Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I am bringing forward a discussion paper to Cabinet/FMB. Once I have given them information and had some discussion as to how we will target this and bring it forward to what level of increase in that northern residents deduction we are looking for, then I would be happy to meet with Members and go over where we have come with this and begin a plan of rolling out from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the area of the Territorial Power Support Program, that program continues to grow just by the fact of volume of people in their own homes and the subsidy we provide to residents outside of the capital. We have no plans of changing that program. It is set at 700 kilowatt hours at the Yellowknife rate, and then the rate zone is charged per community. That's the best we can do at this point and that program has now crept over the $8 million mark. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have looked at this area in more detail. In fact, I'm bringing forward a discussion paper to the next Cabinet/FMB meeting to look at this issue in a little more detail. We’ve looked at the costing of it. It will cost our government money as well by increasing our portion or share of it. So we are looking at that area, as well as looking at how we would work with other jurisdictions, not only the Territories but other provinces that would fall into that rate zone that we fall into as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now within the Government of the Northwest Territories, the existing program we have, through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, wage subsidies and so on for a private sector, as well as departments, to help fund if they are going to go into the area of hiring more apprentices. Within the Department of Public Works and Services, as I stated earlier, we have struggled in that area. At one time, we provided all of the maintenance, O and M in communities. Since then with hamlets and community governments taking on more and more of that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the past the government has worked through that and I am aware, from the Minister of the Power Corporation, that, indeed, there is a general rate application going forward in November. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at one point, Public Works and Services was the largest, within government, producer of tradespeople through the Apprenticeship Program. For many years, the government, past governments, have taken a different direction and the staffing levels within the trades side of our department was privatized and that initiative wasn’t used as much. What we have done within the Government of the Northwest Territories, though, recently was to look at the Apprenticeship Program, the involvement that we have. Each department already has, through a number of programs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, October 19, 2006, I will move that Bill 13, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2006-2007, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again because the switch has happened to be talking about the subsidy program, which right now seniors do not pay rent in public housing, if we’re going to change that, the whole subsidy situation would be Mr. Dent’s area. If we’re talking about the overall rent scale and how that’s affected, some of that responsibility still remains within the Housing Corporation. Rent scales do belong within the Housing Corporation, but for actual policy change, clarity I guess is going to have to be sought here from the Member if Mr. Krutko is going to have to deal with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the role of Public Works in this would be one from an asset base working with a client department, this being Health and Social Services. This is in the area of coming up with a plan of what is required. In discussions with staff between Public Works and Services and Health and Social Services, Health and Social Services has deemed this facility to have an important role within their social support system. Part of the exercise we are going through is in the area of the Homelessness Strategy. Once that unfolds a little more, we will have a better...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I haven’t had too many opportunities to stand up and do a Member’s statement, or to stand up, as someone is saying. Mr. Speaker, as the snow is gone and the winter gear has been stored, and the summer gear has been pulled out, families have gone through or will go through a graduation or two, and families are busy preparing for a summer trip or a family vacation.

Mr. Speaker, I can recall many springs when I eagerly awaited the last day of school. Talking about schools, we’ve heard in this House from the Education Minister, as well as many Members of this...