Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table a document entitled “Homelessness in Yellowknife, An Emerging Social Challenge,” a report by Mr. Nick Falvo. Thank you.

One of the other recommendations in the report was to establish a task force to look into the use of drugs and alcohol and the use of it by our citizens, particularly our homeless. I see that task force as looking into far more than just homeless people, but I would imagine both the housed and the homeless would be looked at in terms of alcohol abuse.

I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not he is willing to discuss this recommendation with his staff. I appreciate no decisions will be made between now and the election, but I’d like to know whether or not he can do some preliminary...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke in my statement about a report on homelessness in Yellowknife, which was written by Mr. Nick Falvo. There were a number of recommendations in that report. I have some questions for the Minister responsible for homelessness with regard to some of the recommendations in that report. I appreciate that the Minister may not have had a chance to read the report, but I think he can respond to my questions relative to the recommendations as I outlined them in my statement.

The very first recommendation of the report is to establish a homelessness secretariat. I’d like to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In June the City of Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition launched a report on homelessness, by Mr. Nick Falvo of Carlton University. I will table the report entitled “Homelessness in Yellowknife: An Emerging Social Challenge” later today.

The findings in Mr. Falvo’s report are not surprising. Findings such as: 90 to 95 percent of homeless people are Aboriginal; social and economic factors are major causes of homelessness; those with poor mental health and users or abusers of alcohol and drugs are more likely to be homeless; and that homelessness contributes to high health...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a couple of brief comments. At the outset I want to commend the Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy, for bringing forward these amendments to the Employment Standards Act. It’s a relatively simple change. We are adding another type of leave to the Employment Standards Act. I think with the addition of the hardship clause, which amendments were made at committee and which were concurred to by the sponsor, this is an excellent piece of legislation. The amendments are going to serve our reservists in the NWT very well.

We are the only jurisdiction other than...

Thanks, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I appreciate that it will be at least considered.

One of the other recommendations was that shelter standards should be established. The family violence shelters have them, and I’d like to know from the Minister why should emergency shelters not have standards and what plans are there within the government to look at developing standards for our emergency shelters similar to our family violence shelters. Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Minister for giving me a bit of a précis of information I already know and telling me what we already do. I know that, and I would like to know what we are going to do to try to coordinate homelessness, because it’s not currently coordinated.

The oversight and the management of homelessness programs for this government are spread across many departments; at least three. They are handled by different people in each department and everybody is doing little bits and pieces here and there. So I would like to ask the Minister if this government will consider the establishment...

To counter the public health risk, a task force should be established to conduct a needs assessment, investigate other successful programs across the country, and then develop a comprehensive policy response with the aim of reducing disease and producing positive health outcomes.

These are all recommendations that can and should be acted upon by this government. I will have questions for the Minister responsible for homelessness later on.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I spoke in my statement about the NWT SPCA. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not MACA has ever considered funding veterinary services and programs within the NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my great pleasure today to recognize a resident of Range Lake, but he happens to go to school in the Frame Lake riding. Mr. Tim Riviere is up in the gallery here and I wanted to note Tim is a grade 7 student at William Mac. He is shaving his head for cancer for the fourth year in a row and it’s his second year as a Relay for Life team member. He is the team captain for the Relay Rink Rats. He’s been the top youth fundraiser for three years in a row and has raised over $9,600 in those three years. This year Tim wants to raise $5,400 to bring his four-year total to...