Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have one more set of questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, there is a facility formerly occupied by the Northern Addictions Services in Detah, which I believe the government had some financial interest in and this facility has come back into the ownership and control of the GNWT. I’d like to ask Minister Krutko, Mr. Speaker, what is the status of the use of that facility at this time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, by the way, I’m very encouraged to hear that the Arctic Tern is not just being used as a facility for incarceration, but that there is programming that is available as an alternative. That’s the first time that I heard that. I don’t sit on the Social Programs committee anymore, and that is very good news. That’s the kind of innovative, responsive way we need to deal with some of these issues. We have to think outside of how things have traditionally been done. Is there any other programming, Mr. Speaker, available to assist communities besides the youth...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We ask our young people to return to their home here in the Northwest Territories to work, and we are in desperate need of these graduates and their educational experience to complement our northern workforce. It is unrealistic and unfair to be penalizing these students at the end of the year. There must be a mechanism put in place to prevent this type of nightmare from happening to any more students. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions today for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment regarding this important subject. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I realize the challenges facing Nunavut with respect to medical travel may be somewhat more difficult than we have here in the Northwest Territories, but we also have twice the population. We have the largest population here. We must have twice as many people as Nunavut, and they are getting 70 percent. Anyway, it sounds like it was negotiated by officials reminding us not to send…

--Laughter

It’s okay. I was also going to ask, Mr. Speaker, are we the point of contact for the aboriginal health funding that was announced by the federal government? Are we the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions now are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, the Minister just returned from an F/P/T Health Ministers’ meeting in Vancouver. I understand from the media coverage that the federal Minister of Health was in attendance at that meeting. Not too many weeks ago, we were very happy and excited about information brought back from Ottawa by our Premier and Health Minister with respect to what was going to be more funding for health care in the Northwest Territories. Some of the areas that were covered were things like $150 million over...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three students in Hay River, so I don't know if we're the exception here or what. I understand that requesting transcripts between semesters would delay funds being disbursed at the beginning of the second semester and would not be beneficial to students. However, would the Minister consider looking into a reminder notice, or an inquiry being sent to students a few weeks before the end of their semester; something that could be e-mailed, as I said, or faxed back to say that they are in compliance? Would the Minister consider sending out such communication to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in keeping with my Member's statement today, I would like to address my question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, with regard to Student Financial Assistance. I would like to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, what process is in place with SFA to confirm that a student has met the requirement of the regulations at the end of their first semester of school?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise my concerns regarding northern students who have received GNWT Student Financial Assistance to attend college and university. At present, we have a number of students who are suffering financially, and it is because of the policies of this government that these students are in jeopardy of not being able to afford to complete their education. It has recently come to my attention that verification of a student’s requirements for SFA is not being confirmed prior to disbursing funds for the second semester of the school year. Student...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for the update and the results of his trip to Vancouver. Inasmuch as it shares information with the public and the House, through the Assembly, it is a good thing. However, I just wanted to comment that I was a little disappointed this morning that all of the media coverage on CBC was quoting the Alberta Health Minister, Minister Gary Mar, and I would like to know if the Minister would make a commitment to put the same information and maybe more detail out to the public by way of a press release, as a result of his meetings. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess I’m a little bit disappointed in the fact that the $150 million was a separate fund for the medical travel, which I thought was over and above the $150 million but it looks like it’s been broken down. Was there a specific meeting of northern leaders to determine how this 70 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent was going to be split out on that $75 million pocket of funding, or did the federal government just dictate that’s how it was going to be? Thank you.