Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two constituents of mine: Alizette Lockhart, who received a Wise Women Award, and Theresa Dolly Simon from Fort Resolution. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s not very often I get visitors in the gallery so I’d like to welcome Ms. Sylvia Nadli, the award winner for the Wise Women Award for this year. It’s her first time at the Legislative Assembly so I’d like to say welcome and to have safe travels home. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to welcome Charlie and Ann Kasook from Inuvik. I’d like to also congratulate Ann for this Wise Women Award. And my good friend, Baba Pedersen’s mom, Ms. Lena Pedersen. Welcome to the House. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome my constituents to this House: Charlie and Ann Kasook, and as was recognized earlier, Ann’s commitment to our community. I can remember a long time ago, it seems like almost 15, close to 16 years ago, some of my first meetings, Ann called me in to talk about the transition house and the help they needed. So keep up the good work and thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Lena Pedersen one more time. She is a resident of the Great Slave riding as well as the recipient of the Wise Women Award. I would like to thank Lena and all the other recipients of the award. Their contributions are certainly acknowledged and appreciated. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. It is always nice to have an audience in here.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement in terms of the recognition for trappers in the Sahtu and the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister of ITI what progress or update can he provide to the House with providing small harvesting foods in our stores. I know we had some discussion before as to harvesters harvesting their wildlife foods and bringing them into the stores for people to purchase them.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Traditional economy is a very important part in the Northwest Territories. The value that we have placed on country foods if we had to replace it with store-bought foods, we attributed it to be about $30 million, so it is a very important part of our economy.
For several years now we have been trying to establish what we call a red meat market. Over the years we have had difficulties because of the federal agriculture and inspection requirements. What we are endeavouring to do this year, and with our budget approved we are going to spend in the neighbourhood of $300,000 to do exactly that, find local markets for country food and for local fish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in helping to find the local markets for country food and fish, has the Minister identified areas that could have this red meat market a project going on such as the Sahtu or any other communities that support trapping and fishing in their area?
Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of identifying those areas. We have received federal funding as part of our Growing Forward initiative which would look at things like muskox, wood bison and, of course, Great Bear Lake obviously has a lot of fish, so those are the areas that we would be looking at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, has the Minister looked at some of the fish up there in the Sahtu such as Great Bear Lake or any other fish areas such as Colville Lake where most of the economy is trapping and harvesting for the local residents there in my region where there is a pretty good percentage of harvesters and trappers that see this as a lifestyle for them?
Mr. Speaker, we are looking at locally produced food, and obviously fish is one of the foods that are available in every community. It is a matter of harvesting and distribution. We will be looking at those areas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has his department also looked at providing some of these foods into our institutions such as the Stanton Hospital or Beaufort-Delta and up in the Inuvik Hospital for some of their patients that often cry for traditional foods once they get into the hospitals? They certainly look for something like that. It would help them with their recovery and health.
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are intending to do, to work with the institutions and the government and so on. Most of them have started already and we want to maximize that kind of food. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. The federal government, through HRSDC, the names of which I can never remember, but Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, I think, offers funding through a program called Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities. In 2008 -- that is the latest date for which I found figures -- the program offered over $218 million to the 13 Canadian jurisdictions. Of that money, which is now currently expired, the NWT didn’t get any. I would like to ask the Minister whether or not he is aware of this federal program. In my mind, it is free money which would have enabled the GNWT to advance the employment of persons with disabilities. Why did the GNWT not negotiate a labour market agreement for persons with disabilities when we had the chance? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Labour market agreements are generally negotiated through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. As far as the $218 million, I was not aware of it. I would have to check as to why the government did not apply. Typically, these federal programs are not available outside of the provinces, so I would think that would probably be the reason. We haven’t accessed it because it is probably not available to our Territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I would appreciate anything he can discover as to why we did not take advantage of this. I believe that there were other jurisdictions that were not provinces that did. I could be corrected on that.
Another program which is not yet expired is a labour market agreement. The Yukon last year negotiated some $218,000 worth of funding. Some of it, not all of it, because labour market agreement in this case was for sort of all employment, but some of it was specifically earmarked for the Yukon Council on Disability. I know that the Minister of HR has been talking with that group in terms of their work on getting more disabled persons employed. I would like to know, since this program has not yet expired, if the Minister has considered accessing funding under this labour market agreement to specifically assist people with disabilities. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as a government, we are not averse to incorporating the best practices that are out there. That was the reason we approached the Yukon government, because they are seen as having one of the best diversity programs. I would expect that we would have been aware of that program. I will find out where we are at in terms of applying for money through that program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I look forward to getting that information. I found another opportunity for free money. Well, it is matching dollars, but it is half free anyway. This is a federal program called Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. It offers some $30 million to provinces and territories. I know it is a federal program, but I would like to know whether the Department of HR has ever taken any action to assist employers, individuals or organizations who have persons with disabilities to assist them to access this funding to increase PWD employment. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe that we have been doing or promoting the work of the federal government, but this is an area that certainly we can look into. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would hope that the Minister would take advantage of any funding that we have available that would increase the employment of persons with disabilities within our workforce. I would hope that he would look into this program.
