Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment getting back to my Member’s statement where I talked about a 31-year-old mother of four children, aged six to 14, who is having her living allowance for SFA cut back from $1,550 a month to $1,040 a month. She also has been informed by the SFA caseworker that she is only eligible for another year. She is going to hit the $60,000 cap. The reason she’s going to hit this $60,000 cap is because she has four kids and she’s getting a living allowance which is just over twice what a single student would get. It amounts to a discriminatory practice by the department and SFA when it works against somebody for having children. I’d like to ask the Minister if this, in fact, is a reality and how we’re going to fix that.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are aware of the situation and the only way we can review and make some possible changes is through the review of SFA that will currently be underway in September of this year, and completion we’re hoping for next year.
This individual is into her second year, and the following year will be third year. We’re aware of the situation and we want to do what we can to support all students in the Northwest Territories.
The cap is there -- $60,000 -- and the policy states that, and it’s fair to all the students across the board as well. We are aware, again, and SFA is currently under review, so the changes will definitely be coming. It will be the voices of the students, because we are reaching out to the students, and that particular student will have a voice in the system as well.
During the review period, which the Minister says might take up until next fall, I’m just wondering if the government is going to have any provision that would see students in the situation that I outlined earlier that would protect students from undue hardship. Especially those with, you know, I said four children, so that they aren’t faced with hardships and they’re not getting their living allowance reduced while the department and the government is out there reviewing SFA. I think we should put some provisions in place that can maintain living allowances until the review is done so that students aren’t faced with those types of hardships.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment works with all students. I know some students are struggling with their daily living allowance. That’s the very reason we are reviewing the SFA program. The current policy exists today that we have to follow. We cannot break the policy as it stands. We can amend that policy.
As we conduct the overall review and see the results of the recommendations in due time, we can make those changes. In the current time we’ll continue to work with the student and other students, as well, where they can access other potential funding that may be available to them.
I thank the Minister for that. I know the Minister; his intentions are good and I know his office is trying to work out a solution for this student that I’m talking about, this mother of four who is encountering problems. The Minister talked about the review and I just want to get some assurance from the Minister and the government that the SFA review that’s going to be started this fall is going to be finished in time for next calendar school year so that we’re not going to affect the next two school years. If it doesn’t come in until October next year, the students that are in the situations like this are going to be impacted not only this year but next year. Can we get some assurances from the Minister that the review of SFA will be done in time for next school year, which would be next fall?
The only assurance I can give is that’s our goal as a department, to complete the overall review by early next year; for next school year, if that’s possible. That is our goal. I cannot guarantee that it will be done before next school year, but our department will do what it can to reach out to the students, the parents, the public, to hear their perspective. In order to make those changes, we want to reflect on all the needs that will be addressed. Definitely that’s our goal.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear what the Minister is saying. Again, there aren’t any guarantees here. I appreciate the fact that they want to talk to students. They want to talk to anybody that’s interested in SFA, including Regular Members of this House I think should be heavily consulted on that. In the dealings we have with our constituents, I think we can’t leave any students out of this equation. While we’re studying this, we can’t afford to let it drag on. I think we need to get some assurances from the government that we are going to take a set amount of time and get the review done so that it’s not going to have a negative impact on students that are out there awaiting this review to be conducted. I think the Minister said there was a bit of a commitment there, but he wouldn’t quite commit. I think we need a firm commitment that the work will get done by early next year so that it won’t impact the following school year.
All I can say at this point is the work will get done next year. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
