Wendy Bisaro

Or is this perhaps a trend all NWT education authorities are experiencing? The only way to know for sure, Mr. Speaker, is to undertake an independent count of the severe needs students in NWT schools. It is highly unlikely there will be an even distribution amongst all schools, but that’s what the current funding formula assumes.

Boards with a higher incidence of severely disabled students must be funded to a higher level, Mr. Speaker. ECE needs to reconsider how education authorities are funded under the Inclusive Schooling Policy. Thank you.

Thanks for the updated number, but that’s still one-third more units required than what we have space for. I’m sure that’s not what we’re building. I appreciate that things can’t be done totally, but from a corporation perspective is there any reason why we have so many people on the waiting list? Is it just that, do all of these people qualify? I presume they do. Do we have that many people requiring housing in Yellowknife? Even out of the total units in the Territory, it’s like some 2,300 units and 110 of them or so are here in Yellowknife. That’s still a pretty huge number. Is there any...

Just one last comment. I guess, then, that the Minister would say that this approach, this process is successful and he expects that it will be further successful in this coming year. Is that correct?

Thanks to the Minister for that. That’s really encouraging. That’s an area that requires some activity and it’s great to see that the communities are taking an interest and are taking over the responsibility for that kind of housing. My concern is what there is going to be ongoing. If this is going to be one-time funding and there’s no funding in this next 2010-2011 budget for housing for staff, how does the Minister expect that this initiative will be kept alive and that we will be able to involve other communities beyond the 16 that are currently involved?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a couple of questions here. I noted when we discussed the business plan in the fall that there was a deletion of the funding that was intended for housing for staff. I understand that it’s been moved to another department. I wonder if I can get confirmation of that. Does Housing have any idea of what this other department is going to do with that funding?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

AND WHEREAS approximately 10 percent of Canadians, or 2.9 million people, lived in poverty in 2007;

AND WHEREAS in some NWT communities, up to 50 percent of households have a total income of less than $30,000;

AND WHEREAS 40 percent of NWT households with a senior have incomes below $40,000;

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

AND WHEREAS poverty is human...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I reiterate, I don’t think the details of the file should impact. The Minister mentioned there are things available, but he didn’t go into the detail of what things he is referencing when he says there are things available that can be done. Could he itemize for me the things that are available for such an individual as he mentioned in his previous answer?

Unfortunately, the Minister did not understand the nature of this situation. This is a member of a self-regulating professional body. It has nothing to do with the RCMP. This individual had a complaint laid against them. It was investigated by the NWT body. The individual feels that the whole process was unfair and that it wasn’t valid and that it should be reviewed. Again, what recourse exists for my constituent? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to recognize and congratulate a constituent of Frame Lake, Ms. Yvonne Quick, the 2010 recipient of the Yellowknife Heritage Award. Ms. Quick has been a tireless heritage volunteer for many years. She’s worked on 11 committees at least during her time in Yellowknife and she’s currently the coordinator for Arctic Ambassadors, the people who greet Yellowknife’s arriving visitors at the airport and elsewhere. The award will be presented to Ms. Quick at a ceremony this evening. Thank you.

First off, I would hope that next year I won’t see $2.4 million in an undescribed expense. Secondly, it seems a little strange to me that when we forgive a loan for our students it’s considered a bad debt. Is that the only way that we can account for it from an accounting perspective or is that simply the language that the department chooses to put on it? Thank you.