Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to reinforce what the Member said in his statement. This is a federal program and we deliver it in the Northwest Territories only for the convenience of our residents to make sure that it’s easier for people to get it, rather than having to write to someone farther away to get it. We don’t set the terms and conditions. What the residents of the Sahtu will have is access to the same programs that residents have across the Northwest Territories, which in general are very supportive of education and training. If the Member has some specific issues, I would...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would agree with Mr. Delorey that we should try and minimize any expenses in these sorts of situations and maximize the payments that would be going to affected individuals. I will certainly look into whether or not we can, in the future at least, find a way to use government properties for storage and I’ll report back to the Member what my findings are. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if I can answer all the detail of the question the Member has posed. However, it’s not uncommon for this government and most governments to charge fees for services that they provide to the public. For instance, if you go in and want to register a document in court registries, there is a fee. If you want to get a driver’s licence, there is a fee for that. When the public asks that a service be performed that isn’t being provided to everybody, it isn’t unusual that there would be a fee charged. My understanding is that that’s the situation also with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to provide an update to Members of the Legislative Assembly on the Department of Justice’s work to implement the Protection Against Family Violence Act.

This act, passed during the 14th Legislative Assembly, provides for 24-hour access to emergency protection orders when there is an act, or threat of family violence. It also provides victims of family violence with long-term protection orders.

Anyone who has lived, or is living, in a family or intimate relationship with the accused will be able to apply for protection under this act. For example, this could...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, the Bill 8, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2004, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have known Mr. Zoe for a while. We served together in the 12th Assembly. Shortly after the election I met with Mr. Zoe, we went for a coffee and talked about our aspirations. He told me at that time that he wanted to be on Cabinet. Mr. Speaker, I told him that things have changed, and that attitudes towards alcohol use had changed significantly, that there was no longer any tolerance for alcohol abuse by Cabinet Members. I told him that I expected to hear from him that he understood that things had changed, and that he could live with these new...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the strategic plan may not specifically mention that sort of program, but it is certainly one of the basic tenants of the teacher education program and one of the reasons for offering the program right through to the baccalaureate or bachelor degree stage in the Northwest Territories. We are anxious to see more teachers who are born in the Northwest Territories and conversant in the language of their community who have been able to go through the process and become fully qualified teachers with a B.Ed. to work in the North. That's one way in which we are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact through our participation in the Western Canadian Protocol we have enhanced the curriculum across all western provinces in both territories to include more history of the North, and in the social studies curriculum you will find that in particular starting even as early as Grade 4 that there is a fair emphasis on northern history. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, through the teacher education program at Aurora College there is again a significant emphasis on northern history so that teachers who come through the northern system are even more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has no flexibility in student financial assistance. The regulations must be followed explicitly. The Minister cannot bend the rules. So I would be quite happy to investigate the situation if the Member would subsequently provide me with the name, and certainly follow up. The student always has the right of appeal to the Student Financial Assistance Appeal Board, and I would encourage the student to make that appeal. Again, just from what I’ve heard, it sounds like someone made the inadvertent mistake of not recognizing part of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would expect that the only occasion we would see that sort of incident happening would be if it was found out that some information was wrong in the application or that the funding had been improperly accessed. If there was some reason to believe there was a problem with the way in which the funding was allocated, that might be the situation. It is difficult to respond to a general question of that nature, and it is unfortunate that I don’t have the specifics of this case to be able to follow up on it. Of course, it would be difficult to give a...