Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that commitment. It may not affect too many, but I think if it affects one of our elders or one of our seniors, then it’s important that we look at the impact.

One of the other things that I would like to ask the Minister, there have been instances relayed to me of inconsistencies in rent assessments between seniors, between different LHOs in our communities. So I’d like to know from the Minister what the Housing Corporation does to monitor rent assessments at the LHO level and between LHOs to ensure that there is fairness and...

Thanks to the Minister for that. Most of our seniors in the NWT are on a fixed income. If they are on a pension, then they are on a fixed income and it changes very little. But courtesy of the federal government, the Government of Canada, periodically we get pension income increases due to inflation over time and there are adjustments to people’s incomes. So when a senior’s income increases beyond a certain level and puts them into a second level for their assessment of rent, I’d like to know whether or not when we know that seniors’ pension incomes are changing upwards, are the levels that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently we have had some changes in some of our policies and programs relative to seniors, some of the criteria for our programs for seniors. One of them, for instance, is that we are now charging rent for seniors. We have a rent scale for seniors in public housing.

I have some questions today for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. With the changes that have come into place, now that seniors are paying rent in our public housing, I’d like to ask the Minister how the income levels are set which determine the rent that a senior will pay in any month...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Happy New Year. Welcome back, and welcome back to all my colleagues. It’s good to be back.

My statement today celebrates the one resource that all Northerners have in abundance: snow.

World Snow Day was established by the International Ski Federation as part of an international campaign called Bring Children to the Snow. The second annual World Snow Day took place just last month, on January 20th, the same day that Mr. Gilday achieved his excellence, so it’s fairly fitting.

Four hundred thirty-five organizers in 39 countries staged events this year that brought children...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment are related to the department’s future plans for school infrastructure for K to 12 schooling. Would the Minister please provide the following:

a copy of the department’s five-year capital plan for renovations, replacement and/or new construction for all NWT schools (primary, elementary and secondary);

a copy of the department’s 10-year capital plan for renovations, replacement and/or new construction for all NWT schools (primary, elementary and secondary); and

a copy of the department’s 20-year capital plan...

Thanks to the Minister for that. Unfortunately, I have to say to the Minister that if it really doesn’t affect seniors, that means that some of them are affected. I realize that we have a range of income and that most seniors fall in that range, but when they get to the top of that range and go over it and into the next bracket, it’s going to create problems. So there will be some people who are affected.

I’d like to ask the Minister if the impact of increases to pension and to fixed income, if he would look into that, if he would investigate the impact that it would have on our seniors who are...

Certainly, I am happy to. With the changes that have taken place with regard to rent scales, now that seniors are paying rent in public housing, I’d like to know from the Minister how the income levels are set which determine the rent that a senior will pay in any one month. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to welcome a constituent today, Mr. Jeff Corradetti. I would also like to recognize my former colleague, Mr. David Krutko, former MLA for Mackenzie Delta; and Lydia Bardak, the executive director of the Dene Ko Day Shelter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to thank the mover and the seconder of the motion for bringing it forward, Mr. Bromley and Mr. Yakeleya. You’ve heard already, and we’re going to hear again, that this is a controversial motion. We’ve already had great debate at committee about it and I think it was a very healthy debate. I appreciate the comments I’ve heard from committee and I appreciate the comments I’ve heard today.

In listening to my colleagues, I get the impression that they think we are debating a federal bill. That’s not what we are doing, Mr. Speaker. We are debating the effects of...

I’m still struggling to get a year out of the Minister. If the Minister wants us to indicate to him that respite care is an important priority, then I’m certainly sure that the standing committee can do that for him. I asked where it sits in the priorities for the department, and I don’t think I really heard an answer.

Again, I would like to know from the Minister… He says that there are no new initiatives. This plan is already in progress. I don’t think it’s a new initiative to expand a plan, but I’d like to hear from the Minister, if that’s the government stance, that an expansion of any plan...