Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the effect of this motion is to put the content of a motion that we passed in this House on June 2016 into this mandate. At that time, we voted unanimously to address the long-standing issue of the shortage of safe, affordable housing in the Northwest Territories. This was something that we did after the original mandate document was created. We are catching up now by putting this motion in.

What we know about core housing need in the NWT is that there are about 15,000 households in the NWT, and approximately 20 per cent of those households are in core housing...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this follows on from the previous motion where we are trying to strengthen post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories to equip the workforce for coming high-demand occupations. That has already been studied. We know what those occupations are. We just need to make sure that we are in a position to train people to fill them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this represents an expansion of this area to acknowledge that the knowledge economy is an important growth area for the NWT in terms of employment and that we would like to see those opportunities developed by introducing this amendment. Thank you.

I have no further comments on this. Could you advise how we are going to review this document? Is it going to be page-by-page or in another way? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think that the Minister can get that information from the department. It was obtained through access to information by media and reported this morning. One of the end results of the conversation last winter was that there would be this new audit tool which the Minister has referenced. When will the committee receive the report of Child and Family Services for the 2016-2017 fiscal year; and is there any consideration of making a summary of it public to promote confidence in Child and Family Services? Mahsi.

Thank you for that answer. What kind of reports, audit reports were shared with regional authorities in the 2015-2016 audit?

Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, fast forward to January of this year. The standing committee on social development held a public briefing on child and family services. The Minister told us that the audit results were unavailable because of technology issues. He also said that trying to reproduce the audit would require him to go back and do a significant amount of work which he was unwilling and unprepared to do. What he did do was compile recommendations, and presented them as a letter to the committee. I am assuming that the audits for the 2016-2017 are now...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our final amendment is on page 27 in the section Community Wellness and Safety. I move that Tabled Document 419-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised), be amended on page 27 by deleting the words "we will continue to work collaboratively to reduce poverty in the NWT by funding community-based partners, convening meetings of stakeholders, finalizing indicators that allow performance to be assessed, and developing additional options for action" and inserting the words "we will continue to work collaboratively to reduce...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we are still in the cost of living section. I move that Tabled Document 419-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised) be amended on page 23 by inserting the words "creating an action plan for a phased-in approach to making childcare more accessible and affordable." Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Tabled Document 419-18 (2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised), be amended on page 20 by inserting the words: "reduce the number of households and core housing need in the NWT by 250 households per year for the next three years; create a comprehensive and fully-costed plan to reduce core need; increase lobbying of the federal government to halt the continued reduction in CMHC operation and maintenance funding; prepare to take maximum advantage of federal housing funds when available." Thank you, Mr...