George Nerysoo

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give me and this House the number of employees who are directly impacted by the closure of the community learning centres? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for all that information. That's real good news to hear that money has been allocated. There's another barrier that, you know, that we have to look at policies and procedures that will go hand in hand with these committees if they're established at the community level. Will the department look at assisting these communities with policies and procedures in order to make this committee work effectively? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The smaller communities are struggling with the lack of resources that are available to them in order to better their lifestyles. We have individuals who have expressed interest in abstaining from the use of alcohol and/or drugs, but they have to leave their communities to get counselling services to start the process. Most of the residents do not want to confide in someone that they do not know.

Mr. Speaker, the wealth of resources is within the community where the individual lives mainly because everyone knows each other, and they know where to seek help at a moment's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are there any active committees like that are actively working in to helping their residents of these small communities that we can learn from that are active within the NWT at the present time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Will the department consider funding willing communities to establish a working committee to counsel potential individuals who would like to enter the substance abuse program? At the present time, the interested individuals who want to go for treatment have to seek counselling elsewhere, so they have to leave the community. And the community members know best who need the help, and they know each other. So will the department consider funding potential communities with these committees? Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about the struggles of the young people of my riding from Mackenzie Delta. With the recent announcement of closures of the community learning centres and the level of education that our students are receiving at the present time, we see no real future for the younger generation of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the Indigenous people of my riding are among the highest percentage of the income support program - 15 percent. This program is not doing justice to the individuals who are introduced to this program. I believe this program was...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will support this motion based on the concerns during the election. Many constituents brought forth concerns about the health care within the Northwest Territories, within the smaller communities with lack of staff. We put up with these concerns every day. Every day when I'm back home, even when I'm here, I'm getting calls with the concerns saying that, you know, why is this happening? Why is that happening in our -- in this time of the day when we should be advocating and looking after our residents of our communities. Our smaller communities are ones that are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good news to hear that they've been communicating with the Indigenous governments. Can the Minister say whether MACA and its staff have held any other public meetings to engage the public prior to implementing their new funding policy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The municipal funding gap has been an issue for our communities for quite some time. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs conducted a review of its policies in 2014 which reveals significant disparity between funding levels across community governments. Mr. Speaker, ten years later, they are now working to fix this.

The department is rolling out a three-year phase plan, and the changes in allocation are expected to be implemented in the next fiscal year. But I'm worried the government's plan will not work. By their own admission, our smallest communities...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In order to be productive in our society today, we have to be healthy. In order to be healthy, we have to have homes. And right now, I don't feel that this government is reaching out to the people of the Northwest Territories saying that we are going to prioritize what you wanted. During our elections, I've heard numerous times, every house I went to, you know, they showed me the condition of their houses. Some people were walking around because they didn't have houses. And that's what they wanted. They have children that's walking with them, they're going to a friend's...