Robert Villeneuve

…just have a disincentive with that policy in place. So why do we even have it there if people aren't going to want to go out and become self-reliant?

Mr. Speaker, you know, the rent scale policy that we have today was developed 10-plus years ago, with good intentions, I'm sure, but obviously today it doesn't work. It doesn't work for communities; it doesn't work for individuals; and it doesn't work in our employment economy here today. I guess just what my colleague Mrs. Groenewegen from Hay River South was talking about, the frustration of having people to have to verify their income on a monthly basis to the LHOs which, in turn, work with ECE to provide the subsidy or what rent they're going to charge them on. But should people not...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the next Health and Social Services Authority board meeting will be held in Fort Resolution this Monday on October 23rd. I encourage the Minister to direct board members to provide some assurances that it is working to address these matters and provide timelines, deadlines and recommendations from the two reports that have been drafted since March 2006 that hopefully will address and rectify problems in this area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I just want to talk about the great elders’ facility in Deninu Kue. Currently, there are no elders living in the main building that is designed to accommodate up to four residents or elders. The community is well aware that this facility is not a long-term care facility, but they do support the options proposed in the review of the memorandum of understanding and the possibility of the reprofiling of a facility to better meet the needs of the community.

Mr. Speaker, the issues brought to the Minister’s attention about the proposed uses of the facility are not issues...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I am not going to reiterate all of what other Members have spoken about. I am sure the message is clear that this side of the House is pretty unified in support of this motion. I will reserve my judgment for when it’s time to vote anyway. That’s not to say that I, in any form or fashion, condone the behaviour that was displayed in the House yesterday. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t take more time to discuss this issue, some possible options for ramifications for something like that. It’s unfortunate that we have to call for measures this extreme, especially this late in...

Mr. Speaker, why did I waste my time even mentioning to the ECE then? Why didn't the Minister of Housing stand up…

---Laughter

…and answer those questions with regard to the rent scale policy, because that's what I was asking about. I wasn't asking about the…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know how the Minister can say that this has nothing to do with rent. It has everything to do with rent, Mr. Speaker. It's called the rent scale policy. You know, and that policy is developed by this government, again, for the LHOs to carry out, to charge the government back what they would charge for a one, two, three, four, five-bedroom, and the client pays a portion of that and this government subsidizes the other portion and that's the rent that the LHO receives for that unit. So basically these clients want to come out with the minimum amount of rent...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand there is a review of the Income Security Program. I'm not talking about the program itself, I'm talking about this rent scale policy that we have developed for the LHOs to enforce upon public housing clients. That rent scale is outdated and it's out to lunch, and the guidelines that encompass that specific policy are also outdated and they are a disincentive to people in the communities. People don't work for money or for a cheque anymore, they'll work under the table because they don't want to bring in any documentation so they don't get charged the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister provide this House, maybe the Members or even if he knows right off the top of his head, how many doctors do we have in the emergency ward during the regular business hours? How many do we have in the evenings and weekends? Is there any plan to make more doctors available at the emergency ward in order to ensure that these waiting times are actually going to be reduced in the near future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister provide this House, maybe the Members or even if he knows right off the top of his head, how many doctors do we have in the emergency ward during the regular business hours? How many do we have in the evenings and weekends? Is there any plan to make more doctors available at the emergency ward in order to ensure that these waiting times are actually going to be reduced in the near future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.