R.J. Simpson

I will speak with the department, and I will find out how they go about doing these surveys. This is relatively new, the service standards. It's an exciting initiative to post in a government office that: this is what you can expect; we are going to treat you this way, and, if not, then, there is recourse for it.

If the Member has issues with income assistance, if there are service issues, I am always happy to hear them. I have gone to the Member's office, and we have put constituents of his on the phone, and I've heard directly from them. I am happy to do that. If there are enough concerns...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Client service officers undergo quite a bit of training. They participate in statutory training which includes review of the legislation, regulations, policies, code of ethics for income security employees, code of conduct, and service management. They are also trained in certified service professional, mental health, first aid, motivational interviewing, verbal judo, non-violent crisis intervention, and, starting in May 2020, all CSOs and managers will be training in trauma-informed practices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is why I'm excited to get the information out there, because, right now, that's the plan. I don't like to say we're going to get something done regardless of whether we're ready or not. I've seen, when government tries to do that, things don't work out well. There are also legislative changes that need to happen, and that means the Assembly is involved. Right now, that's the plan, 2022. That's temporary, that's during the life of this Assembly, and that is going to lead us toward the creation of the university.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university has been identified as a priority of this Assembly, and we are in the midst of that process. That process calls for the board to be re-established at a point in the near future, a couple of years from now; 2022, right now, is the plan. Before that is going to happen, we'd like to make some changes to the Aurora College Act because, you know, the act isn't quite as arm's-length as one would think. It states that the Minister may give direction to the board respecting the exercise of its powers and...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think the question was about income assistance and whether or not there will a bit of a grace period when someone starts making money. Right now, if you start making money, you get a full-time job and you make too much for income assistance, that means income assistance no longer pays your rent, they do not pay your heating, they do not pay your electricity, you might not have healthcare, and so the Member is pointing out that perhaps that's keeping people from getting and maintaining meaningful employment. Those are discussions I have had with my department. Those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be signing the revocation papers for the statutory appointment of the president of Aurora College. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't have those numbers on hand, but that's a good question, so I will find out, and I will get back to the Member.

I am involved. All of the Members of this House are going to be involved. I've offered a technical briefing to the Standing Committee on Social Development, but we have crazy schedules right now, so we haven't been able to get in front of the committee to show them what we're up to and hear what the feedback is. Further to the expertise that was mentioned earlier, there are people at the college also assisting with this. It's not just some people in Lahm Ridge Tower in downtown Yellowknife. You know, we have people with a lot of experience working on this.

One of the first things that I did...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member bringing this up. It's good to get this type of information out to the public. I know that, when I was a Regular Member, and even now as a Minister, there seems to be difficulty communicating with the people on the ground, with the boards, about the roles and responsibilities and the rights of education authorities.

The policy that the Member is referencing was enacted to ensure that money that is provided by this Assembly for education is spent on education, and it allows for surplus carryover that is either 7 percent of audited revenue or $250...

I thank my colleague. That's why I try and say "colleague" all the time because we're all equal here. There are no promotions. We are all here to represent the public. I am happy to work with the education authorities to find ways to ensure that they can use their funds to deliver education in the best possible way. We also have to look at the fact that the funding from ECE is provided to the education council, and the education council is the one that then distributes it to the education authorities.

There is another level here that we have to look at, and perhaps the way that it's distributed...