Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. I hear the Minister, but I think the answers are coming from her staff or from within the department, because, you know, I'd really implore this Minister to seriously commit to providing the training that I've been requesting to all settlement maintainers up and down the valley, and many are in isolated communities where we don't have the specialists, and those are the people that are much needed in our communities that can help others too. And I really implore that she provides that training starting in the spring coming up, to settlement maintainers, to the heating...

Mahsi, Madam Speaker, and mahsi to the Minister for describing their functions. What is happening is that they don't have any training program for settlement maintainers as the housing maintainers had a program before. They did the carpentry, the plumbing, and all the basic electrical, plus you sat in front of a furnace and boiler system for about six weeks until you really understood and could wire the systems, because that's what I'm after, is that type of training. These are much needed in our small communities to add value to the positions. And like I said, we don't have any ticketed...

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm very passionate about training people in the small communities regarding the heating systems as we don't have trades people within the communities, and most times they're quite a distance away. My Member's statement alluded to training for all small communities’ settlement maintainers, especially in the area of maintaining and performing basic servicing on furnaces and boilers. These will still be performed under the direction of a journeyman heating technician or operating engineer who could be stationed in the larger centre.

Can the Minister commit to...

Madam Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 23, Committee Report 72319(2), Bill 29, Committee Report 74719(2), Bill 58, Committee Report 74819(2), and Bill 59, and would like to report progress. And Madam Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Mahsi.

I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker, I think I've only asked two questions. Madam Speaker, I hear what the Minister is saying, I just don't understand why she's saying they have the required training. And I know that they don't have the required training to be able to perform basic servicing functions that they would have got from training in the Aurora College oil heat technician seminars that they have every spring. They have them for third year plumbers, plus they're open to housing maintainers, and they should be open to settlement maintainers to attend this training so they better understand what they...

Yes.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, within the mandate to increase employment in small communities, the GNWT states it will support small communities in developing skilled trades people. But, Madam Speaker, that is the best action this government can do to improve the lives of the residents in the small communities. Just for identifying and stating this objective, this government gets an A grade. Now let's do more in this area to get the A plus rating.

Madam Speaker, when I previously brought up a training program for all settlement maintainers in our small communities, I was met with...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement spoke of the lack of a preventative maintenance program at the LHO level. This could be for all LHOs in the Northwest Territories. Can the Housing Minister advise if there is such a program at the LHO level and who conducts these checks? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently I had a tenant of a local housing organization contact me with concerns related to the furnace. The furnace started with a bang and when they went to investigate, there was soot spewing all over the furnace room. Mr. Speaker, it would make the hair on the back of your head stand out. I was even provided photos of the situation, and it didn't look good. The couple were very concerned as they didn't know if they were breathing carbon monoxide along with the soot, and this was on a weekend. Fortunately, an LHO maintenance personnel attended to their...