Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the subsidies that this government provides are very generous and some of the questions that we have on this side of the House I think is in the inconsistencies in some of the delivery of the programs. They like to promote self-reliance and so do we. We've been self-reliant before and I think the day will come when most of us, or most of the people across the NWT, will be self-reliant again. The question I have for the Minister of ECE is I'd like to ask him if land claim agreements are constitutionally protected when they're calculating income for the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've been contacted both by the federal government, the Fisheries and Oceans, and also we've had some discussions with the community members. It's still early, Mr. Speaker. The beluga whales might find their way back out to the Arctic Ocean. We'll continue to monitor. We'll certainly keep the Member and his community informed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We certainly will commit to working with the hunters' and trappers' committee and the Fisheries and Oceans who is the lead on this issue. I think there are about 85 whales trapped in the Husky Lakes area again this year. We are hoping that they will find their way out this fall through the channel that leads to the Arctic Ocean. We have to wait until some time later this fall to see if that happens. Failing that, we will certainly work with the community, the hunters' and trappers' committee and the federal government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the subsidies that this government provides to its residents are probably the best in the Northwest Territories. We have over $118 million roughly in subsidies and there are still some inconsistencies in the delivery of these programs that causes me some concern, Mr. Speaker. A good example is there is a young man that I know who is a summer student who is working for the summer. His family is on income support. This young man is getting his wages clawed back by income support because his family is on income support. That’s not sending a very good...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled School of Community Government Annual Report 2006-2007. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Inconsistency is something that we speak about often. We want it to be the same right across the board for everybody. I'd like to ask the Minister, come September 1st -- the date we've been hearing quite a bit about lately -- what's going to be done to protect this young man that's trying to earn some summer income and not have it deducted from the benefits that his family receives from being on income support? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that. In this government, is it ECE's policy right now to exempt benefit agreements from calculating income support? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last year we provided support to the situation when we had the whales trapped in the Husky Lakes area. We'll certainly commit to providing the same level of support as we did last year. Hopefully it won't come to that, but we still expect the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to take the lead and provide the bulk of the funding required. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are monitoring the situation. We are certainly aware of the issue and the concern from people in the community. We will have some early discussions with Fisheries and Oceans on this issue and also talk to the community as early as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It goes back to the transfer from the Housing Corporation to ECE for tenant assessments and the paying of rent. I would like to ask the Minister, this has been something that has been going on for a while now. Has the department done an assessment of the whole transfer and is it working? Thank you.