Henry Zoe

Thank you, Madam Chair. Under the section advanced education and careers, I believe there are grants and contributions for literacy. As Members would note, I made a Member’s statement relating to literacy funding. I note, Madam Chair, under the details, that literacy funding has gone down substantially for this current year. I’m wondering why the department has cut the literacy funding to the tune of before $400,000 versus what we currently. For me, Madam Chair, I think it’s very essential and from my understanding from the Literacy Council that oversees literacy in the Territories, they...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to focus on a serious issue in my riding, and that is the transition from public housing to homeownership. The current NWT Housing Corporation policy on homeownership programs is creating an impossible environment for people to become homeowners.

Mr. Speaker, many of my people are employed with the diamond mines. According to the rent scale increase policy, anyone working at a diamond mine basically has no alternative but to consider homeownership. With household income, their rent will go through the roof with the new rent scale....

Is the Minister saying that the number of people that we have on the frontline, that you feel they are serving the people to their best ability? I'm hearing something a little different, particularly for the outlying communities; not particularly Rae, because the income support is there only periodically. When they're in need, some people don't have phones and they have to go to the band office and start to phone Rae, and if there's a need, it causes some logistical problems where they can't get in touch with the income support worker. Thank you.

If he does, I would support that particular Minister. Thank you.

It appears to me that the survey wasn’t done for the last little while. It appears that the amount of money that the people who are on income support weren’t receiving adequate funding for their food and clothing. Mr. Chairman, my understanding is that a lot of these people, especially single-parent families, particularly for clothing, it’s not done on a monthly basis when they get their income. Is it done only once or one time? That seems to be the problem, Mr. Chairman, because if you qualify for income support and it happens to be in May, you don't qualify for clothing. That seems to be a...

Finally, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to ask the Minister with regard to income support, when was the last survey done to determine the rates that are currently in income support pertaining to food and clothing?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to thank the Minister for his answer. In my Member’s statement, I encouraged the government to increase or maintain that current level, and although they are decreasing $300,000 from the business component where they were budgeting for literacy so business could apply for it, we would have been better off if we increased or enhanced the council’s funding in that respect. But I’m quite happy that the level of funding is not going to be decreased for the council initiatives for next year.

Madam Chair, another area I wanted to touch on was with regard to the...

Mr. Speaker, these people have no alternative solution except those available through the NWT Housing Corporation. The core need for North Slave, excluding Yellowknife, is an astonishing 35 percent. We need to address these numbers.

Mr. Speaker, these are just a few scenarios as to what is happening out there with the countless policy barriers to homeownership. My people are being backed up against the wall. The Housing Corporation is supposed to be encouraging and supporting clients' homeownership for high-income public housing tenants, rather than overwhelming them with countless policy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister how he foresees the council’s meeting their objectives with this late start. Will the council be able to meet their first meeting in April? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a minute I will be talking about the NWT Council of Sport and Recreation Partners’ implementation plan, but first I just wanted to congratulate the Minister, his department and all their partners in putting together the first ever NWT Games program in Fort Smith for March 18th to 21st. Having a sport event just for the NWT has been a goal of the sport community for a long time.

Mr. Speaker, the last time we were here I spoke a little about my support for the NWT Council of Sport and Recreation Partners and I just want to say a little bit more on this topic...