Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Regular Members had the pleasure of meeting with the board and the executive director of the NWT/Nunavut Council of Friendship Centres. This is the territorial board that represents the seven friendship centres in the Northwest Territories, located in Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, Behchoko, Yellowknife, and Inuvik. It was an opportunity for us to learn about what these organizations do for our communities and about how much more they could be doing with just a little more support.
Some of us are very familiar with the good work that these centres do. In addition to regularly meeting with the executive director of the Hay River Friendship Centre, I actually served on the board of my local friendship centre just as other honourable Members and former Members of this House have, like yourself, Mr. Speaker, our Honourable Premier, and our Member of Parliament. However, Mr. Speaker, not everyone is aware of the services these organizations offer. I do not have nearly enough time to give you an exhaustive list, but I will name a few.
Many of the services that they provide just fill the gaps that the government does not cover. Sometimes it is something as simple as helping a client fill out a government form to apply for income assistance or attending court with an individual who is not equipped to do so alone. In addition to picking up the government's slack, the slack is often forced upon the centres. The GNWT often mandates that those convicted of a crime perform community service hours at a friendship centre. While well-intentioned, but this often means that centre employees are pulled from regular duties to help supervise these people. The income assistance office also mandates their clients to attend programs offered at the friendship centre. Mr. Speaker, these are two examples of the GNWT forcing clients on the friendship centres without compensating them for their assistance.
In addition to providing social programs and services, more and more friendship centres are providing training designed to put people to work. I can attest that, in Hay River, there have been dozens of individuals who have received training and employment as a direct result of these friendship centres. There are also common misconceptions about the friendship centres, Mr. Speaker, that I would like to dispel. The first is that they only service Aboriginal clients, and this could not be further from the truth. The friendship centres are mandated to assist anyone who walks through their doors. Another misconception is that the friendship centres are a federal organization and should be funded federally. While it is true there is some federal government money, this barely covers an executive director. There is no money for O and M. There is no money for future capital investments, and the fact is most of what they do is picking up the slack where the government cannot fill those roles. I will have questions at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.