During the review period, which the Minister says might take up until next fall, I’m just wondering if the government is going to have any provision that would see students in the situation that I outlined earlier that would protect students from undue hardship. Especially those with, you know, I said four children, so that they aren’t faced with hardships and they’re not getting their living allowance reduced while the department and the government is out there reviewing SFA. I think we should put some provisions in place that can maintain living allowances until the review is done so that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m going to tell the story of a 31-year-old woman who saw the doors of opportunity open for her, only to see this government try to slam them shut. She’s struggling to get through them and realize her dream of getting a degree in nursing and then go on to medical school to become a doctor.

She began with the Nursing Access Program at Aurora College because she needed upgrading as a mature student. She is the mother of four children between the ages of six and 14 and she’s not rich, at least not financially. She’s a tenant in a Yellowknife Housing Authority unit...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I may sound like a broken record, but I’m going to state this again for the record. There are a couple of items in here that it seems on an annual basis cause the Government of the Northwest Territories some trouble when it comes to budgeting.

The first one is the special warrant for $6.012 million approved on June 29th. How we budget for fire suppression in our territory has been an issue going back over the eight years that I’ve been here. I don’t think we budget enough. Obviously, in the past few years we’ve come back for substantially more money than what is...

I thank the Minister for that. I know the Minister; his intentions are good and I know his office is trying to work out a solution for this student that I’m talking about, this mother of four who is encountering problems. The Minister talked about the review and I just want to get some assurance from the Minister and the government that the SFA review that’s going to be started this fall is going to be finished in time for next calendar school year so that we’re not going to affect the next two school years. If it doesn’t come in until October next year, the students that are in the situations...

Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Minister. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure met on August 16, 2011, to review Bill 19, Cost of Credit Disclosure Act. Following the public hearing and clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 19 to the Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

This concludes the committee’s general comments on Bill 19. Individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure held public hearings on Bill 7, Community Planning and Development Act, during the months of April and May of 2011 in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Ulukhaktok, Inuvik, and Aklavik. The clause-by-clause review with the Minister began on May 10, 2011, and concluded on August 15, 2011.

During the May 10, 2011, review of the bill with the Minister, the committee passed a motion to amend the bill by adding a provision stating that nothing in the act shall be construed as to abrogate or derogate from Aboriginal or...

What the government is currently offering and currently doing is not working. I’d like to get some type of commitment from the Minister that the government in its transition document going forward into the next government will identify the area of addictions and how we deal with addictions as a government as a key priority for the next government. I’d like to get a commitment from the Minister that that will be there and that they will examine all the programs and services related to addictions here in the territory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to pick up on my Member’s statement from earlier today where I was talking about the root causes of crime in our community. It also has a direct impact on the level of homelessness that we see, especially here in Yellowknife.

I’ve been a Member of the Legislature now for eight years. The topic of a dedicated, stand-alone drug and alcohol treatment centre located in the city of Yellowknife has been a topic of discussion for that eight years, and even before that. I’d like to ask the Minister where exactly is a drug and alcohol treatment facility on the government’s...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple of general comments on Bill 19. There is a section, I think it’s 31, that talks about reporting. I had questions at committee about that. I got a response from I believe it was the deputy minister and the Minister that it wouldn’t cause an administrative burden on the various lending agencies that the government has, such as the BDIC, student financial assistance and ITI. Obviously it looks like it’s going to pass. You know, next year or the year after, are the departments, BDIC or ITI coming forward looking for new positions to deal with billing or...