Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of those programs. I am talking about a new program. You know, kudos on all that and thank you for that, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm asking for a set aside amount of money in a revolving fund that can be loaned out to homeowners to do energy saving upgrades to their home. Is there any capital, or does the Minister know of any source of capital, which could be the start of something like this that could be implemented in the near future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Minister Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So just to clarify then, the 23 students who filed their applications late who are enrolled in post-secondary education right now, with the time frame and the anticipation the Minister has of getting the regulation in place, they need to know that there may be an opportunity for them to apply for financial assistance for this semester they are currently enrolled in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So hats off to the Minister for changing the regulations, but when will the regulations be changed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my Member's statement today, I spoke of the hardships that are being faced by students that are unable, for various valid reasons, to meet arbitrary application deadlines imposed under the Student Financial Assistance Program. I also spoke of the fact that the vast majority of Canadian SFA programs either have no deadline or allow students to apply for SFA after they have already started their semester. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister today, could he outline, for this...

This is just so much good news. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fact is that there are a number of students who are already enrolled in their classes for this semester, as we speak now, who did miss the previously imposed deadline. They have gone to school; they're there. I want to know about retroactivity. Once the regulation goes in place, will the Minister consider those who had missed the deadline, had to enrol anyway, and are facing financial hardship? Can we have a retroactivity, a period of grace, for those who are enrolled at this time? Thank you.

Well, that sort of takes the wind out of my sails now for the rest of my questioning here, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

Okay, I have a good question. How long will it take the new regulation to be put in place? First of all, I want to thank the Minister for this. We need to do everything we can to encourage our students to seek post-secondary education and avail themselves of every opportunity to enhance their life.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has set an arbitrary application deadline of about six weeks prior to the program that you would like to be sponsored for by student financial assistance. It is clear that the NWT Student Financial Assistance Program and the arbitrary application deadlines do not have the flexibility to meet the needs of our students. It is also clear to me, Mr. Speaker, that this system has had a negative effect on post-secondary education for several northern students.

Some students have had to take summer upgrading in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me whether all income support workers in the NWT are now trained to do rent calculations, and how are communities without permanent income support workers, how is the rent being calculated in those communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In my Member’s statement, I outlined the run around that our constituents must go through in attempting to pay their rent for social housing. Mr. Speaker, we want them to pay their rent, but the number of hoops that we are putting them through I think would be a discouragement to anybody paying their rent. Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment inform this Assembly what he intends to do to reduce the apparent bottleneck in income support offices and speed up the transmittal of rental calculation information to local housing authorities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.