Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of another facility that is in as much need of replacement as the learning centre in Norman Wells when it comes to Aurora College facilities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. The recent rise in energy costs will have an effect on many NWT residents. While market forces may see the price of energy decrease, unfortunately there is no expectation that this will happen in the near future. Long-term solutions are needed.

This issue is broader than just the cost of department programs. We must also make a concerted effort to use our energy resources more wisely.

With this in mind, I would like to outline measures the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is considering to keep our overall costs down, while building...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a constituent who is often here with us in the House, Ms. Barb Wyness with the UNW, and a couple of folks that it’s really nice to see, Bishop John Sperry and Ed Jeske. I’d like to welcome them back.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our program is designed to support those people who need support the most. For instance, the Income Support Program is one that reflects what actual costs are. So if somebody needs $1,000 this month for rent, that amount is paid. If the family the next month needs $1,500 for rent, that amount is paid. We don’t make them try to get by with less rent. We actually cover the full costs for utilities and housing. The costs of food, the food basket, are adjusted on an annual basis, at least, in order to reflect any increased costs there. So the program is designed to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if somebody is on the Income Support Program, the Income Support Program would likely be paying their entire fuel bill. So the cost of fuel would not be something they would be impacted by necessarily. Therefore, this money, like all other income, would be considered as income when people come to the income support office and it would be part of what they bring to the table when calculating what they would qualify for in support for the next month. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I meet twice a year with the chairs of the divisional educational councils. They tell me what the needs are in the classroom. We surveyed the teachers in the year 2000 to find out what the needs are in the classroom. I have already said to the Member today that we are going to do that this year. So five years after, we are updating the survey so that we will have an understanding of exactly what the needs are in the classroom. So, yes, we are working to make sure that our programming is designed to deal with the challenges that teachers face in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to make it clear just so that everybody understands that the amount of funding that we put into the program is 15 percent of the total amount provided to schools. Funding is not just provided for 15 percent of the students who may be in need of support. Section 7 of the Education Act says that every student is entitled to have access to the education program in a regular instructional setting in the community in which the student resides, and that an education body shall provide a student with the support services necessary to give effect in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will endeavour to find that information, but I asked that very question of the department and have been told that there is no way they have of tracking it because it depends on who comes to the table and the resources they bring each month. So it’s very difficult for us to put it together as to who might qualify for this.

I will challenge the department to come up with at least a ballpark figure and we will endeavour to share that with Members. The Member has raised an interesting issue and that is to whether or not the program right now allows people to collect...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of the details of the federal heating rebate. I think we will become more clear of what the details are in the not-too-distant future. In terms of something like the National Child Benefit, the federal government, the provinces and territories worked together when that was being devised and came up with an agreement that no person would be worse off after the NCB came into effect. So we made sure that our programs were not reduced, because the National Child Benefit was intended to improve the situation of people who were working, or those known as the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to embark on a formal assessment process that would take millions of dollars to assess the special needs of every student. Teachers and educators are qualified to tell us what they need in their classroom to get the job done. That is what we are going to depend on. We have used that method of determining how we should support special needs and will continue to do that. I am quite anxious, like the Member, to see us be able to better support the needs of students in the classroom. Thank you.