Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning I heard on the CBC News and I had a phone call yesterday, actually, from a person in Fort Good Hope, that the elders are wondering what happened to their pension cheques. They’ve been waiting for a long time. So I want to ask the Minister responsible for Seniors if he’s aware of this and is he helping the elders in Fort Good Hope to find out what happened to their pension cheques from the federal government.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister responsible for Seniors, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have tracked the situation. We recognize that it’s a federal government issue. We know the Minister and we have provided some information to the MLAs office, but we’re also prepared to make contact with that federal Minister to find out the details of why those cheques were late. Thank you.
The elders in Fort Good Hope are going through this a second time. There’s a glitch in the federal government’s system and I’m glad the Minister is on top of this issue. I want to ask the Minister if he’s working with his colleagues for this situation where some of the elders do not have the money to pay for some of their bills that the territorial government has issued, the power bill or some other bills, the housing bills. So is the Minister helping our elders in Fort Good Hope with the bills that are being poured on them by this government?
Thank you. I’ve not had that discussion with the Minister of Housing as far as any costs that may be coming from the Housing Corp, or had any discussion with the Minister of Education as in income support to carry the pensioners over until their cheques come. What we’ve been doing is trying to find out why they’re late and we’re going to be following up at the request of the MLA, follow up with the appropriate department federally to find out what the issue is with the two months in a row where their cheques are delayed. Thank you.
Thank you. This week is Elder Abuse Week. We should send that message to Ottawa. There’s a glitch in here and elders are taking quite a bit of abuse here. So I want to ask the Minister, is he going to inform his counterparts in Ottawa that enough is enough and that this is the second time, and somehow the elders in Fort Good Hope are going to be reassured that there are other alternatives that can be used to make sure that the elders get their cheques on time. Can the Minister do that?
Thank you. Yes, I’m prepared to call the Health Minister in Ottawa or if she’s in her Iqaluit office, to have this discussion with her. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe we should all go to Ottawa and tell the federal government some of the issues here that are important here to us in the small communities.
Can the Minister tell me if, once he’s made some contact with our MP or the officials or the Minister in Ottawa, that he can inform the people through the chief and council in Fort Good Hope that this issue has been looked after once and for all?
Thank you. Yes, I’m prepared to do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
