Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have a competitive compensation program for our employees in the Northwest Territories and I think that part of the problem is that perhaps people have been coming here without an understanding of what the costs are to live in some of our communities. I believe the salary compensates people fairly for the cost of living, as does our northern living allowance. The programs such as the one offered by the Housing Corporation for market rental housing is certainly making sure that housing is available at a reasonable rent in communities. I’m...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Not that I’m aware of, but perhaps we could ask the Minister of Transportation if he could respond to the question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The answer is absolutely. The role of a court worker is to look for situations that require the case to be put up to Territorial Court, at which time a Legal Aid lawyer would appear. But in any case, even in front of a JP, if it’s a show cause hearing, Legal Aid will provide a lawyer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll refer that question to the Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, once you owe the money, you owe the money. So that money is not going to be forgiven, it will have to be recovered. FMBS is not going to forgive it either. The student will have to pay that money back because it represents monies that were paid out that they should not have received in the first place. So that becomes a debt to the government which is going to be recovered. FMBS has demonstrated on numerous occasions that they are willing to be very flexible with people who owe this government money when they’re involved in programs to better themselves or making...

No, I don’t have anything to add, Mr. Chair. The Minister has outlined the situation. On this issue, I don’t think we can take too lightly the issue of terrorism. That is what this is all in response to. We have been ordered to take certain actions at this airport in order to protect the Canadian air transport system from terrorist attacks. The responsible course of action is to follow through and do what is required. The experts have looked at our airport and said this is what you require, have them placed there in order to tie into the national airport system. It is unfortunate that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when a person is enrolled in an approved institution, they are not required to make payments on the student loan as long as they are considered full-time under the typical requirements of the NWT Student Financial Assistance program. So if a person makes arrangements to continue on their schooling at their own expense, they would not be expected to repay the student loans, for instance, in the subsequent year. If, however, they haven’t made arrangements quickly enough, then the debt has been transferred to FMBS. Then Education, Culture and Employment...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, yesterday I think I told this committee that, for the foreseeable future, the passenger terminal building would stay where it is, that’s why the money is being spent. We have to confirm to CATSA that their investment is good for at least 10 years. We believe that it’s good for more than that, at least 10 to 15. But it’s pretty hard to get accurate traffic volume forecasts that go that far out. Based on best knowledge, the best estimate that we have right now, the Department of Transportation believes that that facility will still be in use in 10 to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be meeting in a couple of weeks with the board chairs for the regions. This is one of the topics that we will discuss at that time. Until the review that the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation is talking about is completed, we won’t be advancing very far on this, but I will advise the chairs that we are interested in talking some about it after the review is complete. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Minister has committed to raise the issue with CATSA. It will be a CATSA decision, so if they say that the planes have to stop in Yellowknife for security clearance before they go on to Edmonton, then they can issue that requirement. But the Minister has committed to raise this issue and I will follow up with it. Thank you.