Jackson Lafferty

I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Range Lake, that Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, be read for the third time.

Mr. Speaker, there have been some changes to our program. We have increased 30 per cent in the child care program area. We are listening to our Members who raise an issue. Certainly, we will take that into consideration.

With various programs there is always room for improvement, so certainly, we will work with that and how we can expedite the application process.

We have our resource department staff who are more than willing to assist with the clients and parents as well. We will do our part as well. Mahsi.

Some of the money is based on the enrolment at the centres and facilities. Also, the Member is referring to…. If the money is held back or if there is a surplus, then we have to extend the money to different programs as well, where it is needed in the community. As I said, we serve 33 communities. We open up for communities that are in need of funding to offset their costs.

Mr. Speaker, we realize the urgency. The Deh Cho Hall will be coming down, and these three organizations are desperately seeking office space. Certainly that’s part of the plan, to have our staff visit the community and work with the Member and also work with the organizations that I’ve highlighted earlier, and also work with the community. So we’re anxious to move forward on this with potential solutions to these issues that we’re faced with. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I made a commitment that my department will be working with the community of Fort Simpson, specifically with those three organizations. I will make a commitment here again today that my department, my deputy and also the Director of Education Operations and Development, as a person, will be going to the community of Fort Simpson sometime next March — probably early March — to deal with that particular issue.

So we are making progress, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, we will continue to work hard with the community to identify a solution with their help and with their input.

Mr. Speaker, certainly I am more than willing to visit the communities in the Member’s riding. We did make some arrangements to go to the communities sometime after session. I am committed to that.

The issue that he has highlighted — the recruitment process — is another area that we are focussing on as a department, working along with the NWT Housing Corporation, whether it be housing issues or the recruitment area. We are fully aware of it. In our department, one of our goals is to develop plans to deal with it. Mahsi.

Mahsi. Mr. Speaker, we do have policies with the school boards and different authorities at the community level. They establish their own zero-tolerance policies for teachers. It is in the works with each organization in the community. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, the question is more coming down to the Housing Corporation, but we as a department will continue working with that issue. Yes, certainly, I’d like to reiterate I’ll be working with my colleague in the Housing Corporation and other Members. We are open for business, as well.

What we’re doing as a pilot project…. There’s one pilot project that’s on the way, and if another region wants to continue with that pilot project, then certainly we can sit down and discuss that as well. We’re open to that concept, and I’d like to move forward on that. That’s what we’re pursuing right now...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member’s asking that question. I did mention last week that our department is working with the Housing Corporation on a pilot project in one of the regions. If it’s successful, then we will continue working with other regions on the project itself. We are going with this as a third party, because we don’t get involved with staff housing. But we do what we can to work with the communities to find suitable, affordable housing in the communities.

We as a government do not get involved with staff housing. We do what we can as a department to work with the development corporations at the community level and also the bands in the community — municipalities, if that’s the case — to have suitable housing or a unit in the community for professional staff that are coming in. That’s what we do as a department. We work with the Housing Corporation and other departments to identify those needs at the community level.