Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. How many disputes has the Northwest Territories Surface Rights Board adjudicated? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, who is also responsible for Income Security programs. I spoke in my statement of a number of issues. I see from the Education, Culture and Employment website that there is an updated Income Assistance policy manual dated October 2019. Although the Social Assistance Appeals Regulations require that an officer inform clients in writing of their entitlement appeal, I see no reference to this in the manual or in the correspondence that has been provided to me. Can the Minister tell us whether the...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes. We inherited management of the diamond mines, as well. The Minister knows that. I am not making any comparison between what the diamond mines do, because they are large corporate entities that have lots of resources still attached to them. I know how hard our inspectors work. This has nothing to do with the inspectors. They do a fantastic job. I just want to make sure that we have the right level of resources to get the job done. How do we determine what our needs are? Is there any kind of needs assessment, any examination of this gap? I know you folks have some kind...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I am having some difficulty understanding whether a strategic plan is going to be developed or not and what the relationship is to the business plan. I thought we had finished with business plans. Maybe next year there is going to be a four-year rolling business plan as part of the budgeting exercise, but I don't see that replacing the need for a strategic plan. Is the department going to prepare a new strategic plan? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish I was going to Inuvik.

Education, Culture and Employment offers a number of programs to support our residents in several ways. These programs include income support for post-secondary students and seniors and income assistance for low-income families and children, with additional amounts for people with disabilities.

In my time as an MLA, the majority of my constituents' issues have been related to various Income Security matters. Many recipients say that accessing the programs can be difficult, discouraging, and demoralizing. The processes for Income...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I am a bit worried about that. Can we get a commitment out of the Minister -- I saw some of these, I think, in the last Assembly -- to get quarterly updates from the Minister on the progress that's being made in this program? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I understand that the department has a strategic plan that finishes in 2020-2021. What are the plans to come up with a new plan in the new year? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, look, I probably mischaracterized this. I know that there had to be a bunch of policy work, people reviewing the terms of all of these leases; you had to go out and do inspections. I get all of that. A lot of front-end work had to be done. I understand that. I just want to know, now, how many have actually been converted to fee simple title, and are we on schedule to get this finished and fixed? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The committee would like to consider Tabled Document 30-19(2), 2020-2021 Main Estimates, Department of Lands. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I know the clock is ticking down. I really do want to urge the Minister to look at the need for this. I don't think there is a need for it anymore, and it needs to be rejigged in a way that recognizes legitimate rights of people who have surface interests, whether they are Indigenous or not. I just think that this kind of colonial approach needs to be revisited and probably done away with. Thanks, Madam Chair.