Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Income Support is a program that the government delivers and it’s targeted for the less fortunate. Usually it’s in the unfortunate circumstances that people find themselves in that they require assistance. So my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
We’re delivering the productive choices program. What is the process to ensure that host organizations have the desire and the capacity to deal effectively with clients? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the productive choices within the income security division is to provide options for those individuals that are accessing income support. A part of that is by way of productive choices. We are trying to help them and assist them in opening doors for them to better their lives in the future, whether it be workforce development or training. Some of the productive choices, of course, are casual employment, education, there’s also career training, planning, attending wellness programs, parenting a young child, caring for a disabled adult dependent and volunteering. So those are just some of the areas that we want them to engage in, the community, the organizations, so at least they can get their foot in the door with opportunities that may be available to them. Mahsi.
Thank you. I don’t believe I got an answer to the question that I asked. In communities we have limited office spaces. So you’re very fortunate if you go on the productive choices and you work in an office, but most of the time you have to take your productive choices outside. That means you have to do some outdoor work. Most of the time people that have to have productive choices, there are volunteer hours that they have to amass. Some of them, unfortunately, have to go on people’s roofs shovelling snow sometimes and at this time of the year it’s usually picking garbage. So what type of oversight or evaluation is taking place to ensure a productive choices placement is favourable for both clients and the organizations hosting them? Mahsi.
The productive choices, again, we work with the organizations, the corporations and the community to satisfy their needs as well. Those individuals are employable, ready to work and should be out there doing productive choices whether it be on a volunteering basis. I realize that from the small community perspective there may not be huge opportunities to do those productive choices, but we’re working with wellness programming and other programs in the community. So from time to time we do evaluate our productive choices and we’ve made some changes. In 2014 we made some changes. We added wellness programming. So as we move forward, this is a part of the Auditor General’s recommendations that we need to enhance our productive choices and that’s what we’re doing. Mahsi.
I think the point of my question is that, as an example, if someone has to do productive choices, say for their band council or maybe for the hamlet council or maybe for the Metis council, and they’re forced to go on somebody’s roof and they’re shovelling snow and they fall off the roof, who’s liable? That’s the point of my question. I don’t think I got a very confident answer that tells me a…(inaudible)…local organizations that have to take on these responsibilities that they’re covered, and I’m not getting an answer from the Minister.
On the same topic, why are client service officers allowed so much discretion and so much power in administering productive choices placements? How does the government prevent unfair or inconsistent treatment from one client to the next?
Client service officers are there to implement the regulations and the legislation that we pass through this House, and we provide the guidance to them, the direction that they have to follow, the legislation and the rules and regulations that are in place that we have established for them. We are trying to be fair to each and every client service clientele out in the communities, the 33 communities that we service. We have client service officers in most of the communities, and the regional centres assist with those that may not have it. We’re doing what we can in the income security division to assist those individuals. This is intended to be short term. It’s not a long-term subsidy program. We’re trying to get them to productive choices or enter the workforce or training program or such opportunities that may exist.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems like the Minister and the department are taking a top-heavy approach, and if you have a top-heavy approach in terms of a system, the small person that’s involved with income support, you know, sometimes they experience a system that, again, does not make their work with income support very good. But I’m encouraged. The Minister has indicated they have evaluated the program before and they have made some changes. I would like to get a commitment from the Minister, if he agrees, that changes to the productive choices are needed.
I don’t see this as a top-heavy approach. I don’t believe in that. I believe in working together. I met with the client service officers, most of them, just a couple months ago, to share their perspectives, coming from a small community perspective, working with the chiefs and working with the council members, community members. As I stated, in 2014 we made changes. The wellness is part of it now and we will continue to make those changes. All those recommendations, ideas and suggestions that are coming to my office, certainly consider those part of the changes.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
