Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're hoping to bring in the federal government, RCMP, survivors' groups, to put together an interagency group that can develop the sort of action plan that the Member is talking about. I'd be very happy to, on a regular basis, make sure that all Members are kept up to date on the activities of this coordinating agency.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Members are aware, the Government of the Northwest Territories is working to make sure that we coordinate support services for residential school survivors. What we're hoping to do is provide a government-wide support system for emotional support, for financial counselling, for helping claimants fill out forms, if necessary. We want to be ready to respond to family violence, including elder financial abuse, and ensure that we're offering victim services. ECE has been assigned the lead and, at this point, a coordinating group has been formed which...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For instance, the library in the city of Yellowknife was built by the City of Yellowknife and it's run and operated by the City of Yellowknife. So what has happened in those communities that have libraries, the communities themselves have generally been responsible for providing them.

Last year, ECE helped six communities expand the services that they deliver through their school libraries to open them to the public. Where we can find ways to assist communities to do that, when we have the funds we're prepared to jump in. But when it comes to building a brand new...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As part of the Income Security Program, we are, in fact, trying to streamline all of our processes for delivering subsidy services to our citizens. I have committed to reporting to the Standing Committee on Social Programs as we work through that process. I'd be happy to commit to delivering the same information in this House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly challenge my department with that suggestion. If it would speed up the process, then I think it’s something we should take a look at.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the Government of the Northwest Territories funds the Literacy Council to the tune of about $440,000 this year. I have met with the executive director of the Literacy Council and have assured the council, through her, that we will look at what we can do to strengthen our funding. The total amount of money that this government is putting into literacy programming each year right now is in excess of $6 million. So we are going to obviously take a look at whether or not we should reprofile some of that money to better support the Literacy Council. We are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Brianne Christison from Aurora College, YK Campus. Brianne is in her fourth year of nursing and is visiting the House as part of the Professional Growth V course on nurses influencing change. One component of this class is to learn about how politics shapes and influences health care and health care policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Brianne Christison from Aurora College, YK Campus. Brianne is in her fourth year of nursing and is visiting the House as part of the Professional Growth V course on nurses influencing change. One component of this class is to learn about how politics shapes and influences health care and health care policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do, in fact, provide some core funding to the Literacy Council right now. I have committed to them that we will look and see if there is an area that we can find and reallocate funds. But, as the Member knows, when we vote the money in this House, that money is parceled out. That is how it is designed to be spent. The millions of dollars that we have put into literacy funding, we have made commitments. There are commitments to the Literacy Council, to the college, to community groups, to all sorts of different areas where this money is being spent already. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do, in fact, provide some core funding to the Literacy Council right now. I have committed to them that we will look and see if there is an area that we can find and reallocate funds. But, as the Member knows, when we vote the money in this House, that money is parceled out. That is how it is designed to be spent. The millions of dollars that we have put into literacy funding, we have made commitments. There are commitments to the Literacy Council, to the college, to community groups, to all sorts of different areas where this money is being spent already. We...