Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was done in conjunction with the Protected Areas Strategy, which has been in the process, in development since 1999, so that’s a very long process. It’s been many years of work and also many partners involved in the Protected Areas Strategy. I’d like to ask the Minister some questions about this draft Conservation Plan which came out, what some of the changes are, what it is intending for our territory, in terms of conservation.

I’d like to know first of all from the Minister, I know that we have lands right now which currently prohibit any and all forms of industrial...

I’m good. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We wish to continue with Tabled Document 281-17(5), NWT Capital Estimates, 2016-2017, with general comments and then the departments of Education, Culture and Employment; Environment and Natural Resources; Industry, Tourism and Investment; and Justice, time permitting. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. I’m really pleased to hear that there’s a willingness to consider a possible change. I’m not too sure that he said he would consider three months. I’ll leave that to my colleague Mr. Bouchard to follow up on.

I want to ask a question with regard to the other policy that I mentioned, and that has to do with travel. I spoke yesterday about a mother who endured Christmas on her own because her children were flown home by the dad and she was left at school on her own. I had made a suggestion. I provided a solution to the Minister yesterday.

I’d like to ask...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I want to follow up on my statement from yesterday and today and talk about student financial assistance policies which, as I said, are not working as they should. The first one I would like to talk about is the residency requirement. I asked in my statement and I want to ask the Minister at this point, what is the rationale and why did we require for a student to be out of post-secondary schooling for a year before we will fund them for student financial assistance? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, as promised, case number two of Education, Culture and Employment’s Student Financial Assistance policies that don’t work as they should.

This problem is the same problem that Mr. Bouchard was speaking about earlier, and it’s the denial of an NWT resident for student financial assistance funding. The student who attended all of her primary and elementary schooling in the NWT has been out of the territory caring for an elderly relative, all the while filing taxes in the NWT as an NWT resident. She has now returned to the NWT, intending to take a nursing program at...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to clarify, so when you mention one page we’re also including the descriptions that are on the following page? Yes.

I don’t have a question particularly about these projects. I do want to state again that I’m very pleased to see that we have planning study money for two schools in Yellowknife. Particularly, in my mind, J.H. Sissons is very much overdue. Mildred Hall is a continuation of a renovation from quite some years ago. But if we could get Sissons on the renovation list in terms of capital planning sooner rather than later, I think it’s something that is...

Thanks to the Minister again. I appreciate that there were a lot of changes that were made fairly recently, but I have to say to the Minister, he quoted both of these policies of having been in existence for a long time. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t cut it with me. Just because it’s been here for a long time doesn’t mean it’s right.

I would like to ask the Minister, in terms of allowing students, of doing the best for our students, and I guess I would challenge the Minister to read my statement from yesterday and for him to understand that this mother spent Christmas on her own and not with her...

I didn’t really hear an answer to my question as to why you have to be out of school for a year. I can appreciate you don’t want people double-dipping and getting student financial assistance from a province and also a territory, but I don’t understand why we can’t monitor that and allow students to go from a school in Alberta to school in the NWT from one school year to the next.

The second question I would like to ask the Minister with regard to the residency is we have determined that someone must be in the NWT for 12 months before they are eligible for student financial assistance. It doesn...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to recognize a couple of Pages from the riding of Frame Lake. They will be working for us this week. I’m not sure about next week. I’d like to recognize Jordan Balsillie and Princess Duculan. Welcome, and thanks for the work you’re doing for us.