Robert Hawkins

Thank you, colleagues, for showing your support of that Minister, I am sure. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to thank the government for taking the initiative of creating this legal aid clinic. I could truly believe that there will be a new functional legal aid clinic that would bring much needed program and progress for our community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank all of my honourable colleagues in this House of consensus government to allow me to finish my earlier comments. Mr. Speaker, I again will continue to speak in favour of this motion. I haven’t changed while I sat down here and thought about it some more. I just want to be quick in respecting the opportunity to speak the second time to finish my statements.

Mr. Speaker, I really believe this territory, if we become a province, won’t be affected by equalization because other provinces still receive equalization formulas and, therefore, we will still financially be...

I don’t need to? Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll be speaking in favour of the motion. I think what my honourable colleague, Mr. Allen, brought forward is an ambitious idea that probably has been dreamt about for many years, since the origin of the Northwest Territories, which goes back several hundreds of years. Mr. Speaker, I truly believe nothing ventured, nothing gained. I think this is an opportunity to fully get this discussion on the table. It may not be realized by Canada through fruition, yet if we don’t ask the question they can’t say no. So by moving forward with this motion, at least we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time I’d like to recognize my constituent assistant’s parents. Although they’re not constituents of mine, they hail from Capreol, Ontario, and they’re here in the Northwest Territories visiting my assistant. Their names are Gerry and Mary Lynn Sorel. Formally, I have to say that I’m not supposed to mention that Julie forgot to pick up them up at the airport, so nobody tell her I said that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk today about the strategic plan of this government presented by the honourable Premier, Mr. Handley, on May 26th. In previous sessions, I presented the issue of legal aid as one of my highest priorities. I repeatedly mentioned there are constituents of mine who have waited over six months to receive assistance. I believe that this period is too long to expect families in crisis to wait. I am pleased that the government agrees with my position. Mr. Handley announced that, during the presentation of the strategic plan, and I quote,...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I’d like to thank the Minister as well. Mr. Speaker, what I am trying to describe here is we have a signed contract where students are supposed to receive 10 payments, but they are receiving nine. They are officially being cut off, and it has been put into writing because technically they are one day short of attendance into the June month period. So they are attending five days, whereas they need to be attending six days to receive any money. So that was the reason they are being cut off from any future payments. Would the Minister commit today to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement I spoke about the NWT student loan agreement that was cut off on short notice. The students that sign these contracts are in real need of financial support, and they count on the money that they are promised by the government. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In what circumstances does he consider it appropriate for his department to change the amount of a student loan agreement, a signed contract, without the student’s knowledge or consent? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week my honourable colleague, Mrs. Jane Groenewegen, spoke about the government’s responsibility to make clients aware of important program rules and criteria changes on a timely basis. It has come to my attention that this is not happening in some cases with the student financial assistance program and that is causing unfair hardship. In one particular case, I am aware that a student has signed a loan, a contract, Mr. Speaker, for 10 monthly instalments of $1,100 to help fund her education. Unfortunately, she has learned two months before the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the willingness, Mr. Minister, I can hear in your voice to address this matter. Mr. Speaker, I guess lastly, does the Minister consider it serious that a signed contract is broken? Does the Minister take that very seriously? Thank you very much.