Wendy Bisaro

I don’t like to correct my colleagues but I think the Premier should well know that reports going to standing committee are not public. This report, in my mind, has never been to the public and there are many interested people in the gallery and elsewhere in our territory who want to know what was in that paper. I think I have to express some of the disappointment, as well, that some of the people in the gallery I suspect are feeling at the moment. The Premier mentioned by mid-2012 he expects that we will have a draft Anti-Poverty Strategy. Really, in the previous Assembly there was a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a great pleasure to see so many people in the gallery today. I won’t go through the list that my colleagues have already gone through, but I’m particularly pleased to see so many members from the NWT Literacy Council, from the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition, from Alternatives North and from the Y. Welcome to all of you. I’d like to specifically recognize three people, two constituents: Lorraine Hewlett and Suzette Montreuil. I would like to specifically welcome my constituency assistant, Amanda Mallon, to the House. Welcome everybody and thank you for coming.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I’d like to thank my colleagues for their support, particularly Mr. Hawkins for calling me a champion. Thank you very much.

I’d like to just take note of two things in this motion. One is that it asks for the development of this strategy to be inclusive and to involve more than just the government. It needs to have a cross-section of society, and that was mentioned by my other colleagues. The other thing is that it asks for clear cross-departmental mechanisms for coordination and integration of actions. I think that’s one thing that if we are going to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the 16th Legislative Assembly passed a motion for the development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy;

AND WHEREAS work toward a clear and integrated strategy to combat poverty was undertaken during the 16th Assembly but was not completed;

AND WHEREAS every person has the right to a standard of living adequate to the well-being of their families and themselves;

AND WHEREAS in 2009, 16.7 percent of NWT families had a total income of less than $30,000;

AND WHEREAS health indicators, educational achievement, child apprehension rates and family violence can be directly related...

I’m not suggesting that consultation was not done, but when a strategy is being drafted, I suspect that there are one or two organizations within this territory who might like to have some input onto the development of that strategy. The Premier calls this paper a discussion paper. It’s for the benefit of who? Who’s doing the discussing? From what I hear it’s only deputy ministers. So to the Premier: Who is this paper intended for and is there any opportunity for the public to take part in discussing this paper? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to return to my questions to the Premier. I’d like to ask the Premier a few more questions related to some of his answers to my previous questions.

The Premier indicated that the draft strategy is being developed by a group of deputy ministers and that there is an advisory council that is assisting them. My recollection is that that advisory council is perhaps five or six members. I would like to suggest, without casting any aspersions on the abilities of the people on the advisory council, that we have a huge amount of expertise, some of which is displayed in the...

I have to say now that I’m even more dismayed than I was before, that the paper that was given to standing committee at the end of the 16th Assembly can be considered a discussion paper. This is absolutely incorrect, in my mind. That was a report of what people had said across the territory; it was not a paper which is able to go out and be discussed by Members and by the general public. I’m also totally dismayed that we are going to have a draft strategy produced by a working group of bureaucrats. I have no fault with the skills of our bureaucrats, but it’s been well documented that any draft...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and the Minister responsible for the Executive. I wish to follow up on some of the questions that were asked previously. In answer to one of my colleagues, the Premier mentioned that, he gave us quite a list of activities that the previous government has undertaken. I can’t say that I totally agree with the list that he put out there. Some of the work, I think, that was listed was done by our wonderful NGOs. My first question to the Premier is to ask about a consultation that was done sometime within the year of 2011...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Poverty is a huge issue for NWT residents and I believe that this government can do better in our efforts to eradicate poverty. We have many programs and services in place, programs and services whose goal it is to assist our residents who are marginalized, programs and services to reduce the level and amount of poverty in our territory.

These many activities are not coordinated across our government system. They are not coordinated with the activities and programs of non-government organizations, and local and Aboriginal governments. There are gaps in the services out...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question has to do with the reference in the Minister’s statement to collection of tolls. I’m really pleased to see that we’re going to doing it electronically and that it’s not going to require paper and killing of trees and so on. I’d like to know from the Minister, in the development of regulations for the collections of tolls, has he, has the department consulted with the public. Thank you.