Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to propose that we in this House work together to further the NWT Disabilities Council's vision that all individuals have the opportunity and access to achieve their full potential. We can do that by creating a new five-year plan for them.

The previous five-year action plan for persons with disabilities comprised 34 main action items under five pillars of education, employment, disability supports, income, and housing. The action plan was endorsed when it was completed in 2008 and apparently, quite promptly forgotten. Fast-forward to 2015 when the NWT...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. CBC is reporting that Ledcor has fired its subcontractor on the first two-thirds of the fibre optic line because the work was inadequate. My question for the Minister is: What is the impact of this change on the cost of the project? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister. My questions the Minister is: Can he make a commitment to inform this side of the House what overcrowding is in terms of rental assistance and who enforces these standards.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The story of the rental assistance client being forced to make her children homeless because four people in the two-bedroom trailer is considered overcrowding. My first question is: what is overcrowding? Can the Minister inform us if universal uniform standard numbers are used to define overcrowding as it relates to eligibility parental assistance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I call Members' attention to the CBC North story of January 11, 2016, titled, “Woman says she was forced to evict two of her kids to keep her rental home.” The story details the tragic experiences of a low-income mother. Income support refused to pay her rental allowance for the month because of overcrowding. In order to keep her place, she had to evict a teenage daughter and a son in his early 20s.

The mother of nine children with finally able to rent a two-bedroom home in December with support from ECE and the family was set to be reunited. But wait a minute, come January...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Finance Minister for that answer. Could the Finance Minister please explain what that oversight process looks like? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi to the Finance Minister for that. I would also like to ask about the impact on the timing of the completion of the project.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister. What I heard the Minister say here is that there are no specific standards for overcrowding as it relates to rental assistance, and so I'm wondering on what basis any standards are enforced in terms of how many people live in one dwelling. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister for his answer. I'm looking for two things now. I'm looking for a commitment for the Minister to provide that information about what the standard is for overcrowding that the department uses, and my second question is: who enforces these standards?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to acknowledge Stephen Ellis, the northern leader of Tides Canada, and thank him for his visionary leadership in self-determination. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.