Yellowknife (Mar 09/05) - Alternatives North has accused the government of bias against the poor in the process to develop a new income support program.

The NWT social justice coalition wants some of the information gathered in five survey booklets to be thrown out, saying some questions inside aren't neutral and feed stereotypes.

Ben McDonald of Alternatives North is critical of survey questions used to develop a new strategic plan for ECE.

"The stereotypes are that lots of people in the program are ripping it off," said Ben McDonald, co-chairperson for Alternatives North, referring to a statement that asks respondents to agree or disagree with that statement "There are some aspects of Income Security programs that discourage people from active participation in the workforce."

"Those stereotypes are very much unfounded," he said, calling the question a leading one.

Minister Charles Dent said he wasn't "qualified" to decide if some of the questions in the booklets are biased, but defended the process by saying it wasn't meant to be scientific.

"What we're trying to do is get a sense of what people think is a good direction to go in," he said.

"I understand what they are saying and we'll keep that criticism in mind as we're assessing the information that we get."

ECE began seeking feedback from residents in December through the surveys and public meetings. The department expects to complete the analysis by the end of March and adopt a new strategic plan by the summer.

"This is supposed to be the strategic plan for the NWT for the next 10 years. It's important for them to have a fair understanding of what Northerners really see as priorities," said McDonald. Across the territory, 1,800 surveys were completed on five subjects: adult and post-secondary education, culture, heritage and languages. Between 4,000-4,500 residents were involved in the process.

Dent plans to meet with representatives from Alternatives North in April to discuss the consultation process, but isn't keen on redoing the booklets.

"I'm not anxious to slow the process down. The surveys were a small part of the consultation process," he said.