Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, according to the income assistance regulations, an applicant is required to provide a home address before assistance is granted. So if a person is homeless and does not have a fixed home address, can the Minister confirm if that person will be denied eligibility to receive income assistance? Thank you.
Thank you, member from Dehcho. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know personally of some people who have received income assistance but did not have a fixed address. And so I would like to be able to the Member did mention a couple of people in her community and would like to be able to specifically work on those cases with the Member to see what we can do. Thank you.
Thank you. And thank you to the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, hypothetically, if an individual is living on the land or living off the grid or in a tent outside the municipal boundary of an NWT community, would such an individual be eligible to receive income assistance? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I heard the Member's statement today, and I absolutely agree with the importance of having the opportunity to be out on the land. And so I wanted to assure the Member that an applicant can access income assistance benefits if they are temporary outside of their home community. And this definitely applies to residents that are participating in traditional activities as well. It would be very important, though, that the applicant who intends to go out on the land apply for income assistance before they go away and to notify their client navigator right away so that work on this can be done before they head out on the land. And I think it's also worthwhile to the Member to know as well that client navigators can advance income assistance benefits for up to two months, but it's important that the applicant needs to demonstrate to the client navigator that they will be residing in a remote and inaccessible location for the extended period of time, because it's not a typical thing that's done. Normally, it is a month to month application period for clients who are not part of or won't be part of the seniors and persons with disability bracket. And so there is something that can be done there, but it's important that people come prepared and they act early before they're out on the land in order to be able to set up that arrangement. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Speaker, if an individual who is living off the land due to various circumstances, including with the intent to seek sobriety and improve their life for the better, does the Minister agree that such an individual ought to be entitled to some level of social assistance? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this, I find, relates to the first question as well and I think it's really important to reiterate that people don't need a fixed address in order to be able to access income assistance. For example, we also have people who are living in shelters who access income assistance. And so I absolutely agree that, you know, housing is not a privilege that everybody has at this time and that we need to make sure that we are coming together and working as hard as we can to make sure that there are solutions for residents and that we do what we can. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Dehcho.
thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to looking at whether people that are on income assistance but living outside of the boundary, the community boundary, but living the region, are they still eligible for income assistance? And can they go to a client navigator and still get that information and be able to get the assistance from the income assistance worker? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, if somebody qualifies for income assistance and they do not have a fixed address and they are, you know, living on the land, absolutely go and speak with your client navigator and make sure that you have that conversation with them and that you are able to apply with them. It would, again, be the same response from the first question, which is that absolutely, people can access income assistance outside of their home community. They do not need a fixed address in order to access income assistance, and that if somebody qualifies, I absolutely encourage them to follow up with their client navigator so that we can ensure they have the support that they need. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