The Yukon has a program called the Yukon Disability Employment Strategy. What are we doing that is similar to that kind of a strategy? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we have met with the Yukon and we are basically following the approach that the Yukon government has taken. We are developing a disabilities framework that we will be rolling out this coming year and as well as any programs that we can access money, we will be sure to pursue it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was regarding the Paulatuk housing situation we’re having over there with the evictions that have been taking place. We had four evicted already, Mr. Speaker. I was talking to the mayor this morning and he said there are eight more families supposedly on the list.
Mr. Speaker, I’m asking the Minister, will the Minister order that any evictions now that are in the works for Paulatuk be stopped in their tracks until we can deal with the issue out of the Inuvik office? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is concern with the amount of arrears that are out in Paulatuk. It’s not something that they just decided that they were going to do. This was a long process that they followed to get to the eviction process. I’m not quite sure if it’s a court ordered or rental officer ordered eviction. I’d have to follow up on that. The local housing organization up there does have policies that it goes by and people are given ample opportunity to come in and try to work out a repayment plan. I have to say, Mr. Speaker, that Paulatuk, for the number of units it’s got, has the highest average of arrears in the Northwest Territories, in around $34,000 per unit. So it is obviously an issue up there and it’s one that we have to deal with as a corporation, but more importantly, the residents of Paulatuk have to deal with. Thank you.
Thank you. The biggest problem is when in 2006 ECE took this program over, all the arrears that all built up. Now that Housing is taking it back they’re seeing fit to try to get the money back, which I’m in full agreement with. The Minister always says, you know, sweat equity, everybody has to pay, and I agree with that. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to me in regard to coming back to the community of Paulatuk himself to sit down with the leaders to keep the current tenants in their homes? Thank you.
Thank you. One of the plans that I would come up with to keep the tenants in their home is to pay their rent, or work out a repayment plan, which most LHOs have shown that they’re willing to do as far as helping those folks that may have accumulated some arrears during the time ECE was doing the assessments. But I can tell the Minister that of all the units in Paulatuk, there’s only three people that haven’t come back to get their reassessments done for that particular time and their actual assessment that they’re getting done in Paulatuk now is up to almost 100 percent, whereas before it was, like, 65 percent when ECE was doing the assessments. So there has been a great improvement there on the people getting their assessments done. Like I said, there was only three that needed to get their reassessments done. Thank you.
The assessments that are being done, in regard to the assessment, the people that are going into the corporation, some of them not wanting to go there because of certain staff, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister follow up with the officials at Housing to make sure the housing arrangements are made with the tenants of Paulatuk who are in danger of eviction? Thank you.
Thank you. In my meeting when I was up in Paulatuk, I did hear some concerns about the LHO up there. We have some new folks in there that are actually following the policy as it’s laid out and now they’re starting to make some headway as far as trying to get rent arrears taken care of, but I understand the people’s concern up there and I did say that I’d be talking to the district office about it. But again, the folks in Paulatuk, and anyone else out there that are in arrears, have to realize that there is an opportunity for them to come back to the LHOs, get their reassessments done, confirm their income, and adjustments will be made. It’s been shown in the past that this could happen and I’m sure if there were adjustments that could be made in Paulatuk, they will be made. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Short supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I’m asking the Minister, Mr. Speaker, that if we could stop all the evictions that are taking place now until they get the families to go in and get a repayment plan done and work together to keep the people in their homes instead of having the houses sitting there empty and being able to keep families in their homes and not causing grief to the family in regard to having to move into other families’ houses. There are not too many houses in Paulatuk, Mr. Speaker. There’s nowhere to go. So I’m asking if the Minister could commit to me today to stop the evictions until we can get in there and get a repayment plan for those families that are on the eviction list. Thank you.
Thank you. The residents had ample opportunity, as I said before, to work out a repayment plan, and not knowing what state we’re at right now, if it’s a rental office ordered eviction, I would have to follow up and be in contact with the Member as to the status of some of these evictions. So I’m not sure if they’re court ordered evictions. I’d have to follow up on that.
Again, I say, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation is not in the business of evicting people, we’re in the business of trying to house people. We’ll do our part in making sure that happens, but they also have to do their part to make sure they don’t put us in a position where we’re left with no other choice but to follow through with the termination and the eviction process. But I will commit to the Member that I’ll follow up and I’ll see what stage we’re at and I will be in contact with the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement today, I continue to raise concern about how conservative this government continues to be and leans towards stepping forward with government-appropriate legislation to protect people. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what rules and regulations are out there that are in place at this moment to stop someone from calling themselves a massage therapist or a naturopath therapist. Thank you.
