Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I spoke on the transfer of rental assessments and that from Housing to ECE. I'd like to ask the Minister of ECE, there's been a lot of concerns brought to my attention, and I'm sure other Members on this side of the House as he heard yesterday, so I'd like to ask the Minister, one of the reasons that they gave was they wanted one-stop shopping; you have to have the shops set up, the shopkeepers have to be trained properly, so I'd like to ask the Minister if they have a review of whether this program is working or not. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about the government’s decision to transfer rent payments from the housing authority to ECE. Before I came down here, I made some rounds in Inuvik and talked to a lot of people there because I have been hearing some concerns about how this program is not working. I hear from tenants who have never been in arrears in their life being in arrears now because it’s taken too long. They bring their assessments and their pay stubs over to ECE and they do their assessment and say we’ll mail it to you.

When the local housing authorities...

Mr. Speaker, on September 27th, 2006, Volunteer Canada had a conference call with all their provincial, territorial and local network programs and members, and they talked to the people that were affected by these federal program cuts. They are recommending against fighting the Government of Canada on their decision to cease funding for Canada volunteer initiatives, and they're recommending that the affiliated groups lobby for continued investment to the volunteer sector through a vehicle program of the new government's discretion and design. We are doing our share to advocate on their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there has been some work that has been ongoing. Our deputy ministers have been looking at the situation. Sport North, who is a partner in this with Volunteer NWT, has also been looking at discussions. The Volunteer Canada has also had a lot of discussion with their members on this. They've taken a position that they'd like to start lobbying the government, rather than…They want to take the position that they would take the opportunity to lobby the government to change their mind. Of course, we in the NWT have still the responsibility of trying to get the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know I'm all for rehabilitation. I think the offenders are going to have to want it, and it seems like recently there's been a whole new philosophical approach to crime prevention and rehabilitation for young people. I'd like to ask the Minister, has this approach worked? Have there been less crimes committed because of this approach, or are we in worse shape? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I made a statement on the youth crime in Inuvik, and my questions today would be for the Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell. I'd like to ask the Minister if there's anything that we can do as a government to have consequences for youth and/or their parents for criminal offences. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we take great pains sometimes in refraining from speaking about some parts of the government because everybody, I am pretty sure on this side of the House and probably on that side, have someone they know working within the government. We feel that we can’t ask questions or make comments on certain parts of the government for fear of something like what happened yesterday. You can talk about our ability or inability as Members and the way we present ourselves here, but I believe, Mr. Speaker, when you mention a person’s family or you perceive to be making...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, stand in support of the motion. It’s a difficult situation to be in, but I look at things as whether they are right or wrong. I don’t say they are wrong because we have a year left, they are wrong because of this or that. I believe what happened yesterday was wrong. We are accountable to the people who put us in here, the people we represent, like Cabinet is, but Cabinet is also responsible to Members on this side of the House and it’s a very difficult situation that I find myself in, but there are times when this is not going to be an easy job to do. As...

Yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we consider volunteering in the NWT a very important aspect of our society. We need the volunteers in the communities. I'm sure that would continue without Volunteer NWT. But this is a very good program, the whole initiative for volunteering and the whole area that Volunteer NWT has been covering is very important for us. We will do whatever we can to support them. We've looked at ways and are trying to come up with options that we can try to come and fill the void. It's going to be a real challenge, given our resources, but it's something we're going to...

Mr. Speaker, I don't have the luxury of having the letter in front of me. I'm not sure what letter he's referencing. The federal cuts have had impact on some of our partnerships that we have been working on, especially in the area of volunteerism. It's a working relationship that we've been working very hard on to develop over the last while, since the year 2000. The federal government had been providing core funding. We've been offering support on different areas where we could support Volunteer NWT. We are now in a situation where the core funding for Volunteer NWT is no longer...