Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about a constituent and respected elder who recently passed away this summer, Tommy Kotchea. Tommy was born on July 11, 1937, and was raised in Fort Nelson, B.C., where he met his wife Helen and moved to Sambaa K'e.

Tommy began to work for the RCMP as a special constable at the age of 19. At the time, Tommy was one of the few individuals who was fluent both in Dene Zhatie and the English language. As a result of this, Tommy travelled with the RCMP to do the translations. For 10 years he was the only translator to travel with the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 30: Health Statutes Law Amendment Act (Cremation Services) on August 22nd, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly's building. During its review of this private Member's bill, the committee received one public submission, a letter of support from Ms. Janice McKenna, owner and director of McKenna Funeral Services in Yellowknife. Committee is pleased to support this bill. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 28, Interpretation Act, on August 22, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. The committee received no public submissions on the bill and carried one motion to amend the bill. Overall, the committee is pleased to support the Department of Justice's effort to update and enhance out-dated legislation.

Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act, on August 22, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. The committee received no public submissions on the bill, and carried two motions to amend the bill. Enquiries can be extremely difficult for communities, including families and those fulfilling a civic duty by serving as a juror. Members are pleased that Bill 24 takes concrete steps to lessen that burden. Individual Members may have additional comments or...

I thank the Minister for his help clarifying some of this confusion out there. Again, it is new for some of these new students and, again, some parents who have not had children move out of home, I guess. Can the Minister explain how many trips a student is entitled to during the school year and when these trips are being scheduled?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these past two weeks before attending session I had the opportunity to speak to a number of students returning to school down south and a number of students attending school for the first time. They were all excited about heading off to their new adventure.

I found it interesting, however, some of the students and parents were not well-versed in what they were entitled to receive from Student Financial Assistance as it pertains to travel. With this in mind, Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 29 on the Miscellaneous Statutes Law Amendment Act, 2017 on August 22nd, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. Housekeeping bills such as this ensure that territorial legislation is subject to regular review for consistency and liability. The committee is pleased to support the department's work. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with the consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act, on August 22, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. Although the committee received no public submissions on the bill, the committee is aware that the operations of the Northwest Territories rental office has recently been of interest to our colleagues in the House and to our constituents. We look forward to improvements in the services Northerners receive at the rental office. Individual Members may...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that answer. What I will be doing with these answers is I will actually be putting them in my newsletter and sharing them with the communities out there so that people are better informed. I am not saying that they are not informed from the staff out there, because they are doing a good job, but just sometimes communications get lost in the woodwork.

In looking at students' travel, is the department staff given some flexibility to work with students to help them get down to their chosen school as long as it's within the budget log? In other words...

I thank the Minister for his answer. I do have to agree that SFA is one of the best ones in the world. I was lucky enough to be part of it, as I went to school down south. However, there are some concerns, and there are still some challenges for parents and students to understand this. My next question is: can the Minister explain how the travel is calculated for students outside the regional centres, i.e., some of my small communities?