Bob Bromley

Thank you to the Minister for that clarification. How is it that we’re putting out contracts when we have affected employees in this very area of concern with expertise and that could easily assume these responsibilities and save the costs associated with contract administration, et cetera? Where is the staff retention policy on this? I know this is not a question for this Minister, but it is certainly a question for this government.

There are two tracks here, and they’re completely missing each other. Why did the Minister not put this together, connect these dots, and avoid the trauma of these...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to reply — again I am changing my statement today to the Minister of ITI — to the Minister’s rather surprising announcement on the Advisory Panel on the Economy. This seems to be reflecting the ongoing and apparently typical modus operandi of this government to keep MLAs completely uninformed and certainly not to include their input. The vision this Caucus came up with was strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous territory. The Minister’s Advisory Panel on the Economy —...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and the Minister. Obviously, this is something every department could be engaged in and enjoy the fruitful returns of, I’m sure.

Thank you for those remarks, Minister. Of course, the City of Yellowknife has really enjoyed quite a few savings through such a program, savings that are ongoing. Just to be clear, such a program was not on the plate as part of the opportunities for reductions and efficiencies in the exercise that got us to this budget. Is that correct?

I appreciate the Minister’s comments on that. I too would be interested in the research on that. I would just note that the average wage of employees in the Northwest Territories is 50 per cent above the Canadian average, and I suspect that if you just took the GNWT employees, it would be even greater than that. Our cost of living, especially in our larger centres, is more like 20 per cent higher. So I think there would be some room for some exploration there.

Mr. Chairman, the other question or frustration I have is that I feel I’m sort of finessed into dealing with this situation of vacant...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Following some of the words from Mr. McLeod from Inuvik Twin Lakes, I’m wondering if the department considered additional mandatory leave days in the summer.

My impression — and it’s just that — is that productivity has actually gone up during mid-winter in relation to the so-called Donnie Days that employees still enjoy. That’s leave without pay. But it allows some extended family time. It’s got to be healthy for families as well as labour relations and so on. I know there’s interest out there in our brief but beautiful summer season.

If employees had access to…. Say if...

Mr. Speaker, our economy is sort of like a freight train right now. We have a roaring economy. There’s a lot of people benefitting. At the same time there’s a lot of people who are feeling barrelled over, as we heard in some of the statements today. There’s a number of passengers on this train. Clearly, those passengers who are benefitting are industry representatives, businesses and so on.

Will the Minister invite onto this panel representatives of the social and environmental communities?

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to follow up on my spontaneous Member’s statement regarding the Minister of ITI’s announcement about the Minister’s Advisory Panel on the Economy. Does the Minister agree that a strong and sustainable economy is one that actually includes social and environmental considerations best represented by members of those communities?

I’ll take that as some sort of commitment. I appreciate that. I wonder if the Minister would consider bringing a draft forward at some point during this session so we could have some input into that and start that process. It’s one of those things that the earlier we start it, the bigger the returns we could realize. I just want to emphasize that the employees have expressed an interest in that sort of thing through their regular MLAs and possibly through Members of Cabinet as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to ask the Minister about the Employee Recognition Program. This government is supposed to be about prevention and engaging our employees. I hear a lot of frustration about wasted energy, wasted resources, inefficiencies in programs. A lot of employees have individual observations and experiences to offer that aren’t necessarily part of their job descriptions. When we started the reductions exercise, I think it was recognized as a valuable source of information. We put out a call, and in fact we got a lot of good suggestions from employees in our public service...