Mr. Speaker, there are quite a number of programs that we have in place that assist families in remaining in their communities; for those that are employed, our wage package as well as our northern allowance to help people stay in those communities. As well for those that our housing packages and our support

under Income Support is another area. The fact is we have enhanced our capital plan over the last number of years to try to get as much infrastructure into our communities and throughout the Northwest Territories. We have invested significant amounts of money as the Government of the Northwest Territories who try to level off the playing field, so to speak, of the cost of living in our smaller communities. One of our other things now we have expanded is on our Youth Employment Initiative, which will again allow support in our smaller communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The wages are good for working for the territorial government but not everybody in the community has government jobs. There are about three or four jobs in each community. And income support is not enough. People are going hungry during the third week of every month. Mr. Speaker, all I am asking for the Premier is to see if we can work together to get work for the people up in the Beaufort-Delta in the small communities, with meaningful long-term employment with the diamond mines or the oil and gas section. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, a committee on Rural and Remote Communities is looking at how we do business as the Government of the Northwest Territories in a whole number of areas, and again, I am sure that that committee will be happy to pull their resources together to look at these types of initiatives to see what we can do.

Let’s not forget, Mr. Speaker, for example, our capital plan, what we are doing to keep people in businesses operating in the communities of the Northwest Territories, our infrastructure program with airport expansions, renewal of many of our infrastructure habits. For example, in Tuktoyaktuk we did the access to the gravel pit, things like that. We have put money on the table to keep people working. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I found the timing of the Premier’s statement today rather interesting. I get the impression that the pressure is on, Mr. Speaker, because we have a resolution passed by the NWT Association of Communities and recently the Premier, the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs and the chair of the Caucus were all recipients of not one but two congratulatory letters from two Canada-wide anti-poverty organizations.

One of the organizations said in the letter, the NWT is the first of the Canadian territories to prioritize anti-poverty and as such demonstrates leadership for the other provinces and territories who have yet to act, which is great. The other one says as well, we certainly strongly encourage the territorial government to commit to a process involving all key stakeholders that will result in a visionary, comprehensive practical plan for combating poverty.

Those things are great. The congratulations are welcome. I am really glad that we seem to be a bit on the leading. I would like to ask the Premier when Members on this side of the House and when the community partners, the Anti-Poverty Alliance people, can expect some action, the scheduling of a first meeting. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The area of the anti-poverty strategy, the work that needs to be done, as I just made a statement earlier, we are going to work on forming this group as well as set the time frames that we would need to respond by. We will go to committee members and Members of the Assembly to seek their input, as well, on some of the timing and how this should work. Right now we are very early in establishing the specific work plan and the membership of this advisory group. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Premier and we are early in this work, but I guess I have to say we are behind the eight ball, because we are 30 days away from a comprehensive response by the government. To the Premier, I would like to know what he intends will be the make-up of this committee. Will the Anti-Poverty Alliance members be an integral and respected part of this group? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we are looking at across-the-board representation to seek membership in the advisory group. We will have representation from across the field of organizations involved in the anti-poverty work that happens here in the Northwest Territories. I don’t have details to that but, again, I’m prepared to have our staff sit down and pull as much as we have together and have that presented to Members for their input. Thank you.

I thank the Premier for that. I guess I would have to say that it is the Anti-Poverty Alliance that initiated this and Members simply accelerated the process to a certain extent. So I would hope that the Premier is going to get in touch with the Anti-Poverty Alliance. That was the request they put forward way back in December, after all. I sense that in some cases developing this strategy may not be considered a high priority, but there are, as has been noted, many reports which show the

correlation between poverty and living conditions. So I’d like to know from the Premier, he talks about getting things going and getting things started and we have no dates, we have no details, but what kind of a priority does Cabinet place on this strategy? And, you know, I’d like a bit of a shorter time frame than “soon.” Thank you.

Thank you. There are times when I take action and I’m told I behave like a dictator, and then there’s times when I take the time to try to consult and I get told you’re not doing it fast enough. So which is it? It’s getting a little tiring at times. I’m not sure if I’m coming or going, depending on what Member is saying what in this House or in a meeting.

