Sandy Lee

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 17, Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, in Yellowknife on December 9, 2004, and February 16, 2005.

The committee would like to thank Egale Canada and Out North for their submissions and the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill. Bill 17 is intended primarily to remove discriminatory treatment of same-sex and heterosexual common-law couples from a number of NWT acts. The bill is similar to what has been done by other Canadian jurisdictions in response to a decision...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Justice and it’s in regard to collection of judgment once someone wins a judgment from court. Mr. Speaker, the law we have with respect to collecting judgment in the North is very outdated, probably because it’s not something that’s on everybody’s mind all the time. The laws we have are that if you win a judgment and you want to collect against somebody and you have to file what’s called a garnishee, that only lasts only 10 days now. Which means everybody has to go to court and file it again, pay $5, then there are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later this month, March 25th to 27th, Yellowknife will be celebrating its 50th annual Caribou Carnival. Mr. Speaker, every year since 1955, Yellowknife residents have celebrated the coming of spring with this annual carnival. Incidentally, the Caribou Carnival is as old as the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, which we are celebrating. I wonder if there are any connections.

Caribou Carnival, Mr. Speaker, began in the 1950s as a competitive event. Hunters and trappers from far and wide emerged from the bush to compete for the title of Bush King...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps he could tell us more about that tomorrow if there is any news to report.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, I don’t know if I can ask it in any other way. Is the Minister of Health and Social Services aware, and the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation and the Minister of income support, that there are dozens and dozens of families in Yellowknife who are homeless because they can’t get into public housing? They can only get $32 even if they find other housing. There is no way you can find lodging for that money. The Centre for Northern Families is really for certain women. I don’t think you can have kids there. The YWCA has a huge line-up. The Salvation...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have questions about absolute homelessness. Could I ask the Minister if this absolute homelessness covers situations like the ones that Centre for Northern Families are experiencing or situations that the centre has been advocating about, which is that the families on low-cost housing or in public housing could get evicted for whatever reason and then they have debt or outstanding balance or something and then they can’t…so they get evicted out of public housing and then they’re not funded for any more than $32 to get into the private market, which effectively makes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things that the people in this profession are saying is safer working conditions and probably a better compensation package. It doesn’t help that the government writes job descriptions in a way that seems to attract southern educated social workers, eliminating the chance for people up here to get a job. Will the Minister look into that as well, while he is studying -- yes, another study -- with a deadline, though, for June? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am still not getting the answer as to, Mr. Speaker, whether the Minister and government are interested in doing a review of the program at Aurora College. I can see that he is talking to various players, but I am not hearing that there will be any kind of formal process to really get to the bottom of what is going on. I believe, Mr. Speaker, that you can’t solve the problem unless you know what the problem is. I am not getting the indication that the government has a clear idea of what has happened. Can I get more solid information from him as to exactly how he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in honour of International Women’s Day, I would like to take this opportunity to speak about the Canadian Women’s March 2005 Coalition. This is a group made up of 10 national women’s and social justice groups committed to the elimination of poverty and violence in Canada and making the links between local and global actions.

Mr. Speaker, they are launching their international campaign today on International Women’s Day and it will go on to October 17, 2005, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Poverty. In particular, Mr. Speaker, the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I still think, far be it from me to call for a study, but this is a real problem. I would like to see the government do something solid and concrete by this fall; way before that so that the college and we are ready to get more students in. I would like to see the Minister do more than just having meetings with the stakeholders; not that there is anything wrong with that. Could I get the Minister to commit to reporting the results of all of his conversations and consultations to us by the June session, so that we can take part in it as well? Thank you.