Julie Green

No questions. Thank you.

I just asked the question. You need to ask the Minister. Thank you.

Just to clarify my question, I think the Minister understood the question, but I am not talking about people who own their own homes. I am talking about people who are in public housing. So they would get a subsidy to stay -- no, sorry, I am making things worse. I am talking about keeping seniors in their current rental units with transitional housing support, and then that would bring them off the waiting list for public housing. That is where I was going with that.

Moving on, the lack of available spots demonstrates the need to devote more of our limited budgets towards meeting the...

Billions of dollars would be very welcome in all different dimensions of our territory, not only in homeownership. I appreciate that there is more money in SAFE in this Securing Assistance for Emergencies. The thing about CARE, though, is that we need the money now. The number of seniors is, as everybody knows, growing very rapidly, and that includes now, and so this is one of these areas where we really need the investment so that people don't advance down to the more expensive options in the continuum of care.

So I urge the Minister to consider an additional investment in the CARE Program...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my question is what is the name of the new office building on 49th Street in Yellowknife?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope that I can take that as a commitment that the Minister will look into making the payments faster.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we recently heard a report of a local woman being shortchanged on an NWT court-ordered support payment because a BC court lowered the amount of money payable under the order. Now, NWT payment levels are set with an eye, of course, to the cost of living here, so a payee's income goes down in BC.

It seems to me that it is wrong that a court there should lower the amount owed under an NWT judgment. My question is: will the Minister commit...

I thank the Minister for his commitment to look into this area and figure out how we can plug this loophole. It is one that benefits some of the most disadvantaged people in our territory, who are single mothers.

Another shortcoming I pointed out was the difficulty in collecting payments from the selfemployed. I will remind the Minister that maintenance payments we collect very often lift the cost of social assistance off the public purse. It is worth making an effort here, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to having his maintenance enforcement people sit down with the tax department...

Mr. Speaker, the experiences of many single parents -- predominantly women -- who rely upon maintenance enforcement payments are generally not good. Our measures for collecting these vital family supports have improved over time, as have penalties such as lifting the driver's licences of deadbeat debtors, but, as a constituent of mine who is very familiar with these processes has pointed out to me, provisions for collecting and paying garnishees still leave a lot to be desired.

A major failing is that the thinly staffed maintenance enforcement office must track down people owing maintenance...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I don't think that that name will stand the test of time. I am wondering whether the department is planning to name that building? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, February 23, 2017, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Great Slave, that, notwithstanding Rule 14, when this House adjourns on February 23, 2017, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, February 28, 2017;

And further, that any time prior to February 28, 2017, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may...