Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.

Can the Minister please provide the numbers on uptake for the last three years in Yellowknife on the Expanded Downpayment Assistance Program?

Can the Minister please provide information on the amount each of the recipients received under EDAP?

Can the Minister please provide information on the reasons for any variations in the amounts received under EDAP?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay, Mr. Speaker. I can see we’re playing an interesting game because yesterday the Minister was challenging me. Now I challenge him back by saying that these kids are poor. Now he’s saying the poor kids are coming to school from the regions. Well, who knows where these facts are coming from? So I challenge him to prove that the poor kids can’t go to school because they don’t have shoes. We live in the North, everybody knows we have shoes and boots here; we’re not talking about who knows where. Mr. Speaker, I didn’t say yesterday to use the law. I asked about why we aren’t using the law when...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment stated that forcing them, meaning children, to be there when their parents don’t support them being in school is a waste of time. I’m concerned that the Minister would consider developing programs and services to encourage children to do well in school is a waste of time. Does the Minister actually stand by that statement he made in this Assembly yesterday? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Especially, thank you, Mr. Dent.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I really want to see the department show initiative and take care and demonstrate that they care. We need to start thinking broadly, not blaming families on this issue for their kids not attending classes. We need to start thinking out of the box. Yes, parents do play a role in this issue, but the department needs to play a leading role in new initiatives to support our DEAs on this problem. Approaches we could consider are things like community liaison social workers in each district...

Thank you. I believe that the Law Clerk perfectly clarified the questions that essentially as I understand it -- and I would request that the Law Clerk correct me if I’m wrong -- but as I understand it, 11(a) is basically a delay tactic or, I should say, a delay switch on this legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be speaking in favour of this and in these adjustments. As I see it, we are now opening up the appeal process to show transparency by making reports available to the appellant. I think those are good things for the people who do appeal to the process, whereas a decision in the old days up until, of course, the date that this gets changed, is either a yea or nay. It is upheld, and folks will sort of feel left out of the system and try to understand why their appeal wasn’t upheld. I appreciate and I also applaud the efforts to include that transparency.

The other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister left out one specific area. As I understand it, funding is linked to attendance in roster enrollment, but that is only checked, I believe, once a year. In a certain period, that sets the funding rate for the whole education period. That being said, what is the Minister willing to do to address the truancy issue through legislation that empowers either Health and Social Services to go in and check on what is happening with these children or allow the education system and the DEAs, as he has pointed out, to go in and knock on those doors to make...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken to some educators out there and they have said that when they recognize truancy and they phone these parents and there is no answer, there is nowhere for them to truly go. Why has the Department of Education, Culture and Employment never stepped in to own up to their responsibility to deal with truancy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to focus on a serious issue that seems to be rising in our schools. It is truancy. Mr. Speaker, it takes a whole community to raise children. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to participate. Schools can only do so much. Some parents seem to leave it up to the child or teenager to take their education in their own hands. Tardiness and lack of attendance affect our children and their ability to stay focussed at school and eventually some students drop out unless there is some form of intervention.

I have spoken with staff at various schools, and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Menicoche beat me to the chase in regard to the parking, but he also brought up another issue that I know I have concern with, although I wasn’t on planning on discussing it today, which is the doors. I will speak specifically to the parking and I do have concerns with the issue that this building represents itself as an open opportunity for people to come forward and have celebrations of life: weddings, special ceremonies, et cetera. It truly is one of the buildings for the people, and yet we have people park here, even park illegally, while events happen.

The...