Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table the following three documents. The first is a 1984 release for Prairie Creek Mine Site. The second is a 1987 surface lease for Prairie Creek Mine Site. The third document is a 2003 surface lease for Prairie Creek Mine Site. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I'm getting some straight answers from the Minister today, which is a little unusual. I have described the living wage, which is a defensible figure calculated through a nationally recognized procedure. Our territorial data does not allow for detailed calculation of a living wage for each of our communities. Will the Minister commit to working with his colleague the Minister of Finance and, where necessary, Statistics Canada to expand the range of data collection in our communities to enable calculation of a local living wage?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, who is responsible for the minimum wage. As I pointed out earlier today, the latest report on minimum wage is a rehash of the 2014 report that was produced by a committee that is not at arm's length from government, and it contained no preferred recommendation. Is the Minister willing to revise the terms of reference for the Minimum Wage Committee to make it more independent of government and give direction that a preferred recommendation needs to be put forward? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Some information was provided to committee in terms of where the outstanding equity leases were located. The most equity leases are actually found in Fort Providence at 58. There are only six in Fort Smith. Has there been any consideration given to having one of these positions located in Fort Providence where most of the equity leases are located? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think the three that were in the 2018-2019 budget itself, they were going to be located in Fort Smith. Is that correct? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can someone just explain what this funding is for? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I guess what I am hearing from the Minister is the status quo is okay, and when Alberta has a higher minimum wage than we do this fall, people should just move to Alberta. Currently, recipients of income support receive allowances that are adjusted according to where a person lives, and that reflects a difference in cost of living. If this principle applies to income support, why don't we apply it to the minimum wage? Will the Minister commit to beginning the work to develop a methodology to calculate a local living wage for all of our communities, and move the...

Well, I am disappointed to hear that. When you have two reports and they are virtually carbon copies of each other, something is not right, and I have made a suggestion about how the Minister can improve it, but he doesn't seem to want to take that. I will try a different tack here.

Another issue is indexing. Eight other Canadian jurisdictions now index their minimum wage, or intend to begin this practice soon. This is something the Minister could begin to do now without waiting for the next round of review. Will the Minister direct that the NWT minimum wage now be indexed to inflation or cost...

Merci, Monsieur le President. The NWT's minimum wage is increasing April 1st from $12.50 to $13.46 per hour. It is good news that more money is going into the pockets of our underemployed workers, but in the end, the minimum wage is a blunt instrument for addressing poverty. We need to stop tinkering and take a more comprehensive approach.

As the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment says, his decision to raise the minimum wage follows recommendations of the Minimum Wage Committee report, which is itself not a very satisfactory or independent process. The committee has two government...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think that one way to get this done faster is to actually probably move one of those positions from Fort Smith and put it in Fort Providence, where most of the equity leases are located.

I will just make that recommendation to my friend, the Minister of Lands, and to my colleague, the Minister of Finance. If they would like to respond, I would be happy to hear it, but that would be my recommendation. If you want to deal with this faster, put the bodies where the problems are. Not that there are problems with Fort Providence, but there is an outstanding number of equity...