Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Student Financial Assistance Program is constantly under review. We have made revisions to the program in the past few years. We are planning further revisions to the program in time for this fall’s semester. What the Member is talking about in terms of a difference in the cost of living based on the different costs in the Northwest Territories is another area that we are looking at. We probably are not going to get that one done this year, but we are taking a look at it because we have, Mr. Speaker, a significant investment in our Aurora College campuses. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 14, Employment Standards Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now, the repayable loan limit for student financial assistance is $1,100 a month. By this fall, that will be increased to $1,400 a month. So there will be a change. There will be needs assessed. So depending on the need, if students need it, that money will be available. We are also going to be increasing the lifetime limit for loans to ensure that northern students don’t run up against that limit. Mr. Speaker, the kind of change, that is the indexing, that the Member is asking about, we have just started the research on that right now. We know that, for...

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, a sure sign of spring in many NWT communities is the return of summer students. The GNWT Summer Student Program is one way we offer to hire and train northerners as future public servants.

In 2001, the GNWT introduced the Maximizing Northern Employment Initiative. As part of this initiative, the Northern Student and Northern Graduate Employment programs were established. These programs encourage northern students to pursue post-secondary degrees and diplomas, and then work in the NWT after graduation.

Graduates can access internships and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Report on the Staff Retention Policy, Year Ending March 31, 2007. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be careful to say that our employees are discarded. We value the employees who work for this government and know that the public service have nothing but the best of intentions and always want to do the best job. Mr. Speaker, as this whole transformation process has taken place, it has meant that some people are having difficulty finding a spot in which to fit. When you bring a bunch of people in who have been out in the departments doing different jobs and try to build one centralized structure, it’s sometimes difficult to find the exact fit. So we are working...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have implemented a number of the changes recommended in the Hackett report. The structural changes to the Department of Human Resources are in progress. They are substantially underway. I can't say they are 100 percent complete, because a lot of the changes required that we work to move people around as the work gets done. For instance, we have a significant backlog in pay and benefits that we have been trying to deal with. We need to keep people in that area until that backlog is dealt with, but we are moving towards the final transformation. I would...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a lot of things that may happen only once. For instance, gifts that people are given that are considered as income. The exclusions we offer now through the program are those that are provided for as compensation for some purpose like the wrongdoing that happened at residential schools. IBAs are not considered the same way. It’s a contractual arrangement. It’s not seen by our government as compensation. So on that difference of opinion, that’s where we stand between the Member and the government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. Mr. Speaker, the government’s position is that IBA payments are not compensation; they are a contractual arrangement between a band and between a company; they are a private contract. So in this circumstance they aren’t treated the same way as a compensation payment. So the answer to the Member's question is no, that would not be the direction provided.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be pleased to do that. Anytime we are requested by the committee, we will make ourselves available. Mahsi cho.