the Executive, Finance, as well as the Minister of Community Affairs. Again, on that piece of work I’ll have to get that information from the appropriate departments and get back to the Member. Thank you.

I appreciate the commitment on the part of the Minister and I look forward to that, hopefully a little sooner than from May to October.

Members have often spoken about it, I know I’ve often spoken about it, but there is a real need for this government to provide adequate and consistent funding to our NGOs. One of the things that the government has done, that I think has been received positively with our NGOs, is to establish an NGO Stabilization Fund, and the applications, I guess, have recently been finished for that fund. It’s based on awards that are determined by our GNWT staff and I don’t have any problem with that, I have faith in the staff that are doing the work, but I do have a concern in that I don’t believe there are any terms of reference or any guidelines for staff to work with in making these awards. So I’d like to know if the Premier can tell me or if the Minister can tell me that when the staff are looking at the awarding of funds for the NGO Stabilization Fund, what criteria do they use to make those decisions. Thank you.

The criteria used, again, we’ll get that information for the Member. There is work ongoing in that Stabilization Fund. Applications did go out and I believe they’re near making decisions as to where that would go. As well, I am informed that in November of this year there will be a forum for NGOs to go through some of this work. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the commitment from the Premier to get that information. I will look forward to that.

I did ask the Premier’s office whether or not there were criteria for the NGO Stabilization Fund and the answer that I got back didn’t indicate that there were any. So I would hope if there are some that the Minister will be able to get those for me.

I have stressed the need for long-term stable funding for NGOs. The Minister references a forum that is upcoming in November and that’s good to hear. Will part of the forum discussions, deliberations, will it look at and take into account the need for our NGOs to have long-term stable funding? Thank you.

The information I have is that the forum is based on capacity building, sharing best practices, improving governance and management, and strengthening the working relationship with government departments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading

of bills. Item 17, motions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Section 16.(2) of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Act provides that the Human Rights Commission is composed of such members, between three and five in number, as may be appointed by the Commissioner on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS one of the five commission appointments expired on June 30, 2010;

AND WHEREAS another commission appointment was left vacant due to a commission member’s resignation;

AND WHEREAS the Board of Management is tasked with recommending individuals to the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly is prepared to make a recommendation to the Commissioner;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that the following individuals be appointed by the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories to the Human Rights Commission for the Northwest Territories effective November 1, 2010:

Mr. Roger Wah-Shee of the city of Yellowknife for a term of four years, and

Mr. William Turner of the city of Yellowknife for a term of four years.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called.

---Carried

The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.