R.J. Simpson

Thank you. So every time we speak to the federal government, we talk about the cost of infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. I think that we're all aware of the cost but when we speak to federal officials and politicians, it's clear that they're often taken aback by the cost. So we do our best at the officials level, at the political level, to hammer home, you know, the reality of the cost in the North and the changes we've seen over the past few years. We've seen costs double, triple, and even more than that. So we are working with the feds on this. We are doing our best to look at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is one avenue that organizations can pursue to get new child care infrastructure or assist with that. Indigenous governments also have their own child care agreements with the federal government and so there could be funds through there. The early childhood infrastructure fund is proposalbased and so "proposals" very widely in terms of what they're proposing, the cost of what they're proposing. But what the fund is intended to do is support more spaces. So adding spaces to existing programs or creating new spaces.

We looked at communities where there is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So just speaking to the income assistance program, because ECE does much more for young adults than just the income assistance program, ECE will pay for eligible clients' accommodations. So pay really the full cost of rent, the full cost of utilities to someone who needs that service. So that is the assistance that we provide with people who are seeking shelter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope that we would always be a compassionate government. Sometimes our own policies and procedures get in the way of that and recognizing that we are working to change the income assistance program so that it can be more compassionate so it is not so rigid. However, as it currently stands, the income assistance program is laid out in regulations and so it is legislated so there is minimal flexibility in many instances. However, when we can be flexible, we are. And I've seen many instances of that happening. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Safety is everybody's responsibility. And so the bussing depending on how things are structured, you know, the bussing contractor could be responsible for the safe operation of the bus, the technical status of the bus. Education bodies are responsible for developing the policies. But ultimately the department is responsible for ensuring that education bodies are developing policies in accordance with the legislation. So ultimately the GNWT is responsible. Whether or not the Act lays out a framework that makes that easy for us to be responsible and puts the authorities...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Education Act lays out the various responsibilities of the department as well as education, the DECs and DEAs. And so it would be the DEAs who are responsible for developing their own bussing policies however there's always supports available from the regional body or from ECE if it is needed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So earlier in her statement the Member mentioned that back in I believe it was 2002 it was thought that there would need to be a replacement sometime around 2015 or 2020, something like that. And clearly we haven't needed that yet. So it's hard for me to put numbers out there, dates out there, when obviously things can change. Right now, based on the information we have, we're looking at 2035. But that could come a lot sooner; it could take longer. You know, Fort Smith has Aurora College with a trades school, and I think that expertise in trades really has helped those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last technical status evaluation was 2005. These evaluations are typically done when work is planned to be done on a building. However, there was a building condition assessment completed on JBT by the Department of Infrastructure in August of 2022. These assessments are not as in depth as the technical status evaluation, but they do provide an overall assessment of the building. Thank you.

Yes, I would.

Madam Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 3419(2): Report on the Review of the 20202021 Annual Report of the Ombud. Thank you, Madam Speaker.