Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on Bill 2, Missing Persons Act and commends it to the House.

Mr. Speaker, report on Bill 2, Missing Persons Act.

Thank you to the families of missing people that spoke courageously on their thoughts and experiences with the Standing Committee on Social Development. Committee's thoughts are with the family and friends who have experienced the disappearance of a loved one.

Committee acknowledges that subject material related to Bill 2 is very challenging for many families across the Northwest Territories...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Getting back people to work and off income support assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I care for and am concerned for the future generations. I am concerned that we are losing the resilience that our ancestors survived for generations on. Life is different now than 50 years ago.

Mr. Speaker, income support was created as a temporary solution, a band aid solution, to give people assistance for a short period of time. But, unfortunately, what it has become is a system that people get on and do not get off of the income assistance. For some young people, some young adults, it has...

Okay, thank you. I know that we're going to be talking about it, you know, as long as we're here because it is an important issue. So I just there's another issue that I had is that lately I know in small communities people are having you know, that need medical travel or that are travelling on medical travel to the south, we've been having issues where people are having a hard time trying to find a medical escort that require medical escort. And I know a lot of them are saying due to high cost of living, I can't leave my work long. Like, they will be granted some leave but not for two or...

Thank you. I know it is complex, but there are some that can be brought back to the North. And I only if you if the department's talking to some of the families, I'm sure. Because there are some that are there without no families. We know that. And the power of attorney, and they don't know who is the power of attorney. And I know that from talking to some of the people here who have loved ones over there, they said they only find out after the fact that their loved ones was in the hospital like, you know, and because they don't have anybody. There's no family anymore or not like, not that...

Okay, thank you. So it just goes to show that we really do have an addiction issue in the North, and especially with the drugs and alcohol. So it's just that there is the difference here is that there's reductions. I have an issue with that where, you know, why? Because we know that there is a major issue. You know, and why there's a reduction within the budget. I know that just like what my colleague said from Mackenzie Delta, in small communities, and in here too, we know of someone who is suffering with addictions. We even have family members who are suffering, you know, with addiction...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know my colleague asked about this, but I will say it again. I will ask this question as well.

The department used to produce an income assistance annual report. Why is this report not published anymore? Can the Minister commit to making the income assistance annual report publicly available again. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister track demographics of clients; what do we know about the types of clients on income assistance?

Okay, thank you. Thank you, I was looking for a success story.

So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister provide a percentage of how many people on income assistance, or how many people on income assistance leave the program because they are employed or no longer need assistance? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Mackenzie Delta, that Committee Report 220(1), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 2: Missing Persons Act, be received by the Assembly and referred to Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 2, Missing Persons Act.

Bill 2 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on February 26, 2024, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. Throughout the committee's review, the committee received five written submissions and held three public hearings in the communities of Yellowknife, Aklavik, and Inuvik where over 55 people attended overall. The committee also heard from the Minister of Justice and the...