This is page numbers 5567 - 5614 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.

Topics

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5581

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you. Tens of millions of dollars beyond what we're already spending. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5581

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

MLA Simpson.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. So tens of millions of dollars? So is that $10 million or is that going to be a multiple of ten and -- but I got another -- I got another question here as well.

So with some of the -- like, you know right now we're talking also about carbon tax revenue and what -- you know, what we could actually use it for, and I'm just wondering if, you know, there's an area that we might be able use some of that funding for as well because we're trying to get it back into the hands of the people anyway. And so if you add that in there, what people are already getting, is there an opportunity, I guess, to really take a look at it and see if we could do something with basic income, or even if it was just a pilot project just to try it out here in, you know, some of the communities and just see how it works for, you know, a few years. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5581

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5581

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you. So when the money goes into the pot, that's the money we have. So it doesn't matter where it comes from. If it's from a carbon tax, if it's from, you know, permit fees or anything like that. So we look at what we have and what we can do with it. I have not instructed the department to spend their energy working on guaranteed basic income given that we are expending a lot of energy working on the income assistance program changes. I did try to take the approach of lessening the -- reducing the number of times that an individual might be cut off from income assistance. You know, as MLAs, I'm sure you all hear from your constituents that perhaps they got some money in and then they got cut from income assistance. They got fired from their job and they got cut off from income assistance for 60 or 90 days, or. These things happen, so. We have eliminated a number of those instances so there will be much more consistency for individuals who are receiving income assistance. There -- and a project such as basic income was not one of the priorities of this Assembly and because of that we have not pursued it. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5581

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi for that. MLA Simpson.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, I -- you know, I think that, you know, with the population base that we have, which is fairly small, our budget isn't that great either. But, you know, we have an opportunity here to try some things out that are innovative and on a small scale and, you know, maybe there is some buy in from the federal government as well. You know, I know it's not a priority but, you know, there's a number of things that aren't priorities that we've been doing. So -- but, yeah, just a comment there. But I think it's just something that we should look at, we should consider. And I know nothing's going to happen, you know, during this -- the rest of this Assembly but it's something that, you know, the future MLAs can hopefully look at. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi for that. Minister, do you care to comment on that?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you. And I know that Alternatives North has been interested in this for some time and then I think they have produced reports in the past possibly, but I know they are working on another one and the department has been involved with them. So it is not something that is completely off our radar. But the Member's correct, it's not going to happen in this budget. But, I mean, the next Assembly could definitely make that a priority. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi to that. Next we have MLA Semmler.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My questions are in regards to the budget changes. The Minister had made some -- an amazing announcement under income assistance program to make those changes. And I think a lot of those changes came from a lot of the complaining that Regular Members have had and the review that they did. So I want to, like, thank the Minister for making those changes because I know it's going to affect a lot of the people. But I'm just wondering how those changes -- and I see that there's an increase in that program about five -- just over $5 million. And how is this being communicated out to the public? Because, I mean, if it's starting April 1st and then all these changes, like, you know, we have a lot of people out there that don't even know about this and I know that they'll be going in through the program. But we also have people that don't know and might seem not wanting to use these programs just because of stigma and things like that. But we've kind of made this our living wage not -- it's not a living wage, but it's to help the people get the basic needs that they need. And so if they're working minimal wage jobs and they need those top-ups, this is where they can get those assistance. And I think the Minister made a lot of announcements and I just want to hear a little bit more and, like I said, congratulate the department on the work that they've done here. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you. And I did make a statement in the House here. There was not associated communications that came with that. Those will happen later in the year. I'll just tell you it shows me the value of our comms teams because, you know, I've said some -- I made a big announcement but we didn't have any associated communication materials coming out and no one knows about it outside of this room basically. So I just want to -- kudos to our comms team there.

But the program changes are significant. It's more than just, you know, changing some dollar amounts. There's a lot of regulatory changes that have to happen and there's new software that we need because we are splitting the programs and really creating a new standalone program for seniors and persons with disabilities. So this will not take effect April 1st. We're aiming for June -- sometime June/July. Because that's so far out right now, we still don't have a firm date. But after the budget, assuming the budget is passed, then we can begin working on comms once we have a bit more information. So this will become widely known, and we will be getting the word out the best we can. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. MLA Semmler.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Yes, thank you. So the senior citizens supplementary benefit, that benefit there, I mean, it's continuing along so that's not -- there's not -- I don't see another department -- so the new senior program, that will just be tied into that income assistance program? It's just being kind of split so it's more streamlined, is that my understanding? And then is it -- is there a -- can you clarify the age for a senior person to be falling into that category. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you. So the idea of the new program is it will have one application. If you're a senior and you want assistance with your home heating fuel or you need income assistance, you will make one application and based on your income, you will be, you know, provided either the home heating or income assistance. So that is the plan. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. MLA Semmler.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

So what age is somebody going to be considered as a senior because I know, like, if I go to my Indigenous organization, there's an age. If I go to another organization -- it's just like our youth, we have different age. So what senior -- what age is seniors would be expect -- could they expect to be falling under this program because some of those ages might not consider themselves seniors but it's an age group so they may not access the program. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you. The age will stay the same at 60 years old. The revamped income assistance program will be for persons ages 19 to 59 and then the seniors program is for everyone 60 plus. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. MLA Semmler.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Looking at the home -- senior home heating subsidy, so in 2021-2022, it was 2,155, and then our revised estimates for 2022-2023, 2,649. Main estimates 2,192. We know our fuel has gone up. We know -- especially in the Beaufort Delta, fuel -- heating home fuel has raised significantly and come April 1st we will be having to pay the carbon tax on top of that. So we know we're going to be expected to pay more throughout the territories so I'm just wondering why that number hasn't even matched last year's heating home -- senior home heating. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

March 2nd

Page 5582

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. Minister.