Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are in follow-up to my statement on the Fort Providence Youth Centre, and my questions are to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, Mandate Commitment 2.5.3 says, "We will support opportunities for youth by ensuring effective youth programming, such as the Youth Corps, Youth Contributors, Youth Ambassador Programs, Youth Centres, and Youth Tours." Can the Minister give us a general update on the work his department has done to fulfill this commitment, including the work still yet to come in 2019-2020? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a previous position I held within the public service, I did work as a regional youth and volunteer officer. These programs have always been very well-utilized throughout the Northwest Territories. They continue to be utilized, and we continue to support these programs in all of our regions and all of our communities. We have some very great employees who promote these programs, and I know that the Member did bring up the youth who wanted to do the Youth Centres Initiative. I really appreciate that leadership within the Member's community of Fort Providence when we went through the Detah or Deh Cho tour, our last one. The programs are always utilized to the maximum of their dollars.
Any information that the Member or any Members in the legislative would like to find out about the programs that we have within MACA, we have some very good details on our website, and we would be more than willing to continue to move that forward, as well as looking at our strategy that we are working on, renewing our youth strategy, and sharing that information with all Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has provided funding to staff of the new youth centre until the end of March 2019. How can MACA work with other departments to help the youth centre in Fort Providence?
I guess, right off the bat, I can encourage the Member, encourage the coordinator, anyone who is working on developing programs and services for the youth centre in Fort Providence, to reach out to our regional staff in our Fort Smith office to discuss the options. Our staff will be more than pleased to work with the coordinator, as well as the youth, to develop what kind of programs they would like to see offered in the youth centre and work on developing an application process. I do encourage the Member, as well as the coordinator, to take that as the first step and move on from there.
Municipal and Community Affairs coordinates a number of funding programs that the Minister had made reference to for youth-focused initiatives. What options exist to help the new youth centre in Fort Providence, the operation over the next year and beyond?
We do have a Youth Centres Initiative where youth centres can actually apply for funding up to a maximum of $25,000. As Members know, we have youth centres throughout the Northwest Territories, as well as friendship centres, that can access this funding. It is on a first-come, first-served basis, and we do have a lot of youth centres, so sometimes they don't get that full $25,000. We try to distribute it the best way that we can. We also have a Youth Contributions Program, as well as the NWT Youth Corps Program, that they can look at accessing with the youth centre. The youth in general can look at accessing other programs that we have in departments, but right now, first off, there is just the Youth Centres Initiative.
Like I said, all of that information on programs that we offer through MACA under the youth portfolio, the details are on the website. I encourage anyone who is looking at programs for our youth to visit our website and see what kind of programs we do offer.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, not all youth have access to computers and likely some of them are unable to understand the layers of information that are unloaded on the MACA website. What are the process and deadlines for applications to these funds, if any, and will the Minister commit his interest to ensure that he works with the community to ensure that the operation of the youth centre continues? Mahsi.
As we come to a new fiscal year, coming up April 1st, that is when the applications start arriving to our regional offices. Our regional staff do a good job of getting that information out to all of our partners that work with youth.
In terms of making sure that our youth centres continue to get the funding and support that they need, as I mentioned, we do have a Youth Centres Initiative that we work with our youth centre coordinators, as well as our rec leaders and people in the communities, to make sure that these programs are available for our youth.
Once again, if the funding is already exhausted for this fiscal year, come April 1st, I encourage the Member and the coordinators right across the territory to look at the funding options that we do provide through MACA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
