As I mentioned in prior questions, I think during our last session, there is a study of the program that is being conducted at this very time. I am expecting the results of that study within the next few weeks, I think by the end of November. At that point, we will decide which course we will take.

At this point, the facilitators of the New Day Program are unsure of their continuing role in delivering this service in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister commit to meeting with the staff of the New Day Program and perhaps working on ways to improve the current existing program? I think Members of this House have signalled, by putting the name of the program in the mandate, that this is something we support, continue to support, and want to see preserved.

I am very much looking forward to receiving the report. It's going to be a very extensive report, and when I receive that, I'll determine what action we should take next.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister commit to providing that report and an update on the situation before December 31^st of this calendar year, when the pilot program is due to expire? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a differing opinion on this side of the House, but I don't think I can commit to any specific date, as I'm not certain when I will actually receive it, but it will be shared with Members opposite. Thank you.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will continue going on and saying that we haven't heard any concerns since the implementation of the Canada Child Benefit. Leading up to the Canada Child Benefit implementation here in the Northwest Territories, there were some concerns that were going around on Facebook and social media that were brought to our attention. We assured individuals that nothing was going to change; in fact, money was going to go up after August 1^st. So, yes, since we have the implementation, we haven't heard any concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To say again, this is an e-mail exchange where the Minister has signed the e-mails and the resident has signed the e-mails, and he expresses his concern about the reduction of food and clothing allowances within the Income Assistance Regulations. Could the Minister please clarify that, in fact, he has heard concerns about the changes that have been made?

Any concerns that were brought to the attention of the office, we clarified the situation. As I mentioned, we've taken out the Canada Child Benefit that was introduced on July 1^st, so we wouldn't count them in the assessments, meaning that all children and all families, in fact, got the full amount of the Canada Child Benefit and we just clarified anything that came up. Since that, we haven't heard any concerns since then.

So is the Minister saying, then, that he has heard concerns about the changes in the Income Assistance allowances?

Yes. Prior to implementation, actually our CSO staff got very good training, should that anyone that's on income assistance that was concerned about the changes coming forward, that we are going to provide them the information that they need. If the client that the Member is talking about, and the Member herself or any Members of this House, any of the 19 Members that are concerned about the implementation of our changes to the income assistance we'd be glad to give an update; have them sit down with one of our client service officers. As I said, each situation is unique and different and we'd be willing to sit down and provide that information to clarify the concerns that the Member has.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to table these e-mails and I will pursue my concerns in greater detail at another time. But my last question in this string is to ask the Minister what his department has done proactively to explain the changes to people who receive income assistance about their allowances. Not about the child benefit, the Canada child benefit, but about the change in the income assistance allowances.

As I mentioned earlier, all our client service officers got the adequate training; the training that they need should any concerns be brought forth from our income assistance clients. As I mentioned yesterday, all the dollars that were going to the clients, ones with families especially, have actually gone up in every household. So any other further concerns, I'd ask them to go and speak to a client service officer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. My questions are about the government's policies in support of northern businesses and manufacturing. Northern manufacturing includes the full spectrum of the economy from agriculture to industry. How is the GNWT promoting local manufactured products and encouraging residents to buy local? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

I'm glad to answer this question, because before I got elected to the 18^th Legislative Assembly I helped move the manufacturing group together and get lobby together to how we can make things better within the GNWT and working with the manufacturers. Currently, the department is working with the Manufacturers' Association in updating their marketing plan moving forward, with a goal to help them promote their products both within the Northwest Territories and within industry and this is something that we are working on.

Thank you to the Minister for his reply, and I also commend the Minister for his previous efforts in this regard. Mr. Speaker, recently ITI provided a presentation at Opportunities North conference that showed small businesses were in significant decline in the NWT. How is ITI working to determine why small business is in decline, more importantly how will they correct this trend?

Yes, small business is in decline in the Northwest Territories and probably right across Canada in most jurisdictions as the economy has been in a downturn for quite a while. There are lots of challenges facing northern businesses. People are shopping online, people are going south to stretch their dollars as much as they can, but what is the department doing to correct this trend?

We have a number of programs that we're trying to do to help small businesses in the Northwest Territories, from the SEED Program, to marketing their programs, to assisting them with financing and stuff as such. We will continue to do that and we will continue to work with the small businesses and chambers across the Northwest Territories to try to correct this trend.