Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I doubt that the benefit is $100,000. It is a very old building that we are talking about. The cost of utilities is probably a lot higher than what would be the case in a more modern facility. That facility is operated out of that building since far before my term as Minister. It is a situation that has developed over time where this one operator was in a facility. The government had a spare facility at the time and offered it to a non-profit organization to run a day care out of. In the intervening years, there have been a number of other operators...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have already committed to Mr. Ramsay that I will examine the situation. To put everybody on the same footing means that everybody gets the same subsidy. I only have a certain number of dollars to work with, so that may impact on what we can provide everybody. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As of April 1st there will be no change in rents for people in social housing. So those people who are in social housing as of April 1st, 2006, will see absolutely no change. However, the whole income security policy is under review and we expect by sometime later this year to come forward to the Legislative Assembly with some changes that are proposed to the policy. It would be premature, at this point, to say what those changes might be, or where the impacts might be.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the people I was talking about who are secure...There are more than 1,300 clients of the NWT Housing Corporation right now who are not on income support. So they're, obviously, in a fairly stable situation. They have salaries and in a situation where their subsidy doesn't change that much from month to month. In terms of back-up plans, just as we do now with people who need income support, we'll have to make sure that there are alternatives in communities to make sure that the service is delivered, just as we need to make sure that people have money to buy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will endeavour to look at whether or not I can move things around in my schedule to accomplish that. I do have some other travel plans, but if it’s possible I would be happy to join the Member on that occasion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had not planned on travelling to Ulukhaktok…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to say that we would follow up on that recommendation. We already provide schools with some direction for emergency response in a whole range of situations. It is my intention to share that with Members of this Assembly, so you can see how we are doing that currently. We are looking at expanding it to include specific references to anaphylaxis and how to deal with those instances. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the urgency of dealing with this situation, and the Member raised the issue with us last fall. Since that time, the assistant deputy minister has written to all superintendents, urging the superintendents to ensure that they have a clear policy developed to deal with issues around anaphylaxis and to make sure that there is a policy in place at all of our schools. So we don’t have policies in place at this point, but schools have been asked to develop those now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There’s been no secret that Education, Culture and Employment has embarked on a review of income security programs. I made statements on that in the last session. We have been very upfront about it. We have a process of consultation that’s taking place all across the Northwest Territories right now. In that whole process, we’re reviewing all of our income security programs. So it’s not just one program; it’s all of them. We haven’t got any plans yet for changes. What we’re doing is looking at them, talking to people, asking for advice as to where people think...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As with all programs of the government, there is an appeals process. If somebody finds that they haven't an opportunity to meet the program requirements adequately, they can appeal the decision and ask that it be reapplied. The same process will apply here.