Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answers that the Minister has provided us here today. Mr. Speaker, one of my concerns I hear is sometimes we don't have enough foster homes. We can't get children into emergency homes. What happens if we, as the department, do not have places for them to go? Where do we place these individuals? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister tell us: How does the department recruit foster parents throughout the year, or does the department or the NWT Health and Social Services Association have a blitz once a year?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are often community members who make great contributions to a community who go unrecognized, mainly because these individuals seek results rather than recognition. They humbly and selflessly serve others. Today, I would like to recognize a few of these individuals from the Nahendeh region.

Currently, the Northern Store in Fort Simpson is operating a pay it forward program. This program started six years ago, when resident Mrs. Pat Waugh heard of a homeless resident having to be medevac'd because he consumed discarded food.

Pat started the program at the local...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Attendance is very important come September until October. They are part of the funding formula. How is this fair if they don't have a requirement to be in school? To me, we shouldn't have them as part of the funding formula. I think they should be left out because they have the option to come and go as they please and as the parents please, which I understand. They are part of the funding formula, so if you register 35 kids in junior kindergarten on September 1st and the attendance is sporadic and you want the school boards to be honest about it, we are going to see a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will try to be quick. Can the Minister tell us what percentage of the enrolments are for fours and fives in our system? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yesterday, the Minister talked about new leases or new existing leases or there's no new equity leases. The situation is that, if I bought a car and I sold it to the Minister, he doesn't have to go back and pay the dealership. It doesn't happen that way. I get the money, and then we move on and I get the rights to the vehicle. Again, I'm not talking about new leases. I'm speaking about honouring the equity lease which existed with the original owner. Will the department honour the existing leases to the new owner as they purchased that? That was what they're trying to do. They're trying to...

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I asked the Minister of Lands some questions about equity leases, and I would like to follow up more today.

---Laughter

Well, I am just trying to make the Minister of Infrastructure happy here today. Mr. Speaker, my question again is to the Minister of Lands. My first question is: if all equity lease payments are made by lessee under equity leases and the lease is assigned, does the lessee who makes the payments get reimbursed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is great to hear, and I am very happy to hear that the department is working with the coalition on this issue. I really appreciate that we are working with families to keep the families together. I have known the Minister was very committed to that, and I appreciate him and the department for doing that. How does the department ensure that the homes are safe and the parents get the necessary training to deal with these youth, especially when we are talking about families and that as the process moves on?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Foster parents are a very important part of our child and family system in the Northwest Territories. I greatly appreciate the selfless work that they do to help our children as they grow and develop during difficult times. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister tell us how many foster parents we have in the Nahendeh region, including those families who make their homes available for emergencies? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Floyd Edward "Bo-Boy" Diamond-C was born on April 1, 1967, to Theresa Diamond-C in Fort Nelson. He lived his life in Fort Liard and, as a youngster, Theresa and his Grandpa Edward taught Floyd about trapping, the traditional way of life, and surviving off the land. His grandpa and brother Dale would go out to Bovie Lake to go trapping and hunting on their trap line. He would often find himself out on the land with different family members to help them out any way he could. Floyd was a happy and giving man who would be there when needed for anybody who asked.

Floyd was...