Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to speak to this motion as well. This is one that again has been recommended by the Information and Privacy Commissioner for quite some time. The report of the Gov Ops committee mentions that as far back as 2008-2009, the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been recommending a general review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Again, it’s a recommendation year after year that the Commissioner makes that has been ignored by the government.

Our world is rapidly changing and information is far more available in a number of different...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to suggest to the Minister that not all of those options are available to individuals. He first of all identified that SFA is only for post-secondary. We have students who are graduating from high school who do need extra training in order to be contributing members to society. Income support is not available to students who are not going to school in the territory. If this student were to go to Grande Prairie College, income support would be denied. I thank the Minister for the list, but some of them don’t totally apply.

The example that I used probably...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement.

I’d like to first ask the Minister, with regard to the Student Financial Assistance review, I believe it was started in the 16th Assembly, and Members from the 16th who have returned to the 17th are waiting for the results from that review. There have been many suggestions from Members over the years as to how the SFA program could be amended, could be made for the better. Certainly, as I mentioned in my statement, there are certain...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today on behalf of an NWT resident whose child has Autism Spectrum Disorder. This young adult has been supported through their school years, and as a testament to that support and their own perseverance, will be graduating high school this month. We do a good job of providing the extra, necessary support for special needs students in our primary and secondary schools, but apparently, that’s where the support ends. Let me explain.

There are several colleges in the South which offer transitional vocational programs, a program that fits the post-secondary needs of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to emphasize that this motion speaks to the issues that I’ve raised in my two previous comments. Since 2008, the government has not officially responded to recommendations in the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s report. The committee certainly felt, and I support as well, that any report from a statutory officer ought to be viewed by the government, reviewed by the government, and any recommendations in that report from the Information and Privacy Commissioner or any statutory officer, ought to be looked at by the government with a view to improving...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I did want to speak to this motion. I wanted to particularly say that this was an issue for the committee report in the 16th Assembly and it has come forward from the Information and Privacy Commissioner again. It’s an issue that has been talked about for many years. Municipalities are on board in support of setting up some legislation with regard to access and privacy legislation for municipalities. I believe there’s a resolution on the books for the NWT Association of Communities, which has been there for several years, I think.

So I think that to date, the government...

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I’m not sure the Minister understands. This particular individual is a challenged individual. They are not looking for a job. They are looking, at this point in time, for skills which will enable them to become an independent person able to live on their own, and they need certain life skills which they don’t currently have because they have been living from home.

Apart from the Labour Market Agreement possibility, we have funding for academic programs through SFA. We certainly have funding for apprenticeships in another area of Education, Culture and...

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Do you have witnesses that you wish to bring into the House?

We’ll move on to Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2010-2011. Mr. Miltenberger, do you have opening comments?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate from the Minister that he knows where he wants to go. Maybe the department does, but I don’t see that written anywhere. That is a bit of my concern. I don’t know if this plan identifies where we want to go. To the service gaps, if they are identified in the plan, I would like to know from the Minister whether or not the gaps identified in the plan will be addressed by the actions that are going to happen over the next three years. Thank you.