Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask some questions today of the Minister responsible for Seniors. My first question is: what tasks or responsibilities has the Minister responsible for Seniors been charged with to achieve during the life of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories continue to offer the wage top-up as a permanent program to businesses, providing financial assistance to Northwest Territories workers aged 15 and over and earning less than $18 per hour. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories advance universal childcare by maintaining the additional funding provided during the pandemic to support operational, cleaning costs, employee wage subsidies and food security issues anticipated to be more severe post-COVID. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation retain the policy changes made to the Transitional Rent Supplement Program during the pandemic to continue to improve access and affordability within private market housing until such a time that the Canadian Housing Benefit is operational. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment make permanent the policy changes made to support clients in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to continue to reduce the amount of verification information required to apply for Income Assistance to ensure clients are registered as quickly as possible and automatically assessed for both basic needs and enhanced benefits, to continue with the allowable income exemptions and to increase the annual income limit for unearned income per year on top of the money received from...

Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Though I appreciate that, I know that a lot of GNWT employees were redeployed to help out Protect NWT, and I definitely appreciate that they volunteered for that. I'm wondering, given that there is such a desire for people to find out more information about this, if the Department of Health and Social Services is willing to put this information online so that residents can have easier access to how to go about this process. Thank you.

One of the most common reasons that people reach out for wanting family members to come north is because of compassionate exemptions for childcare. A lot of people are still working, schools are closed, and childcare is very expensive in the Northwest Territories, and so they are looking to have family members come north to provide childcare assistance. I'm just wondering, what is the proper way for people to request these exemptions through the Department of Health and Social Services?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I had a teacher in high school who still lives in town, and he used to always say to us, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I am wondering if the Minister responsible for Seniors would be willing to commit to creating a plan, somewhat of a strategy, one would say, around seniors. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Yes. I just wanted to along the same lines as to where my colleague from Hay River South was heading. I believe that Protect NWT is a piece of our enforcement within the GNWT. If that is where we are driving people when stuff goes wrong or when they have a question or when they have a concern, then Protect NWT is definitely a part of enforcement. I think that right now, while we don't have any active cases of COVID, we don't have community spread, is the time to be streamlining that and the time to be figuring out how to triage Protect NWT better so that we...

I understand that the Minister is very dedicated to his job, but he is one person, so I'm wondering: what kind of fiscal and human resources have been allocated to the Minister to achieve the tasks and responsibilities that he would like to achieve as Minister responsible for Seniors through the life of this Assembly?