This is important work. The simple fact that it’s at this table and we’re going to put the energy and the resources and we’re going to bring the people in to come up with something in the Northwest Territories that works for us here in the Northwest Territories, and I have to recognize the efforts of Members who have helped bring the Anti-Poverty Coalition together and present the work that they have. We’re going to work with them, one of their representatives, or have a number of their team as part of the representatives, but unfortunately right now I’m being absolutely forthright here in saying that we’re in the early days and to get that information I’ll have the staff pull what we have together, present it to Members in committee, Social Programs, and copy other Members and seek your input and we’ll put a two-week turnaround time to get some of that input from what we have now. As I say, it’s very early, so there might not be much on the bones at this point. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier. I apologize if I got his blood rushing to his head, but I really am trying to....

---Laughter

I’m really trying to get some timing and some idea of when we might get progress.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier mentioned in his statement that the government will establish an advisory committee and I’d like to ask the Premier whether this committee will only advise or if we will actually be using the people who volunteer for this group to actually do some work for us and to speed things up. Thank you.

Thank you. The blood is always pumping.

---Laughter

Many would say I’m passionate about my work. Mr. Speaker, the area that we want to pull together and

the people together and the time frame, as I said, this is an important initiative for us. We’re reacting and acting with the Members, in a sense, to pull all of this information together.

It is early for us in response. You know, I apologize if the Member feels we’ve been delayed in doing this, but we are here, we are moving forward with this. I say that with the opportunities before us we’ll be able to pull a plan together and that’s where we are right now, is the advisory group is to help us pull the plan together and once we have a plan then we have to talk about what we can implement, then we will pull the people together and hitch them up to the team and make them work. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier in follow up to my Member’s statement earlier today. First off I’d like to applaud Cabinet for taking this unprecedented move to develop a joint working group…

---Applause

…to find workable solutions on an issue that is clearly of significant importance to Members of this House and residents of the Northwest Territories. I strongly agree that working together on this is important and in the best interests of all people in the Northwest Territories. This is definitely a positive step.

However, I do have some questions on process. Mr. Speaker, the working group that has been established has an incredible opportunity and significant importance. Could the Premier commit that this working group will be given the authority to set real and official direction for future changes to supplemental health programs, and that their recommendations to Cabinet will be fully considered? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The area of the Supplementary Health Program and policy is of vital importance to residents of the Northwest Territories as well as to this government. Hence the number of times we’ve taken this back and reviewed it, and at this point worked with members of Priorities and Planning to come up with this approach to a number of initiatives within that program.

We have to start from a basis. The existing program as it is and the policy as it is, and the work that’s been done to date, we’ve highlighted and worked with committee as to the key areas that we need to move forward on and I believe the Member raised those points in his Member’s statement. But at the same time, we’re also listening to the Members of the Assembly and when there’s talk of parody with NIHB is one of those items that we seriously have to take a look at.

I would say that the working group, as it does its work, recommendations that come back will both go to members of Priorities and Planning, and Cabinet will take that work seriously and have a look at what can be incorporated, how can we amend this and make it work for the future. Thank you.

Thank you. I’d like to thank the Premier for that response. I really do appreciate that they’re going to listen to the recommendations of the working group.

The second question is if the working group makes a recommendation that is contrary to the direction that the Department of Health is taking right now, can the Premier please ensure to us today that the committee’s direction will be adhered to, or will the Minister actually have a veto over what the working group is suggesting or recommending?

Thank you. The working group is that, a working group. The recommendations that would flow out of that would go through Priorities and Planning as well as back to Cabinet. Cabinet would have that ultimate decision as to what gets implemented. It’s not a department has that final authority. It is a Cabinet position that would be taking to look at changes that would have to occur within that policy. Thank you.

Once again, thank you to the Premier for that. I’m also happy to hear that he’s going to give Priorities and Planning an opportunity to look at that and make recommendations as well. I think it’s important to the operations of the working group that the operations are transparent. Given that the Minister of Health and Social Services is responsible for the final design and ultimately the implementation of the Supplemental Health Program, it’s important that she be open to recommendations from this committee. Based on that, I’m a little worried that if the Minister of Health and Social Services were to become the chair, it might be perceived in the public that this is a rubberstamp, which we don’t want. We want this to be transparent and clear. I’m not saying that she’s biased, but I’m concerned that that might be the perception. So would the Premier commit to assigning a chair to this committee that doesn’t already have ultimate responsibility for implementing the recommendations of this working group, this new working group? Thank you.