Debates of October 25, 2004 (day 27)

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 298-15(3): Status Of The Protected Areas Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to make the case to our federal counterparts that this is a priority and we believe support for development initiatives up and down the valley will hinge on federal support for PAS. I think that’s true. You’ve seen quite a bit of lobbying from ENGOs who believe the federal government has to do more in this regard. So between ourselves and the ENGOs, we continue to press the case to the federal Ministers responsible that this is indeed a priority and this is something that needs to be addressed right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 298-15(3): Status Of The Protected Areas Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister also ensure that the communities along the route who are looking at the Protected Areas Strategy, the communities that are in the land claims, that are following the land claims agreements in terms of the Protected Areas Strategy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 298-15(3): Status Of The Protected Areas Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope I got the nature of the question. The PAS is, in fact, grassroots driven. It’s really up to communities to identify areas that they think are culturally sensitive or natural or cultural areas that they feel are special and indeed need protection. So we rely on communities to identify those and then the various partners in the PAS all combine to make sure that those areas are, in fact, protected from future development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 298-15(3): Status Of The Protected Areas Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason why I say this is that the federal government sometimes puts the squeeze on the communities, you know. There’s a time frame to do some really decent work in terms of the Protected Areas Strategy. So I’m asking the Minister if he could ensure that the Protected Areas Strategy deserves the quality and the work that it presents itself to the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 298-15(3): Status Of The Protected Areas Strategy

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to make the case to the federal government that this is a priority for northerners, and we would acknowledge that although there’s been a lot of good work done by the partners over the past five years and we’re in the fifth year of implementation, we have yet to protect a single area. There are interim areas, there are areas that have been identified for protection, but we haven’t, in fact, done this and we see this as, to date, a failing of the work of both our government and the federal government and the ENGOs. So obviously we have to move forward clearly. We have to fund the strategy, the $17.8 million approximately, and make sure that we actually, in fact, start to protect some of these very sensitive, special, natural and cultural areas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation and it has to do with the housing policy in the last six months or year or so. There were huge debates about this employee market housing policy where the Housing Corporation purchased 22 mobile homes to be placed in small communities in order to make this housing available to employees of government, whether they be teachers or nurses or other professionals. I’d like to know whether or not the corporation has done a review of that and where the Minister is with that. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, the Honourable Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the market housing initiative, we are still in the process of implementing that program. We haven’t concluded the construction or got all the units occupied. Some are occupied, others are not. Until the whole project is completed, we will be developing a review of the overall project. We will hopefully have that report ready by December, or November at the earliest.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Members recall, we had a huge debate in this House in June. There was a lot of urgency there because the corporation felt it needed to meet the barge deadline. Now I’m being told that those units are not in place and this is almost the end of October now. So I’d like to know if the Minister could commit to holding off -- because I think there’s a second phase to this program -- any thought of ordering 22 more of them for next year, until this whole thing is revisited. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, until we complete our review, we can’t make that decision outright right now. We will have to do that review before we determine if we’re continuing on or not.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have it in writing, but I believe the former Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod, almost wrote it in blood that he would not be ordering the 22 new units without a full review of how much of that contract could stay in the North. Could the Minister indicate to me as to whether or not he has the same kind of commitment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Did what? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the whole intent of the review is to take a close look at exactly the overall cost of the project, what the benefits were to the northern economy and also to look at the systems to ensure that if we do continue on that we are able to meet the objectives that were set, which is to look at market housing and provide a needed service for non-market communities. We will have that as part of the report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Just to be clear on the 22 homes that were ordered, could the Minister be more specific about what the problems are? Is it getting the gravel there, or getting the stuff there, or are the people not being able to purchase those homes? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 299-15(3): Review Of Market Housing Initiative

