Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It often takes a long time to fill vacant jobs in our government, especially in our smaller communities. The irony is that this is where jobs are needed the most and where unemployment is the highest. Even one job, even one new employee can make a real difference in a community as small as Tsiigehtchic, or even Fort McPherson.

I know one problem is matching local skills to the jobs available. I hear from Minister Lafferty that his department is improving education and training, and I really look forward to some of the good results.

The job vacancy statistics are a little surprising. In my riding, the largest community, Fort McPherson, had the highest vacancy rate last year. Mind you,

the numbers, the latest ones that I get from Human Resources are from April 2014. So, I am hoping to see some progress since then, but it seems to me that there are still too many jobs vacant.

The final part of this story is one that does not get enough attention. What is the impact of these vacant jobs on our services to the public, and how much extra work and overtime end up as a burden on our other staff?

I have two suggestions, and the first one is: do more training that is linked to the vacant jobs available. The second is: use a little ingenuity in looking for people to fill our jobs in our small communities. Hosting those jobs on the GNWT website and waiting, well, it’s probably not enough to get the job done anytime soon.

I’ll have questions for the Minister later today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Today, colleagues, I’d like to welcome Julia Pokiak-Trennert, originally from Tuktoyaktuk, and her daughter Brendalynn, who works with us here at the Assembly. Ms. Trennert was also a participant in our 2012 Elders Parliament. Welcome to the House. Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple people in the gallery. I can’t see if two of them are behind me, but I’m hoping they’re there. Ms. Rachel Kirizopoulos, who is the executive assistant/research analyst for the office of the chief public health officer, Dr. Andre Corriveau, who has been working with the anti-poverty file with us, as well as Mr. Grant Gowans, who is the senior advisor of anti-poverty.

I’d also like to take the opportunity to recognize a respected consultant for fundraising, communications and advocacy issues, a member of various committees and boards for a number of NGOs in Yellowknife and a current member of the ministerial Anti-Poverty Action Plan Advisory Committee, Ms. Julie Green. Thank you for all you’ve done to support the initiative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to take this opportunity to recognize a former Tuktoyaktuk resident but a resident of Hay River, Julie Trennert. She’s done many, many things, but I would like to also say that she and her daughter Brendalynn are outstanding, renowned artisans. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Hawkins.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I too wish to acknowledge and recognize a couple constituents. First off, Ms. Julie Green, a well-known person here in Yellowknife for her many activities. Thank you very much for your hard work. I believe Grant Gowans is still a constituent of Yellowknife Centre, if he hasn’t moved and, of course, if he’s still up there. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple people up in the gallery today: Ms. Julie Green, who is a very strong community advocate and one for the Anti-Poverty Strategy. I really appreciate what she does for the small communities and speaking up for the small communities. I’d like to recognize Mr. Grant Gowans who’s been a childhood friend of mine. He grew up in Inuvik and now resides in Yellowknife. But he’s taken on a new portfolio and I wish him luck in that portfolio.

I’d also like to recognize Mr. Andre Corriveau. He’s been a very strong mentor of mine but also a very strong health advocate for people of the Northwest Territories. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy the proceedings. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize Dr. Andre Corriveau, a resident of Weledeh and a well-known member of Yellowknife; also Julie Green who is also well known for all her work on the many social issues including the poverty one, but all the related ones, as well, housing and so on. Thanks to those for attending today. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I welcome everybody here in the public gallery today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my statement and ask some questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. When I questioned the Minister previously, he told me that he would consider reviewing policy. I’d like to ask the Minister, to start off, considering the information regarding locked-in RRSPs right across the country, will he consider

revising our income support policy with regards to registered retirement savings plans? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Within our policy there are amendments every now and then, and this is an area that I spoke to last week I believe it was. Making some changes to a policy obviously comes from the general public’s feedback and also the MLAs. If there is an area that we need to make some changes, then there is an opportunity to do so.

To the Minister: I guess I would say that if there is a willingness to make changes, this would seem to me to be a change that should be made sooner rather than later. The Minister seems to suggest that he has to wait for changes to be suggested from the public or from us as MLAs. Well, I’m making the suggestion. It seems to me that the policy says that it’s okay to save for certain things but it’s not okay to save for other things.

If the money is not available to be cashed in, I’d like to ask the Minister, will he not wait for more complaints but will he, in the next month, look at revising this policy?

When we speak to income support and Income Assistance program, it is a program of last resort that helps the most vulnerable of community members in the Northwest Territories. When I speak of vulnerable citizens, I mean those that do not have anything to fall back on as opposed to RRSP, that there is financial support that is available to them.

We have to be very careful how we deal with policy changes when it comes to these particular areas. That’s why I am very cautious of changing the policies with respect to this particular area that we are faced with.

I can appreciate that we need to be cautious, but I only asked the Minister if he would consider looking at revising the policy.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would like me to forward the information on RRSPs in other jurisdictions which I have gathered.

Any information that the Members can contribute to our decision-making will be valuable. Also, my department, obviously, has done some research, as well, so we can compile all that information, and if changes are necessary then we have to seriously look at those areas.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister: I guess if his department has done some research, he should know by now that we are out of

step with the rest of the country, and I think we ought to get back in step.

I asked the Minister a number of weeks ago whether or not there’s a cost to the department to allow somebody to keep their RRSP to allow them to have something to fall back on when they eventually retire or when they get to old age.

I would like to ask the Minister, again, is there, in his mind, any cost to the government for allowing an individual to keep their RRSP?

Anytime we do a payment plan or subsidy to our clientele, obviously, there is a cost factor to it. I don’t have the actual figures because this is the first of its kind of RRSP clientele requesting income security area. We need to do further work in this area of the cost factor. Once the Member is compiling all the information with my department, we should have a clear idea of where we stand on this.