Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was very excited with the recent youth forum that we had in Fort Providence. It brought together the leaders and youth of Fort Providence. My question is to the Minister for the Homelessness and Youth.
Could the Minister explain the kinds of programs, funding and resources for youth that his department could deliver and that’s available for communities that may want to work with the youth.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through MACA we deliver a large number of programs and we have funding for many youth initiatives. We went through the numbers during the debate on the budget back in February or March. The youth centre funding program is one of them. We do support some youth centres. We have a lot of youth initiatives. There is a long list. I could compile a list and provide it or even table it in this House as to the number of programs we have for the youth and the amount of money that we allocate to these programs.
I’d like to thank the Minister. I’d be very interested in having a list of the programs that are available for youth initiatives in the community. One primary finding of the discussions that were held recently in Fort Providence was the need to follow up with the meeting to try and identify the next steps. The other thing that was recognized and acknowledged by the leaders is that we need to work with our youth in terms of leadership development, showing them how we make decisions, role modeling and that kind of stuff.
How is the Minister ensuring that youth leadership development is a priority of local communities? Mahsi.
Thank you. This government takes the future of the youth quite seriously. With the Youth Parliament they have every second year, it gives them an opportunity to see how we work here. As well, through Municipal and Community Affairs we have the Youth Ambassador Program, which is actually an excellent program and every opportunity I have to speak on it is most welcome, but we just had a recent intake. So we’re in the process of having intake now. We get applications from youth, I believe, from 17 to 24 across the Northwest Territories, and they have an excellent opportunity to broaden their horizon. I believe this next group that’s coming in may have an opportunity to be part of the Pan American Games that are taking part in Toronto next year, as well as the Aboriginal Games. This past group took part, they were actually volunteers in the Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks; they were part of the volunteer team. So there’s a lot of opportunities there to help youth build their leadership abilities. Thank you.
Thank you. When we did have the forum, I think everybody was there, the local leadership, the youth, the agencies, and the only missing element at the time was a representative perhaps from MACA, maybe even the Minister was absent. So I’ll give him an opportunity to make up for his absence and ask him how will his department be prepared to assist the leaders and the youth of Fort Providence in trying to follow up on this meeting and identify the next steps in trying to advance the working relationship between the leadership and the youth? Mahsi.
Thank you. We welcome any opportunity that we have to interact with the youth and hear their opinions. I don’t know if I was aware of the event that was taking place in Fort Providence. Perhaps if the MLA had invited me I would have gone.
---Laughter
So I'll put some of the blame back on the Member. We welcome any opportunity we have to work with the youth. We have an excellent team over at MACA that works with youth and they’re all over the place, all parts of the Northwest Territories working with the youth. So we welcome any opportunity, and if there’s an opportunity for me to meet with the youth in Fort Providence in the future, the MLA can let me know and I will be sure that I’m there. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think what the community has done is taken the initiative of trying to bring the leadership and the youth together at the local level, and there’s a need for resources and program-wise and funding and trying to work with the youth.
The last Assembly, the 16th Assembly had a Youth Forum. Would the Minister ensure that we do have a pan-territorial youth forum for the end of the 17th Assembly? Mahsi.
Thank you. The one in the 16th Assembly was the initiative of the then Premier, but it was a very valuable tool, because I took part in that and I think one of the other Members in his former life had taken part in that too. It was an excellent opportunity to gather with the youth from across the Northwest Territories and get their views on a lot of different issues that are facing the Northwest Territories. So I will commit to the Member that this is an initiative that I’ll work with the department to have a look at and I’ll work with my colleagues to see if there’s a possibility we could pull something like this together, especially in event of the Youth Parliament not going ahead this year because of the Elders Parliament. This might be a good opportunity to gather the youth and have their input on issues facing the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
