Jane Groenewegen

Could I get the Minister to concur that this NGO does do good and valuable work in our community, and the value of their work far exceeds the $35,000 a year which they get from this government and our given grief that goes along with it? Can the Minister concur this is valuable work worth far more than what they receive from this government? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a constituent from Hay River South, Mr. Tim Coleman, in the gallery today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about an NGO in Hay River. It is the Hay River Council for Persons with Disabilities.

I would like to take my hat off to this organization, who has been faced with many challenges and yet continues to persist in their efforts to assist the people in our community who have disabilities. They do this in spite of not very much help from this government. As a matter of fact, I would say this government discouraged their efforts.

This small group of people gets $35,000 from this government. For that, they employ a half-time person, but what they also do is...

I would like to thank Minister Beaulieu for his visit to Hay River, for taking time out of his busy schedule, for going there and seeing the facility these folks were in, for listening to them, for hearing what their challenges were and what they were offering the community, and he did express great support. I have to say that and I want to thank him for that.

How can we translate that, as Mr. Beaulieu heads up the Department of Health and Social Services, how can that commitment and support for an NGO translate down to the people who actually deliver that support within the public service? How...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure who to ask my questions to and I am not even sure what to ask at this stage. You can tell I am a little frustrated with the lack of support for some very valuable NGOs. I don’t think we have really quantified the value that NGOs bring to a situation. If we as a government had to pay for the work that they do, we probably wouldn’t realize the same results and we probably couldn’t afford it.

The council that I refer to in Hay River is the Council for Persons with Disabilities. They teach literacy counselling; they fundraised $50,000 in the community to...

At a recent exchange between some members who represent departments who came down to Hay River to speak to these people who were saying you need to learn to say no, you need to refer these people to other places, you need to hold more fundraisers, in that same conversation they dared to mention that your Ministers have been down here and they have seen the hard work we’re doing, and they’re seeing what we’re doing and they’re supporting it. The response they got – and I want to put this on the public record, and this is referring to Mr. Lafferty and referring to Mr. Beaulieu – your Ministers...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on the questions asked by my colleague from Hay River North with regard to what seems to be a problem with graduating students who are born, raised and educated in the North and then seek post-secondary education under our Student Financial Assistance Program. We back them all the way, but when they get back here, it seems that whatever policies we have in place, they are fantastic on paper and even some of the statistics that the Minister quoted today sound very good, but there must be something lost in translation, just by the sheer number of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement today, I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what would be involved in proclaiming a day of recognition for families who have lost children that were yet unborn, children that are born stillbirth and children that are lost to sudden infant death syndrome. What would be involved in our government when we declare a day as a day of remembrance or a day to recognize something like this? What’s involved? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, this introduces a new element in this. So this is optional for departments to subscribe, I guess, to this program. If they have positions open within their department, it is up to them if they want to hire students or if they want to basically circumvent this student hiring program altogether. So the onus is on the departments to apply for these positions, and if that is the case, if they want someone with more experience, then they wouldn’t have to bother with this. Thank you.

Thank you. I would like to ask the Minister, is there not an opportunity for something to be lost in translation between what the department decides they want to do, the hiring department decides they want to do, and what the policy of this government is. Is there not an opportunity that there is a disconnect there? It would appear to be that way, from what I see.

Another question is: Are there any professions for which this government will guarantee a placement for when the student returns with a post-secondary degree or certificate? Thank you.