Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Chair. After the bill is passed, the intention is to bring it into force as quickly as possible. So the consultation is planned for this fall.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No, we’ve been quietly letting people know that the expectation of this will be in place this year and once the bill is passed, we’ll make sure it is well publicized amongst students so there is that awareness. There were some students who were running up against that $47,000 limit and we have been letting them know it was in the works and it will be in effect this year.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m advised that the department was aware of the original submission put in by the Construction Association. The intention is to make sure that the definitions are clarified and not substantively changed over what is currently understood by the definitions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We do fairly well on collecting on debts. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment doesn’t directly follow up with people who are having trouble making their payments. We hand them over to FMBS and that’s the collection agency within government. So I can’t speak to how well they resolve that. Judging from what we see in the write-off of debts bills, I don’t think we are doing too badly, given the amount of money we are lending to students. We are always going to wind up with people who run into economic trouble and because of that, we are going to have some...

Thank you, Madam Chair. There will have to be a broad consultative process before the act is brought into force. It will include the trade organizations, employers' organizations, and there will be an opportunity for the public to comment as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, this money could be available for use after a student has gone through the first 12 or eight or whatever semesters they qualify for. But as I said, it could also be available to students who may be single parents that may have higher costs. So it’s available right off the bat, if necessary, to those who have needs.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my left I have Janis Cooper, legislative counsel for the Department of Justice; and on my right, Blair Barbour, who is legislative policy advisor, policy and planning, Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The remissible loan program is something separate from the repayable loan program.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to introduce Bill 14, Employment Standards Act. The purpose of this legislation is to modernize the statutory framework for employment standards in the Northwest Territories. To that end, this bill proposes to replace the Labour Standards Act, the Employment Agencies Act and the Wages Recovery Act with comprehensive legislation for employment standards.

This bill is based primarily on consultation that was conducted with the public in late 2004 by the Department of Justice. The department received feedback from different stakeholders, including GNWT...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my left, I have Ms. Melody McLeod, director of income security, Education, Culture and Employment; on my right is Mr. Ian Rennie, legislative counsel, Department of Justice.