Jackson Lafferty

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...

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly hoping to give notice of introduction of the bill later on this week. Mahsi.

I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Range Lake, that Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill replaces the definition of “week” in the Employment Standards Act. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again we do provide those programs and services to immigrants that are in the North. Also, with the business sector it does fall under Industry and Tourism, but with our department we are working with the program itself dealing with immigrants to the North. So we are doing our best with the programs that we have to assist those individuals from outside Canada that are immigrating to the North. There are various programs as highlighted, Mr. Speaker.

So we will continue to work with the federal government, within our Territorial departments, and improve and enhance our programs that...

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education does provide services and programs to assist with these immigrants in Canada. We do have various programs that we offer newcomers via Aurora College for English as a second language and also career counselling, job search assistance that the Member is asking for. And also the resume writing and job skills assistance. Those are just some of the areas that we are conducting at the department. I do believe that Industry and Tourism also provides various programs to assist businesses, but with our department we provide employment services programs that...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Early Friday morning, Norman Wells detachment members responded to the serious situation of a man with a gun. After 40 hours of emergency action, police were able to defuse a stand-off in a local residence and apprehend a young man before he could commit harm to others or himself.

This was a very serious situation that involved RCMP specialty teams from Yukon and Alberta, as well as our own “G” Division and all the hard-working members of the Norman Wells detachment.

There was excellent co-operation from all members to ensure safety of the public, the officers and the young...

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with the challenges that we’re faced with, with the retailers here in the North. It’s a challenge throughout the North, and also nationally. So we will continue to improve our services and programs. Mahsi.

Our Department of Education, Culture and Employment is working closely with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the federal government department, specifically dealing with the immigration status here in the North. There is an increasing number of immigrants to Canada and also specifically to the Northwest Territories. We are doing what we can as a department with the federal funding that we are receiving through immigrant settlement and adaptation programs. That is the program that we are initiating and that we are working with other departments to deal with the issue at hand. So we are...