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that’s one of the reasons we have to complete this report, is because we did have some logistical problems by way of transportation, barging, looking at sites for these units, gravel was a problem in some communities, and power hookup. Because of the timing of this contract going out, we also weren’t able to meet the timelines that we were looking at. So it’s been moved ahead. With that, we are going to look at the overall project itself to see exactly the hiccups that we did have so we could avoid them in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Honourable Charles Dent, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Last week in the Assembly I raised the issue of student financial assistance and how some students mid-year don’t receive transcripts and then later on find out that they didn’t pass the proper caseload during the first semester and are sometimes required to pay back some very substantial amounts of money. Mr. Speaker, since then I’ve had occasion to ponder a few more questions about that. When the Minister was responding to me he referred to the percentages of 60 percent and 75 percent and how there had been changes recently in the policy. I was wondering if the Minister could elaborate on that, for starters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the difference is that until this year there was a requirement for students in third and fourth and fifth and sixth and so on years to carry a course load that was equivalent to 75 percent of a full load in order to qualify for Student Financial Assistance. We have this year instituted moving up one year at a time a 60 percent requirement for attendance. So a student who started this year in first year will be able to carry that requirement for a 60 percent course load through until the end of their schooling. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that is probably a very good change in the fact that it’s challenging sometimes for students to carry a 75 percent course load and then have any time for working or means of supporting themselves, or perhaps they’re parents and they have family responsibilities. I think it’s a good thing. What precipitated the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to make this change? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it was a change that I had wanted to see made for some time and we had some evidence that students, in spite of being warned that there was a requirement for 75 percent success, or success in 75 percent of a full course load, that they weren’t all aware of it. So the transition from first and second year to subsequent years was not going as well for some students as had been hoped. In order to make it more likely that students would be successful, I directed the department to come forward with this change. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is any of the money that we use for student financial assistance directly funded for that purpose through the federal government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we opted out of the Canada Student Loan Program, we get about $1 million a year from Canada in order to be able to carry on with the program in a similar fashion for people who would not qualify for our Student Financial Assistance. We put millions more into the program on its own, but we do make sure that the program matches at least what the Canadian program is and we do collect some money from Canada, but we get it as a contribution towards our program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a result of that contribution from Canada, are there any stipulations put on our program in terms of…I’m thinking of this 75 percent rule because, Mr. Speaker, it’s come to my attention that in fact the federal government through other programs that they offer, Student Financial Assistance has never required a 75 percent case load and I want to know, in the contract or in the contribution agreement for the $1 million we get from Canada was there not a stipulation in there with respect to the amount of course load in passing that needed to be required to receive that money? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 300-15(3): Course Load Requirement For Student Financial Assistance

Mr. Speaker, as I’ve said, we’ve opted out of the Canada Student Loan Program, so we don’t maintain the exact standards of that program. The federal government has agreed to contribute, because our program, in general, is better than the federal program. So I don’t believe there was that sort of stipulation in any agreement for the contribution, no.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Charles Dent. I’d like to start off by saying that last Friday I started some questions saying that the department and the Minister were non-responsive to some questions I had. They were responsive, Mr. Speaker, but maybe just not with the answers I was looking for. I’d like to apologize to the Minister if I upset him with the questioning.

---Laughter

The question I have today for the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is last week I talked about a list targeting employees at the North Slave Correctional Centre and I’m just wondering if there is no list, then why are we paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in wrongful dismissal suits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll rephrase the question. Why are we paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in wrongful dismissal suits? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 301-15-15(3): Wrongful Dismissal Suits In Corrections Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t confirm that we are paying that much money. If there are monies that are being paid out for wrongful dismissal, it’s because it’s been found that the process that was followed was not acceptable and, therefore, damages would be awarded in that case. I don’t believe that there are that many cases that have taken place and, as I’ve said many times in this House, we’ve launched an independent review of human resource practices in the Department of Justice, specifically the area of corrections, from all of our facilities from Inuvik to Fort Smith, to review whether or not there is a systemic problem. I do not know that there is one. We will have the answer to that within a couple of weeks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 301-15-15(3): Wrongful Dismissal Suits In Corrections Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I find it difficult to imagine that the Minister is unaware of what’s happening in his department in terms of wrongful dismissal suits. I would also like to know what measures are currently underway to get the amount of overtime being paid out at North Slave Correctional Centre under control. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.