Julie Green

Thank you. I would just like to have one more go at my question, and my question was not about competing priorities but growing the budget for addressing this priority of retrofitting schools. Can the Minister tell us what efforts, if any, he's making to grow that pot of money? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wonder if the Minister could just review for us the requirement for a midlife retrofit of the school?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those are all my questions.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, is this a carryover from a prior year, the purchase of the coroner's van? Thank you.

Again, thank you to the Minister for that. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that 8 per cent is not making a difference to the core housing need in the territory, and the availability of housing especially here in Yellowknife where the waiting list is about 180, across the whole NWT about 600. So I would like to hear from the Minister whether there is a plan to increase the amount of spending on social housing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are about income assistance, and in order to avoid the kind of misunderstanding that I had with the Minister yesterday, I just want to start by asking a preliminary question: is the Minister up-to-date with the changes that have taken place in the income assistance regulations? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. So what? Well, first almost a quarter of NWT children live in poverty, 22 per cent. The Canada Child Tax Benefit is supposed to alleviate poverty for these children and low income families, but NWT families on income assistance are being shortchanged. The federal government has given with one hand, and the GNWT has taken away with the other. Poor families are the ones out of pocket. I will have questions. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, October 20, 2016, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on October 20, 2016, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, October 25, 2016. And further, that any time prior to October 25, 2016, 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...

Mr. Speaker, the point here is that, had those regulations not been changed, the people on income assistance would have been receiving more money. What the Minister has said is that the Child Tax Benefit is the occasion for reducing those amounts of money. That means that he is making these changes on the backs of the people who most need this money. We're not talking about huge amounts of money here, but it's important to people with low income. I'd like to know whether the Minister will turn back these reductions in income assistance so that children are once again funded for food and...

Mr. Speaker, I'd like the Minister to answer this question: why did your department change its income assistance regulations and stop funding food and clothing allowances for children under 18?