Thank you. Minister of ECE.
Debates of March 2nd, 2022
This is page numbers 3665 - 3710 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 know.
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R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. Yeah, in most circumstances, or in all circumstances, we want to ensure that clients get their cheques. If there's an emergency circumstance where perhaps there's no one in the office and no one expected to not be in the office, there might be a different situation. I can ask Mr. MacDonald for information, though. Thank you.
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Macdonald
Thank you, Madam Chair. So maybe I'll just use an example. During the pandemic when there were regional or community closures of offices, one of the measures that the department took was to payroll clients so that they did not have to go through the typical application processes and that type of endeavor. And we've also been able to move temporarily to, you know, work from home circumstances for employees. So that has enabled us to get away from some of the traditional approaches, of paper-based approaches. But as the Minister has said, we've shifted mostly to direct deposits or, to a certain extent, cheques via mail through the post office as well. So I think I may have answered the question but just want to be sure. Thank you, Madam Chair.
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Rocky Simpson Hay River South
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I just know that there are -- you know, there are a number of people that actually like to attend the office and pick up their cheque. And would the cheques be actually cut at the office or would they be coming out of, say, if it's South Slave, out of Fort Smith? Thank you.
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Saturnino
Thank you, Madam Chair. Cheques -- income assistance cheques are printed on site in the different regional and community offices. And so they are available through the local CSO, unless there is no office in the community in which case it would be done by a different office and typically couriered into the post office for pick up from clients. Thank you.
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Rocky Simpson Hay River South
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to move on here, and it's to do with customer service.
Again, as, you know, a Regular MLA and I -- having a number of people come to the office, you know, we get complaints and I suspect you guys probably get complaints on the other side. So it's always good to hear both sides of the story. And when those positions are filled, what type of training, I guess, is provided to the employee and how much emphasis is put on customer relations training? Thank you, Madam Chair.
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R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. And most people are, you know, easy to deal with, easy to work with, but there are some people who are a little more difficult to deal with. And I know that income assistance, the client service officers often have to deal with some characters, and I know because they come to my office as well. And you know, as empathetic and as calm as you are, it can be difficult to sort of to keep your -- you know, keep your professionalism. And so I do have some empathy for them. But that being said, we have to ensure that we treat everyone with respect and with dignity. It's already difficult enough for a lot of people to go into that office and ask for assistance. So, you know, there's a lot of emphasis on ensuring that the service they receive is appropriate. Perhaps I can ask Mr. Saturnino to comment. Thank you.
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Saturnino
Thank you, Madam Chair. When a client services officer is hired, they're required to complete a two-week statutory training program and in order to receive a social welfare officer designation, or appointment, and so that would basically give them the foundations for what they need to do to deliver the programs. And then from there, they would undergo a significant amount of on-the-job training, working with more experienced officers, and we would also supplement that with a number of other different training, such as mental health, first aid, trauma-informed practice, various levels -- different types of training, whatever would be required to best serve that clientele. And we do place a large focus on customer service. Thank you.
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Rocky Simpson Hay River South
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, and I understand it's probably, you know -- I suspect it's probably a difficult position to be in. You know, you're dealing with -- you're dealing with people who are -- you know, are usually -- they don't -- they may not want to be there but they have to be there just for whatever circumstances.
The next thing I'd like to move to is income assistance provides dollars for -- I guess, to help people pay rent in market units. What would be, I guess, the cost range or an average cost, say, per -- I guess per person or per family that the department pays out? Because -- you know, it's been said that it's cheaper -- it's probably cheaper for the -- or more cost effective for the government to own their own buildings. And when I kind of look at the numbers, I'm not quite sure that's true and I just want to make sure that -- that -- you know, I get the proper numbers so I can do some calculations. Thank you.
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R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. So it would be difficult, I guess, to get an average because, you know, you could be -- we could be paying $80 a month for someone who's in a housing unit, and they could be paying $1200 for someone who's in a market rental unit. But there are some parameters on what, you know, is an acceptable rent and what ECE will pay and for that information, I can go to Mr. Saturnino. Thank you.
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Saturnino
Thank you, Madam Chair. For applicants that receive the shelter benefit, they're eligible for market rental rates in accordance with the rental market report by the Canada -- by CMHC and the Canadian National Occupancy Standards. Thank you.
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Rocky Simpson Hay River South
Thank you, Madam Chair. I had one more question, it slipped my mind, so I can maybe ask the Minister at a later time. Thank you.
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