Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that notwithstanding Rule 4 when this House adjourns on February 25, 2016, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 29, 2016;

AND FURTHER, that at any time prior to February 29, 2016, if the Speaker is satisfied after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall...

Shelter funding hasn't increased since 2011, and shelters are feeling the effects with buildings that are in need of repair and a high staff turnover because the wages paid are low. I'm wondering if the Minister can make a commitment to increase the funding to the shelters to support the valuable work they do on an annual basis until all the shelters are funded equally.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, family violence shelters provide safety for woman and children fleeing violence, and there are five in the Northwest Territories. They're located in Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, Yellowknife, Hay River, and Fort Smith. At present, there isn't a formula for funding these shelters that's based on the number of beds or other variables, and as a result, shelter funding varies outside of Yellowknife and puts those shelters at a disadvantage. I'll give you a concrete example: The Fort Smith shelter has eight beds and has a budget of $515,000, whereas Hay River has 11 beds and...

Mahsi. We all know there are dozens of priorities, but where do we make a difference if not against lowering the number of people who are being beaten, terrorized, and killed. What could be more important? I recommend the Coalition Against Family Violence’s presentation as required reading for all Members, and I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's hard to imagine a priority that is larger than keeping women and children safe from violence, given the number of incidents here and the number of deaths. If shelters are forced to close because they don't have the funds to keep their buildings open and pay their staff, a very real possibility at this point, who will respond to the needs of women and children in danger? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker

Can I take that as a commitment that the Minister will review shelter funding and establish a formula that levels the playing field for all the family violence shelters?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my honour today to welcome the NWT Family Violence Shelter Network who are visiting Yellowknife this week and meeting. We have with us the women who run the family violence shelters in the NWT. Lyda Fuller is the executive director of the YWCA, Debby Rybchinski manages at Alison McAteer House here in Yellowknife, April Davies is the manager of Sutherland House in Fort Smith, Janice Elanik is the acting executive director of the Inuvik Transition House, Bessie Hagen is the executive director of the Women and Emergency Foster Care Shelter in Tuktoyaktuk...

Thank you to the Minister for his answer. What I'm looking for, then, is in order to improve the system of wage subsidies for the people who work at daycares is to have the government look at providing those to employers rather than individuals in order to speed up the payment. What I'm looking for from the Minister is a commitment to investigate making this change.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 be amended on page 33 by deleting the words “We will enhance gender equity in the appointment of residents to territorial boards and agencies to further develop women's leadership experience and exposure to governance” and inserting the words “We will improve gender equity in appointments to territorial boards and agencies.”

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I may, I'd like to correct a fact in my Member’s statement. I said that the next round of nominations for the Order of the Northwest Territories was the beginning of March. In fact, it's the beginning of April. April 8, to be specific. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I recently spent some time reading the feasibility study on universal childcare for the Northwest Territories and it contains a number of recommendations which are easy fixes to a system that is quite dysfunctional. My question for the Minister is...