Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am joining in with my colleagues to speak about income assistance services in the NWT. Mr. Speaker, since becoming an MLA, my understanding of social programs and services, like income assistance, has continued to evolve. I have learned through discussions with my colleagues that what I think may be appropriate for Yellowknife residents may not be appropriate or perhaps applicable to other communities or regions. For example, what I think might be a good idea and could really work for folks living in Yellowknife might not work the same way or at all for folks who are living in the Mackenzie Delta or the Tlicho.
I'm excited for my colleagues to have the opportunity tomorrow to hear from Karl Widerquist, who is an expert on basic income. As I have stated before in this House, I believe a guaranteed basic income could be an exciting approach for our territory.
Mr. Speaker, I've said previously that the current structure and function of our income assistance system is paternalistic in nature. I would also add that it is colonial in nature because it makes people dependent on the program and disincentivizes participation in the labour force.
This brings me to my next point, Mr. Speaker, which is the general lack of meaningful work opportunities that are available in small communities and regional centres compared to what is available in Yellowknife. This situation further complicates the inherent issues with income assistance and entrenches people within that system without any other options available to them. We must also consider that there are some people who may have little to no desire to participate in the daytoday wage economy and would much prefer to primarily participate in a traditional economy instead.
Overall, Mr. Speaker, at the core I believe the GNWT's social programs need to be reexamined and restructured so operationally they function to properly meet the needs of the people and work to meet residents where they're at and properly address what they need. I think it's important that we consider looking at income assistance from the lens of appropriately tailoring what the program needs to look like in the context of a regionbased or communitybased way. I will have questions later for the Minister of ECE. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
