Wendy Bisaro

Thanks to the Minister. So, if I understood the Minister correctly, that’s 68 or 70 out of a possible 150. That’s unfortunate. I would have hoped that the program would be oversubscribed.

I’d like to ask the Minister, when is the two-year anniversary date of this program and will the Housing Corporation be doing a formal review, a formal evaluation of the program at that time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we know, the 2015 Canada Winter Games is currently in full swing in Prince George. In addition to the 2,400 athletes participating over the next two weeks, the Games are expected to attract as many as 20,000 visitors.

Our NWT contingent I know will be great ambassadors for the territory, and like my colleague did yesterday, I want to acknowledge the individuals from Frame Lake who are representing the NWT in Prince George. There aren’t quite as many as there were from Range Lake, but they are certainly just as worthy.

Emily Paddock and Dakota Earle are with our female...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will continue with TD 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016, with the Department of Health and Social Services.

It’s no secret that many people who are renting, struggle to meet the cost of their housing and also meet their daily expenses and maintain any kind of a decent lifestyle. Some people cannot afford to rent their own apartment, their own home. They need to rent a room in a house.

I’d like to know from the Minister, as they do the evaluation of this program that’s gone over the last two years, will they consider expanding the terms of reference to the program to include people who are renting not an apartment but renting a room in a house or renting a room in somebody else’s apartment? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier.

Now that we are moving into phase III of decentralization, describe any and all analyses of the government’s decentralization actions to date.

Of the 150 GNWT positions decentralized (per Premier McLeod in Hansard, February 10, 2015), advise the job title for each position, the original community for each position and the new community for each position.

Of the 150 GNWT positions decentralized, advise how many of the positions were vacant at the time the positions were transferred.

Of the 150 GNWT positions decentralized, advise how many of...

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I’ll repeat the question that I just asked the Minister. When was the last time that the daily subsidy for daycares and preschools was increased? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think the question was probably heard. I would have thought that the methods for the Liquor Commission and the GNWT in terms of accounting would be the same. Perhaps I could get an explanation as to why one of our, sort of, subsidiary organizations doesn’t use the same accounting methods that we do.

I hope the Minister was stating or suggesting that he did some consultation with daycares and with preschools in order to try to arrive at a reasonable figure. The fact that we have the lowest paid early childhood educator workers suggests to me that we have daycares and preschools that struggle to make ends meet.

So I’d like to ask the Minister, second of all, the Minister seemed to indicate, and I think he indicated in his statement that this grant or this subsidy, whatever you want to call it, has to go directly to the staff person. Does it go there and does it have to go there? Thank you.

Thanks to the deputy minister and, yes, I did remember. I just wanted to make sure that anybody who was looking at numbers would understand the rationale. I’m very glad to see that we have a more reasonable number, so to speak. Where has the extra $4 million gone? I’m presuming it went into general revenues, but could I get that clarified? Thank you.