Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. There is a lot of pressure on our funding for health services in the Northwest Territories and one large-ticket item is medical travel. Certainly, the GNWT is probably a fairly significant customer to the major airlines here in the Northwest Territories that travel south, and probably not as significant as we used to be in relation to industry but certainly still very significant. On Northbeat last night, they’d indicated that in Nunavut, the Minister of Health had negotiated with First...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m aware that there may be some very real merits to something like this being undertaken, that there will be a lot of considerations of things such as costs. Can the Minister just perhaps summarize some of benefits? He made reference to wildlife and environment versus the economic development side. Could he just articulate some of the benefits that might be achieved by seeing these two activities separated? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, each Member elected to this Assembly first and foremost has the particular interests of their communities and region at heart. The North is very diverse and often so are the issues of priority to our constituencies. It is important for all of us to listen, learn and understand the pan-territorial big picture and the commonality of needs related to the delivery of government programs and services. This can be accomplished, to some extent, as we listen to each other in the Assembly and in committee meetings. But it's also valuable, whenever possible...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also with respect to other sources such as IBA payments, I'd like to ask the Minister what is the status of the government's deliberations on determining whether income benefit agreement payments should be considered as income, or compensation or restitution for land and resources of the people that receive them? Is it income or is it compensation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it's very important that we nail that down and figure that out, because the people who come into income support offices do need a lot of assistance and are in a very vulnerable situation most of the time. I'd also like to ask the Minister what support services do these workers have at their disposal, and are they required to refer clients to those services in the communities, such as the ones I referred to in my Member's statement, so that they might not just be back on income support forever, that they might get the kind of help that they need?...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the well-known local artist and musician and broadcaster, journalist Mr. Paul Andrew.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since my constituency office reopened after the new year, we have had an extraordinary number of constituents contacting us regarding concerns with income support. I think all of us can attest to the fact that December is a higher-than-usual month for expenditures. First of all, it’s the middle of winter. Utilities and many other costs are at the highest they will be throughout the year. It’s also Christmastime and it’s difficult for anyone not to overextend themselves at this time of giving and sharing with family and friends. It’s no different for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also in keeping with the comment that I made in my Member's statement, I was quite shocked and appalled to have learned from income support clients who had received gifts of cash to buy gifts for their children over the Christmas holidays, that when they deposit that in their account and their bank statement is provided to the income support worker, that that was in fact also treated as income and clawed back. I just want to get it on the record from the Minister, is a cash gift at Christmas considered income to a low-income family for the purposes of assessing income...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister what kind of training and credentials are possessed by and required by people who work in our communities as income support workers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. We need well-trained and compassionate people acting on commonsense and compassionate policies and guidelines dealing with people in need in our communities. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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