Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Madam Chair. My concern when we discussed this act was similar to Mr. Dolynny and it was that there’s an anticipation that there would be a lot more people working off their surcharges through the Fine Option Program. We asked the question and we didn’t really… It was sort of the same question that was asked here already, but we didn’t really get a definitive answer. The answer to Mr. Dolynny suggested to me that there’s no expectation that the number of offenders working off their surcharges through the Fine Option Program is going to increase. I guess I’d like to get that...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that subclauses 1(2) and (3) of Bill 59 be deleted and the following substituted:

(2) Section 50 is repealed and the following is substituted:

Money and property owed to child

50. (1)

If a guardian has not been appointed for a child, a person who is obligated to pay money or to deliver personal property to the child may, in any year, pay not more than $4,000 or deliver personal property having a value not exceeding $4,000, to

the child, where the child has a legal obligation to support another person,

a parent with whom the child resides, or

a child who has lawful...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We’d like to continue with Tabled Document 324-17(5) and then the bills as listed in the order on the Order Paper: 56, 59, 62, 63, 64, 69, 45, 49, 60, 61, 65, 68.

I’m laughing because it’s ridiculous that a report generated by the 17th Assembly has been delayed almost by three months now, such that anything that’s in that report is now being sent off to the next Assembly. In my mind it’s ludicrous. That’s why I’m laughing. I’m not quite sure where to go from here.

To the Minister: If this is being sent off to the 18th Assembly, what does he expect in terms of an impact on the Junior Kindergarten Program? Not the details, but when does he think there’s going to be any kind of an impact on the Junior Kindergarten Program? Obviously, not for the school year...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My comments are similar to those of my colleague Mr. Moses.

My experience has been that the child and family services committees have not worked, much as the department tried quite valiantly at the beginning of this Assembly to try and get them going. They are a great idea, but if they’re not working, we shouldn’t have them. When we were in a hearing with the Minister, the suggestion was made that maybe we shouldn’t have child and family services committees, to which the Minister responded and this bill is the result of that.

I think there needs to be some monitoring as we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I’d like to follow up on my statement. In my statement I referenced a review of the Junior Kindergarten Program that was to have been completed in July of this year. There’s been no indication that that report is anywhere near completion.

I would first of all like to ask the Minister if he could provide an update to me and to the House with an update on the review of the Junior Kindergarten Program and when we might expect to see it. Thank you.

So, I guess that would then mean that any place where anyone is working, no matter what the size. I will take that, then, as a definition.

So the other part, I am looking at Section 4 again, and it says, “an Occupational Health and Safety Program or a work site as required by the regulations,” so can I get a confirmation? I heard you say these programs, these officers are required for businesses of more than 20 employees, so is that what is referenced here in number 7, that the regulations will make that statement so any work site that has less than 20 employees is not required to have an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the last conversation, I have to say kudos to the RCMP for the job they’re doing. They’re doing a great job lately.

My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Lands. I want to follow up on some questions that I asked to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources last week. The Minister of ENR, in answering questions to me about the Cantung Mine, indicated that there is about $11.6 million held in financial security for the Cantung Mine.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Lands what form that security is in. We have several different kinds of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The history on this particular issue bears repeating, so there may be some things which are said twice here.

Fourteen years ago the Premier of the day recognized the importance of providing services for persons with disabilities in the NWT. There was an acknowledgement that there were gaps and that something needed to be done to close those gaps. By 2004 a framework had been developed and some 100 needs identified, and those needs were placed into the five building blocks of the framework, as mentioned by my colleague: education, housing, employment, income, and...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I, too, would like to comment on this extraordinary expense and I have to say that in hearing that we were spending up to $29 million for a low water surcharge, I wasn’t surprised. I can’t argue with this particular expenditure, I can’t argue with the dollar amount, but I can argue the process. As was stated by Mr. Dolynny, Members really didn’t have any opportunity to consider this expenditure before it was complete. Sure, there was a letter from the Premier dated August 31st. I think Cabinet was well aware and the Premier should have been well aware that Members were...