Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a general question. It is referenced in the Minister’s opening remarks, the declining CMHC funding. The Minister and Members are well aware that this money is going down. Every year we’re having to put more and more of our own money into housing in order to maintain our stock, and continue to operate and maintain it.

I appreciate that the corporation has done a number of things in the last year to two years to try and bring costs down, to try and maintain as much stock as we have without it costing us too much more money. But I have yet to get from the Minister...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to ask a few questions with regard to energy and the Energy Plan, and funding within the budget. Mr. Vician advised that we have $700,000 out of the $1.1 million in grants and contributions that’s going to NT Energy Corporation. I’d like to know, first off, what the other $400,000 is for, what initiatives or activities it’s funding.

Whose capital? Maybe the Minister could be a little more specific and tell me where the money is in the budget. Thank you.

I do have another question about staffing. I’ll ask the question and the Minister can refer me to the board, I guess, if that’s what he needs to do.

I struggle with the Community Futures program and the BDIC program. They are different, I agree, but they are also somewhat similar. If you look on this page, Community Futures is about $1.3 million, BDIC is about $3.7 million. The staffing complements are similar. The number of organizations within each is similar. Yet in terms of jobs that are produced or jobs that are developed through lending and through the support of organizations, I think...

Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate there is an awful lot of research going on and that the Minister indicates that they’re reaching out. It’s one thing to do research and to look at policy. One thing I’m asking for is an external evaluation of our current situation in all our schools within the NWT system. We need to know what students currently exist with what special needs and how much support each is requiring. I would like to know from the Minister if the renewal initiative includes an evaluation of the current special needs requirements in our system.

That’s great. Thanks to the Minister. That’s all I have, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

I accept the Minister’s offer of a meeting. I think it’s probably something that should be discussed. We’ll have to see if committee agrees to that.

In looking at the corporate plan for BDIC for ’13-14, I don’t know exactly where the right piece of paper is but I think it was something like almost $2.2 million for administration for salaries and benefits for this organization. It seems to me that that’s a lot of money for 14 people, $2.2 million.

My other question has to do with a program that is run through BDIC and a program that’s run through ITI. I know that the organization and the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on the theme of education and Education Week, and I’d like to address my questions to the Minister of Education. He’s had lots of questions today about inclusive schooling and I also have some with regard to inclusive schooling and students.

I know the Minister recognizes, and I think all Members recognize, that we have some special needs students in our classrooms who require more attention and more support than others. Some of them require, in some cases, two special needs aides as opposed to just one or, in some cases, none. I’d like to ask the...

Thanks to the Minister. It’s been a long time coming, this coordinator position, but I’m glad we’re at the interview stage. That’s progress.

The other question I wanted to ask on this page has to do with the Transitional Rent Supplement Program. I know it’s a new program. It’s, presumably, been in place for a year. I think it was initiated in this current budget year. I don’t remember exactly which month, what time of year, but I’d like to know from the Minister when enough time would have passed when we could get some kind of an update on the success or failure of this program. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I have some questions here related to the Business Development Investment Corporation and I’ve been wondering about the BDIC for a number of years, a while, I guess maybe not a number of years, but I did a little looking into the organization and the number of staff and so on, and I’m more than a little concerned. I’m quite concerned about the org chart, I guess, the staff that work this organization. There are 14 staff if the org chart is correct, but out of that 14 staff, I think one is empty, but there are scheduled seven managers. So 50 percent of the staffing of this...