Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was regarding the income support cheques and why are the cheques declining in the amounts. People have been noticing the department changing the way cheques are delivered, the amounts are going down. What makes the situation worse is the amount has gone down more than once this past year. People are concerned with the uncertainty. They are wondering if their cheques will go down the next time.
Mr. Speaker, will the government provide community governments with a plain language summary of why residents’ income support cheques have been declining? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the issuance of monthly cheques, it could vary in various circumstances where individuals may not have provided enough information such as a tax return or a tax refund, whether it be a source of income has changed or there has been a deposit into their bank account without informing the client service officers. So there are all these areas attached to the information providing.
Certainly we can have our staff do an informal or formal presentation to community government if that needs to happen. We certainly want community members to be aware of the programs that are available to them. If there are issues, then we need to highlight those issues. One of the challenges is those clients need to provide as much information in a timely fashion or else there are going to be challenges like we are faced with today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, will this government re-evaluate the way income support cheques are distributed and how various government departments deal with their residents in smaller remote communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are always re-evaluating our program to make it successful into the communities, especially the most isolated communities. Certainly we can take on the task. We need to find out what is truly happening in the communities. Like I said, we have our client service officers or on-duty client service officers that do their work. At the same time, sometimes it is out of our hands where not enough or a lack of information has been provided, so that creates more frustration for clientele. At the same time, they have to come with the full information. So certainly we can do our part and meet with the community. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, given that the government currently administers income support, it is not working. Given that the people, especially in our smaller remote communities, are suffering, will this government commit to immediate changes proposed by the communities and MLAs so people don’t have to suffer anymore, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is referring to a generic area of challenges. We need to find out the root cause. What is the real issue? Like I said, it could be the lack of information being provided. That is always the case, Mr. Speaker, dealing with client service officers. Concerns come in. It is almost always, 80 to 90 percent of the time, that not enough information has been provided. I think that we need to strengthen that area. Certainly that would be our clear message to the communities when we visit the community. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Speaker, we ask for too much information sometimes. The people are suffering in the communities, Mr. Speaker. I brought this up for the last two years I have been here, that people need help. Too much information in regards to the way this program has been run. They should get out to the communities sooner than later, hopefully before Christmas by the time we come back for meetings. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister needs help doing it, I am here to help him. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. I’m not sure I heard a question there. Mr. Lafferty, do you want to respond?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member is there for me as well to assist me. I think we need to collaborate on this, because I don’t have all the answers. I certainly don’t know exactly what is happening on a day-to-day basis in the Member’s riding. Certainly that information will be available for our department. Certainly I will look forward to working with that. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
