Kevin A. Menicoche

Once again, I’d like to state the urgency of this situation, because the Deh Cho Hall will be shutting down this fall, and all non-governmental organizations will be asked to vacate the premises. So once again: will the Minister convey to his department and his officials the urgency of addressing the non-governmental organizations’ needs in Fort Simpson?

Mr. Speaker, I’d just like to advise the Minister that I’ve been getting contrary information from the people that run those organizations. There hasn’t been a meeting set up, to date. As well, in some of the back-and-forth correspondence we’ve received…. I thought the intent here, too, was to appoint a contact person, a point of entry within the government that these NGOs can work with. To date, there’s been no such person established or identified. I’d like to ask the Minister: will the Minister identify a contact person these NGOs can work with?

I’d like to recognize in the gallery my Constituency Assistant from Fort Simpson, Ms. Janice Mandeville.

As well, I'd like to recognize a former Fort Simpson and Deh Cho resident, Father Joe Daley. Mahsi cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Last week the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, issued an unprecedented apology to the aboriginal people of his country. He apologized for the century of laws and policies that removed aboriginal children from their families and forced them into institutions far from their homes. These policies caused incredible suffering to thousands of aboriginal people, and they welcomed the apology as an important step in that nation’s history.

Mr. Speaker, aboriginal Canadians were victims of the same type of discriminatory assimilation policies...

I’d like to thank all colleagues in this House and the government as well for providing the amendment that they can truly vote on — this very important motion for aboriginal people, and continuing to move the notion that aboriginal rights has its place in all jurisdictions and all countries and states of the world.

Once again, in Canada it’s beginning here in the Northwest Territories, and rightly so. We’ve got a majority aboriginal population. It’s the right place to begin this process to help urge our Canadian government to get onside with this very, very important document passed by the...

As indicated in the motion itself, many of the constituents that I represent — and speaking with other colleagues on this side of the House — have expressed a concern over the transfer that occurred last year of the Public Subsidy Program from the Housing Corporation to the EC&E.

It has caused many, many hardships over the past couple of years since that transfer. One of the things that I’ve heard time and time again is that it’s just not working. It’s just not working. And even to this date, we’ve spoken about it with the Minister, and we’ve spoken about in our committee system. They keep...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister Responsible for the N.W.T. Housing Corporation a few questions with respect to the Auditor General’s report.

I heard a Minister on the radio this morning speaking with, I believe, Mr. Henderson.

Many of the findings in the auditor’s report reiterate what I’ve been saying as a Member for the last two years: that we need a proper appeal system; we need a proper board in place that can assess clients. Many, many constituents have contacted me because they didn’t feel the assessments and applications were proper.

I know that the Housing Corporation had an...

Yes, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Unanimous consent granted.

We’ve had good debates here in the House with respect to this motion. I always believe in the fundamentals of democracy. And if our people want something, it’s my job as MLA — and our job as MLAs — to move their needs forward. That is one of the things we’re doing here with this motion, Mr. Speaker.

I know the Ministers have both spoken and said, “Give us time.” But they’ve had lots of time already, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know what…. To me, it looks like government is trying to convince themselves it’s going to get better, but I don’t believe it’s going to get any better, and our people don’t...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by honourable Member Dave Krutko of Mackenzie Delta, the Transfer of Responsibility for Social Housing motion:

WHEREAS the responsibility for the administration of the Public Housing Rental Subsidy was moved to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, from the N.W.T. Housing Corporation, effective April 2, 2005;

AND WHEREAS over the past three years this program transfer has negatively impacted the residents of the Northwest Territories who live in social housing by unnecessarily complicating what was a simple process administered by the local housing...