Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I said no such thing. I don't know where the Member gets that information from. The WCB has not applied to take an adversarial point of view at all in the Appeals Tribunal hearing. It has been five years since it has been reheard and I expect there will be some new medical evidence that will be submitted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The WCB is aware of what the ruling is in the Martin case; it is quite aware of the ruling from Justice Schuler; and they will be working to ensure that the policy that they bring in is one that fits within the Constitution of Canada. But they are also hoping to work with stakeholders, injured workers and employers to make sure that the policy reflects not only that constitutional requirement, but what northern workers and employers are expecting to see from the WCB.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, October 25th, 2006, I will move that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll talk to the chair of the Governance Council and see how quickly this can be done. With the Governance Council meeting only between four and six times a year, I can't guarantee that the Governance Council will necessarily have it within the next month. They can't always schedule their meetings that quickly. But, Mr. Speaker, I am confident that they will move very quickly to deal with this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that previous Ministers were bombarded by Members when their constituents didn't get their SFA on time for the start of school, and so the deadline was imposed in order to make sure that SFA could be delivered before school started if people applied before that. But I'm not sure; this was something that was imposed some time ago and I can't speak for why the rule might have come into play. But I can advise the Member that I have given direction that the regulations for the deadline be changed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do work very closely with LHOs. ECE and the regional people with the LHOs are working closely together. We've agreed that we're going to set up focus groups, so it will involve tenants throughout the Northwest Territories, in order to make sure that we're hearing from tenants, what the problems are and how we can address them. So, yes, Mr. Speaker, we're doing that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in a process of constantly reviewing our programs. I'm not confident that I'm going to be able to find any extra money to put into this program this year, given the fact that we only have a limited budget and we know that we're going to spend more than twice what's in the budget already. The strain is already pretty severe on the department to try and just cover the actual cost because of the fuel price increases. But I will certainly do as the Member directs and discuss whether or not there are any changes that we could make, and I'll be prepared to come and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that we can point with pride to our seniors' programs here in the Northwest Territories. I think the programs that we offer seniors right now are if not the best in North America, they're at least the best in Canada. So we already have a very good program. I think it's important to remember that we call this program a subsidy. No matter what the cost of oil or propane or wood goes to, we provide the same amount to seniors each year. So we're prepared to help seniors, to assist them to stay in their own homes. We're hoping that the communities and families...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will table the Workers’ Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories' and Nunavut’s 2006 summer issue of the magazine Reflections. This publication is intended to provide both employers and workers with an overview and deeper understanding of the various activities the WCB has undertaken in the last year.

The cover story of this magazine features the inspirational journey of Les Rohac, a man who came from Czechoslovakia to Canada seeking a better life, but who instead found himself faced with the challenge of overcoming a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've heard the honourable Member from the other side and we'll look at what our options are. Thank you.