Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Mr. Michael McLeod, former Minister and MLA for Deh Cho.

I’d also like to recognize a long-time educator, my sister Margaret Field and granddaughter Kimberly, and Derek.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the support mechanisms that we have in place for people that are unemployed is income support. I want to ask the Minister if he could provide, to this House, reassurances to the people that rely on income support, that the government will remain committed and steadfast to ensure that those services remain as is and that they will be available for people that are, unfortunately, unemployed and looking for opportunities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I gave kind of an overview in terms of where the Deh Cho riding is in terms of the status of where things are at in the community.

My question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. We all know that one indicator of economic prosperity is just jobs. I want to ask the Minister if he could provide an update to this House in terms of the current employment and unemployment rates. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to extend warm greetings to everyone here today and to those listening from across the Northwest Territories. The fall 2012 session marks a full year since Members were elected to this Assembly.

This year has been significant for the Northwest Territories and for the Deh Cho riding. This past summer an anthrax outbreak decimated the Mackenzie bison herd, killing over 400 animals. I acknowledge that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources rapidly forwarded a response to this devastating situation. The active infection phase of this disease is now...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is grateful for Ms. Jerome’s deep commitment to official languages in the Northwest Territories. Members look forward to working together with the Languages Commissioner in the coming year to ensure that NWT residents’ official language rights are respected and honoured.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

That concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation meet its obligations for consistent and thorough monitoring of local housing organizations under the universal partnership agreements, either by finding the resources to conduct annual assessments of operations, or by changing the agreements to specify some other form of structured and scheduled monitoring, with follow-up in cases of noncompliance;

And further, that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation improve its monitoring of and support to local housing corporations in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m asking students in the Deh Cho riding to apply for summer jobs with the territorial government. It is a great opportunity for all students who continue their studies after graduating from high school. The pay is generally very good, but it does vary depending on the job.

I would also like to remind the students that every department, board and agency does their own hiring, so you need to make the rounds when you’re job hunting. It is a good idea to do that even if you have already applied on-line.

The GNWT summer jobs provide valuable hands-on experience for...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has presented its report on the Review of the Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. The committee’s report, which includes nine recommendations, was read into the record by the members of the committee. With the Assembly’s unanimous consent, the motion was passed to move the report into Committee of the Whole for discussion today.

The standing committee thanks the Auditor General of Canada and their staff for their work. The status report examines government’s...

I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and respond to the Languages Commissioner’s recommendations for legislative change, which read as follows:

3.

That the Legislative Assembly continue to move forward with the concept of a service-based model as suggested by the development of the proposed Official Languages Services Act. However, in moving forward, consideration must be given to:

(a)

the fact that not all speakers of an official language reside in a designated area;

(b)

that residents in the Northwest Territories travel in order to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories report to this House on measures taken in 2011-2012 and planned actions for 2012-2013 to ensure that the public service understands, respects and honours the provisions of the Official Languages Act.