This is page numbers 3763 – 3804 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th 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 land.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment

We have to get folks back here to the Northwest Territories. Certainly in travels even to a place like Vancouver where we launched Aurora Capital of the World campaign months ago, I ran into a couple of young people who had left the Northwest Territories and were working in Vancouver. We need to try to get these young folks back to the Northwest Territories. I think all Members can help in that effort. If you know of young people in the South and try to connect them to opportunities here in the Northwest Territories, that’s something all of us should be doing.

Also, work continues on getting these statistics together through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We understand the Member is concerned. We share his concern and certainly we have to help connect the opportunities for our students we have at post-secondary in the South to opportunities here in the North. We fully intend to do that, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has his department or any of his colleagues done a survey as to why people are leaving the Northwest Territories? Is it the high cost of living? Is it the infrastructure? Is it programs and services? Once you get that survey looked at, then you can see the problems and solutions. If it is the high cost of

living, then you know we have to do some work. Is it child care? Is it training? Whatever it is, then we can unravel the issue.

Has the department done some type of survey on why people are exiting out of the Northwest Territories?

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment

Over the past several years, there have been surveys through industry. I know some of the mining companies have done surveys of mine employees. Some of that work has been done, but it’s a variety of different reasons. Not each reason is the same for each individual’s circumstances. We could try to get some of that information collected on survey results that have happened. I can’t speak for the Minister of Human Resources, but perhaps there has been some work done through Human Resources, I’m not sure. We’ll have to look at compiling some of that information for the Member. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my statement, we, as a government, need to do a better job filling the positions we have available at the moment. I would like to ask the Minister of Human Resources for an update. It’s been brought to my attention since October 31st , we

have a number of positions to be filled in my riding. I would like an update on these positions as of today. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Human Resources

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have determined where all the vacancies are by all departments, but at this time I don’t have the community-by-community breakdown of the status. I know that we have moved to fill quite a few of the positions, both positions where we are trying to staff and positions filled by casuals, but at this time I don’t have specifics as to what has occurred in each community. Thank you.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

I know it can be a challenge in the small communities to deal with housing.

Has the Minister and the department been working with the communities to ensure we fill those positions in my riding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Human Resources

Yes, the department is working through the departments. We are doing the Workforce Planning Strategy. We are looking at the Regional Recruitment Strategy that is targeted directly at positions outside of Yellowknife.

We’re also looking at a public service strategy that identifies any barriers faced by priority groups that may want to be coming into the GNWT. We’re trying to develop a methodology to recruit what we refer to in the business as “hard to recruit” positions. Those are some of the things that we’re doing. In addition, I have more detail on the Student and Youth Strategy that also came up in the House today through the department. Thank you.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

I am beginning the planning stages for a community tour with Ministers up in my riding. I would like to ask the Minister if he would be available in April to attend. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Human Resources

I have recently attended the Beaufort-Delta but we didn’t finish our tour. I am prepared to finish our tour that we started. There was an unfortunate death in one of the larger communities over there, so we were unable to finish the tour. I would be willing to finish the tour. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment with regard to Section 3.3 of the Rent Supplement Program, accommodations, rent or mortgage. In one of the sections, it explains that a client and his or her dependents can receive assistance for accommodation. Accommodation includes rent, mortgage, tax or fire insurance.

I’d like to ask the Minister, in some cases and possibly when a person is in foreclosure or not able to pay up their bills for the month because either something happened that they got less income coming in, would they be able to apply under this rental Section 3.3, this Rent Supplement Program to cover off their mortgage costs?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

When issues like this arise, my department, more specifically through client service officers, work with those clientele. We’ve been working with our clientele since the beginning of the month on a constant basis, trying to assist them in various ways either through a medical note and so forth. We provide funding to their needs according to the policies that have been highlighted, so it’s based on that, these individuals who qualify for eligibility for the standard rate for their community. Those are just some of the

subsidies that we provide to those individuals that are in need of our subsidy program.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

More specifically to mortgage for anybody that might have gotten into trouble with keeping up to date on their payments for their mortgage for their houses, a lot of people probably don’t even know this program exists. There’s one here specifically for mortgage under Section 5.1, and I just want to confirm that if somebody went into arrears for a month or two but didn’t know how to pay off their mortgage and they went to ECE, that they can access this program to get their mortgage paid for. I’m not asking for anybody in particular, I’m just asking in general for anybody out in the public.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Section 5.1 that the Member is alluding to does cover the rent or mortgage and others that are necessary, and now to cover the cost of their rent may be provided on behalf of a single client. For a single disabled client, up to a maximum of $900 is available to those individuals. Again, clients with dependents are eligible for a maximum of… There’s another cost factor to that too. These are just some of the subsidies that are available through Section 5.1 that the Member is referring to, and it does cover the rent, the mortgage that has been highlighted in circumstances as what we are referring to today.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Still within Section 3.3, it talks about officers must consider the needs of a client and his or her dependents when considering the size and type of the housing need, so is it solely on the officers when they make a recommendation for an individual and type of dwelling that they’ll be receiving and the type of housing need that they’ll have, based on what the officer sees and whether or not there might be some other issues such as some of our seniors, such as disabilities, such as other issues that might affect the client.

Is there another way that these clients can be assessed when they’re going through the process?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Various times when a client approaches our department through client service officers, the directors often get involved as well. It can be decided on a case-by-case basis where assistance is needed and required. Obviously, pertaining to that would be receiving the rent and how long the assistance will be provided. Those are just on an as-needed basis and particularly when a situation that we’re faced with today that these directors, the client service officers have been engaged with the client and will continue to do so.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

There’s another section in this Section 3.3, and it deals with clients with dependents are eligible for up to, or they’re just

eligible for rent or mortgage or whatever it’s going to be called, but I just want to know if there is a definition for dependents, whether it’s a person’s parent, a person’s grandparent, a child, it could be an uncle or an aunt that needs some assistance because they might be elderly as well. Can I get an understanding of dependents and whether or not when we’re applying the clients, that our couples are classified as just one client?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

There are times when we say client whether it be a couple, but I can get that information for the Member on the more specific if it’s dependents what that pertains to. I don’t have the exact information here before me, but I can provide that detailed breakdown for the Member on the definition of dependents and others that he questioned earlier.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I noted in my Member’s statement that this week is Aurora College Week, and we had some discussions with the students. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about one of the suggestions to have elders or cultural activities in the Aurora College campuses or learning centres.

Is there any plan within the department to have elderly cultural office positions staffed in our campuses in Yellowknife or any other campus in the North?