Alfred Moses

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2, be read for the third time. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Throughout the week I’ve made comments and Member’s statements and asked questions regarding such things as the coroner’s report and the Forfeiture Act. Today I’d like to take a moment and talk about the victim services that we currently provide in the Northwest Territories and take another stance on how we provide services and support to people that are victims of crime.

Specifically, for victim service coordinators in the Northwest Territories, the mandate of victim services is to provide information, assistance, referrals and support to victims of crimes or tragedy in...

Mr. Chairman, as I stated, that is a concern for me that if we bypass the process of a competition to accommodate a certain individual that are long-term employees within the government that we might have given awards to, long-term service awards to, are not getting the due respect that they should deserve moving forward. That is a concern, and I think there should be something in place like an appeals process for these individuals who have committed years of service to the GNWT.

One last area of concern is just the double filling of positions, as you heard earlier, in terms of somebody...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think that’s where we get a little bit of a concern, is that if it’s the opinion that we want to keep somebody continued within the public service sector, that if we do find a position that they’re qualified for, say, in the Department of Justice, and they’re leaving, maybe, the Department of Human Resources, that in the other department there’s the opportunity for other employees, especially now that we’re trying to do this regional engagement strategy, that we’re not taking somebody in that positon that might have been there for 20 years and now we’re filling a vacant...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Under this clause, as well, the way it is being worded, there is some concern in terms of the powers that fall onto the Minister here. I guess the first one, it says, “if the Minister is of the opinion that an employee identified for layoff under subsection (1) is suitable for continued employment in the public service, the Minister may appoint the employee without competition to any position...” So the first one is of the opinion. So it is, I guess, the Minister’s opinion, and what constitutes what the Minister believes is right rather than what the resume or somebody’s...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the Mental Health First Aid is a great training tool, a great counselling service tool. I know that we’re doing a revamp of the Mental Health Act.

In the case of the revamping of this new Mental Health Act, is the government, physicians, RCMP, counsellors still following the old Mental Health Act and all the provisions that are included in that Mental Health Act to give the people that need assistance when they need it, or are we will using the old Mental Health Act while we are revamping a new one? Thank you.

I appreciate the effort that the Minister and his department have been doing in terms of corresponding with the leadership in the Beaufort-Delta, but all he has to do is also look at some of the recommendations that were made and some of the past NWT coroner reports. Specifically, there was one I remember reading on a rehab centre for alcohol and drug abuse here in Yellowknife. Like it said, 70 percent of all suicides over the last five years were alcohol and drug related, seven out of 10.

Has the Minister looked at creating some type of rehab centre, whether it’s a day shelter or some other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take that invitation and hopefully I can make it. It depends on our committee schedule for next week. However, sometimes to get the best results and hear what’s really happening is to talk to people on the ground level.

Is the Minister willing to sit down with the victim service coordinators next week and just have a general talk on what their needs are to help them do their job better for residents of the Northwest Territories? Is he willing to make the time next week to sit down and listen to what they really need? They’re the ones who are dealing with the...

I understand the well-being of the students as well as the teachers is very important to the department.

One of the things in the document talks about well-being in terms of safety, nutrition and making sure that our students are fed before they go in the classrooms, and that’s another ongoing issue. That in itself can be an incentive for students to go to school first thing in the morning, is a breakfast program.

I’d like to ask the Minister if he has any funding for schools to look at creating breakfast programs in the schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to talk today about our attendance rates in our schools across the Northwest Territories. Recently, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tabled and brought out this new Education Renewal and Innovation Framework document, called “Direction for Change.” Actually, when we look through some of the statistics, one of the reasons we’re taking a new direction in our education system is because of low attendance.

In 2011-12 the NWT average for student attendance was 84 percent and it was even lower in the smaller communities at 80 percent. That’s, on...