Tom Beaulieu

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided]

...NWT where all the communities have employment rates below 40 percent. Tu Nedhe is one of them. The average employment rate in both communities of Tu Nedhe is 37 percent. Mr. Speaker, this government must clearly understand that setting goals to increasing employment rates in smaller communities will ultimately make the whole Territory more prosperous. As we know, the large communities in the NWT are functioning well, with employment rates at 65 to 80 percent.

Mr. Speaker, the small communities employment rates were at 50 to 60 percent...

Just shifting gears for a minute; high school career and technology studies. I was wondering if there’s a plan to put high school career and technology studies into all high schools.

I feel that this is a good place for capital for daycares. I think that the students that are starting kindergarten that have gone through daycare and have been in some preschool programs that run usually out of daycares come into the school quite advanced and ready to take on kindergarten when the kindergarten age comes around and they go into the schools and so on. Because of the importance of this to education, if the daycares were to be somehow incorporated into the envelope of the schools in these communities, would the department consider looking at capital costs of providing daycares to...

Mr. Chairman, with the amount of electronic waste that’s being produced in the world, I was wondering if there has been smaller components technology that can be added to the current stuff which is, in essence, evergreening the other computers and so on without actually changing the entire component. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I’m finished questions on page 5-4. I’d like to ask questions on page 5-7, if that’s okay with committee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I talked about the problems that exist even with the transfer of the Public Housing Program back to the local housing organizations. I have questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, was the Minister aware that when the transfer took place, that the policies that remained and were developed as a harmonization tool with ECE and the NWT Housing Corporation would also remain in place when it was transferred back to the local housing organizations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m asking a question, because I’m noticing that chipseal, that’s about the same age as the chipseal on Highway No. 6 from kilometre 1 to 28 that is being replaced, and the other highway, well, the adjoining highway, I’m wondering if there is a plan to do that.

The reason I indicated kilometre 34 was because it was put down and ripped up, from what I understand, a few years back. Then I’ve seen other documentation that indicates that if there would be...in the reconstruction it would be from 34. If the Minister is having difficulty with the question because it’s too specific, I guess my… Not...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to ask the Minister a question on the highway chipseal overlay program that includes Highway No. 6. I’m wondering if this budget is what is going to be used to complete the chipsealing on a road that was reconstructed this year: kilometres 68 to 90 on Highway No. 6.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, previous to the transfer to ECE from the local housing organizations with the program, it was a fairly simple program, and with the low employment rates in the communities everyone knew who was working, so the individual was assessed a certain amount. He was assessed a certain amount, he came in, he paid his rent. It was not a requirement for him to continue to report each month that he remained unemployed or his rent would be moved to a maximum. That system seemed to be working fairly well. It was changed and then we asked it to be put back to the...

Mr. Speaker, my question basically was when the transfer occurred back again, when the decision was reversed to go back to the corporation or the local housing organizations, the rules that were in place, policies, procedures that were put in place to harmonize the two programs, did the Minister know that part of the transfer was also going to be occurring? Thank you.