Julie Green

Thank you to the Minister for that. I just want to be clear that I am not talking about the minimum wage. I am talking about a different wage altogether. It's called a living wage, and it is calculated on a community-by-community basis according to the expenses that a family would have in that community, the level of taxation, the kinds of benefits and so on and so forth. So it's different in every place. It's not a minimum wage.

There are several ways that the government could support the living wage, such as providing funds to calculate the living wage in communities outside of Yellowknife...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, Outreach is continuing to get more businesses and organizations to take the living wage pledge. I salute Alternatives North for leading this work and all the living wage employers present and future.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister tell us what portion of this expenditure will be offset by revenues? Thank you.

Sorry. I have a question on the next page, page 8.

The Minister is right. The initial amount of money to get this project going did come from the Anti-Poverty Fund. I want to stress again that this is a systemic solution to poverty that is fronted by businesses, not by government. Of course, government provides a lot of supports to people in poverty, but, if businesses could be persuaded of the benefits of paying a living wage, then people wouldn't need those social supports that are provided by the Minister's department. I am wondering if the Minister can see the relevance of investing in the living wage in order to help people get out of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. One of our colleagues is fond of saying that the best form of income assistance is a job, but there are a substantial number of people, 1,700 people in Yellowknife who are working full-time but not earning enough to get themselves out of poverty. My question to the Minister is whether he is aware of the living wage movement and whether it is something he supports? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to report today on efforts to introduce a living wage in Yellowknife. The principle guiding this work is that people who work full time should not be living below the poverty line. Eleven Yellowknife organizations with a total of more than 300 employees have now signed with a pledge to pay their employees the living wage.

First, a little background. In 2015, a northern non-profit commissioned an economist to calculate a living wage for Yellowknife. The calculation was based on a 40-hour work week. It included expenses such as food, shelter, transportation...

Thank you to the Minister. How will the department measure success for students and teachers of this pilot project?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have struggled mightily to get some answers on instructional hours in this sitting, including oral questions and written questions, and I am now down to four that I need answers to, so I am going to try these with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. My first question is: why are reduced instructional hours being piloted all across the NWT in every school? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with just one week left in this sitting, I want to look ahead to some important work Regular MLAs will be doing during the break. The Standing Committee on Social Development will be reviewing Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Education Act. Specifically, the members of this committee, including myself, will be looking at the proposed changes to instructional hours.

It has taken close questioning by my colleagues on this side, both in the House and at a public briefing, to understand the rationale for these changes and, specifically, to allay parents’ and students’...