Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, it is important to share information and have fair communication. I’m willing to share that with the Member and also the parent, if we can set up a meeting with our department and allow the Member to sit down with the parent. I feel similar incidents need to be addressed — why this took place and whatnot, and therefore this information can be shared from the department. Mahsi.

As you know, we are unique in the North compared to other jurisdictions. We are one of the jurisdictions that provide court circuits to the most isolated communities, as opposed to southern jurisdictions. It does cost us money to travel to these communities.

We do work with the judicial system where the court circuit, most of the time, uses scheduled services. As you know, some small, isolated communities do not have scheduled services. At times they have to fly in with chartered planes. The judiciary court schedule is based on the needs of the communities. That’s where the cost would come in...

Mr. Speaker, yes, it would be an honour to go visit Nunakput. We did arrange to visit the community, but due to circumstances, we couldn’t visit. We are planning to make arrangements to visit the community. Probably after session sometime we’ll make some arrangements to go visit the community. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank the Member for asking that particular question. Yes, we are aware as a department. As the Members will know, it is a Territorial-wide issue. Housing is a real challenge for professionals living in the community, whether it be nursing, health workers, social workers and most recently the teachers as well. So we are aware of it, and we are working with the communities and the N.W.T. Housing Corporation to find some solutions to this whole ordeal of housing shortages for the professionals in the communities.

Mr. Chair, we can certainly provide more detailed information on the court circuits in the communities. There are communities that at times the judges would have to spend a night. But most times they don’t have accommodation or restaurants, as the Member indicated. We are working to the best of our ability with what we have, chartering to a community or on a regularly scheduled flight. Yes, certainly we can provide that information.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled Aurora College Annual Report, 2006-2007. Mahsi.

Document 16-16(2), Aurora College Annual Report, 2006-2007, tabled.

Mr. Speaker, we are working with different parties. We’re doing a pilot project in one of the regions. We’re doing design work and having the Housing Corporation guarantee financing as a third party because the G.N.W.T. does not get involved with housing. We are looking at options of how we as a department can get involved to find a solution to finding or building these units in the communities. We are looking for partners in the communities.

Just to let the Member know, my department staff has met with the Beau-Del board of education as well and also various parties from the Beau-Del area, and...

Mr. Speaker, these leases the Member is referring to…. There are different areas, different avenues, whether it be private contractors or at the community level. But certainly those suggestions will be taken into consideration in my discussion with my department, and possibly integrating that through the act that will be proposed. Certainly this is an ongoing discussion with our department — the act itself — so that will be taken into consideration for discussion. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, the Residential Tenancies Act will be given over to this House. It’s forthcoming. I did manage to meet with the Standing Committee on Social Programs on January 21 just to give them a brief on the actual changes to the act itself and to get some more feedback from the committee as well. We are at the point where the act is within our department. There are changes that need to take place, and we are still accepting recommendations to the act itself. I will certainly take that into consideration, to work with my department, and how we can fit into our current act that will be in...

Mr. Speaker, in November 2007 I advised Members that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the N.W.T. Housing Corporation had initiated a review of the Public Housing Rental Subsidy program. At that time I committed to providing Members with results of the review and a plan of action being taken to address issues related to delivery of the program.

Members will recall that the Public Housing Rental Subsidy transfer from the N.W.T. Housing Corporation to Education, Culture and Employment was the result of the larger Income Security reform of the last government. It is under...