Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I would like to advise the Minister that we would have gladly asked for the data if we had known that it was available. I take her statement to mean that it’s a commitment to provide it to committee. So I look forward to receiving that info.

In terms of the consultation, she said something about three months. I didn’t quite understand exactly what that is referencing. If I could get a bit more of a firm or definite statement as to which months she’s referencing when this consultation with the public will start. Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that response. I do acknowledge that we received a letter recently from the Minister. It provided some insight into what’s been going on, but it had very little detail. It describes the actions which she just told us about, but I was particularly struck by the statement in the letter which says this public working group was presented with detailed program information. I wondered why that detailed program information was not also available to Members. If the Minister could answer that question? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to recognize a constituent and a representative from the Union of Northern Workers, Barb Wyness, who is the public relations and research officer, up there in the gallery behind me. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Assembly embarks on budget debate and discussion following the Minister’s address, I want to use my statement today to address constituents’ concerns. I fervently hope that the 2010-2011 budget addresses these concerns.

Firstly, the Deh Cho Bridge is still a concern. It’s front and centre to us in the Assembly, but surprisingly many of the public are unaware that construction is steaming ahead. My constituents want to know how the change in general contractor will impact this project. They want to know if their tax dollars will be needed to get the project to...

Thank you. I accept that answer from the Minister, but my concern is not with a problem where the client has not provided all the information that’s required for the officer to make a decision or to approve the payment. My concern is when it’s a system problem or when it happens to be a staff error, which, heaven knows, unfortunately occurs. At no fault of the client, some of them have had to wait until well past the 15th of the month in order to get their monthly income support payment. In my mind, that’s not acceptable. So I’d like to ask the Minister what date, when during a month should a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in his capacity as the Minister responsible for income support programs.

I think everybody in this room is aware that we’ve recently implemented a new financial system and I think we’re probably all aware that implementation of software generally causes problems, as does any programming change; there are bugs to be worked out and so on. My constituents have, unfortunately, experienced the effect of some of those bugs from the system. So I’d like to ask the Minister what has been the...

Twice now I’ve heard the Minister say that we issue cheques. I understand that cheques are mailed out, that people can’t go and pick up their cheques. I have a bit of a difficulty with two things: one, that somebody has to wait for a cheque to be mailed -- goodness knows Canada Post is not the most efficient organization in the world -- and the other is that we have to issue cheques. So one way to speed up payments to clients, in my estimate, is to allow for electronic direct deposit to a client’s bank account. I know that doesn’t work in all communities, but is this something, can the...

Thanks to the Minister for that answer and I appreciate that the department is working their way through the problems. But when a problem does occur, when an income support payment to a client is delayed, I’d like to know whether or not the department has protocols or policies in place to help the staff work their way through a particular delayed payment. To me the most important thing is to ensure that the clients get their monthly income support payment as soon as possible. So does there exist something within the department protocols or policies that the staff can use to ensure that clients...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s nice to be welcomed back to the House and it’s nice to see all Members here ready and eager to get back to work.

Today, January 27th, is Family Literacy Day. Today, and all this week all over the Territory, communities, schools and families are engaged in activities to celebrate and highlight literacy.

One of this Assembly’s goals is healthy, educated people. But our priorities, unfortunately, do not mention literacy; the value of which is well documented and irrefutable. Literacy, which includes numeracy skills, is necessary for work, for learning and for life in...

I thank the Minister for his answer. I can’t argue that we have set a capital plan out. However, I can argue that these plans are not set in stone. I don’t think they should be considered firm and concrete from day one when we first establish these plans. In a four-year period of our election, we have to be able to respond to the various concerns of our constituents, and not just my constituents but across the Territory. I would like to suggest that, certainly, priorities can change. I think they do change. I have seen that already in two years.

I would like to know from the Minister whether or...