Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to report that the preparation of the Stanton human resource plan is well underway. Two surveys have been conducted since the human resource committee was formed in February of 2007. Data from both surveys have been summarized and have been released to all Stanton employees as of October 4th. A staffing working group has been formed. A staff forum was held on November 9, 2007, in order to provide feedback on the results. We are taking that data and the feedback and are working on developing a human resource plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a department, we would like to be where the action is. We will be prepared to look at moving downtown as the Member indicates there is office space available. The main consideration would be one of cost. If it is one way to service our clientele better, we will be definitely prepared to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have had some discussions. That situation that the honourable Member described also occurs in other communities. The reasons we haven’t dealt with it yet comes down to money, and it costs money to relocate to another office. As well, there has to be office space available. The approach that we have taken to date is we are not going to move unless the growth requirements of ENR requires us to move out. At that time, we would approach Public Works to find us appropriate office space and a suitable location so that we could service our clientele. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What the Member is referring to is a fairly new concept and part of the problem with living in the North and travelling on airplanes and other means as we do, I’m not aware of any readily available companies whereby you can take advantage of these carbon offsets. Perhaps upon further investigation I might find that it’s quite easy to buy carbon offsets at the same time as you book your ticket, but I’m not aware if it’s that readily available. I guess that’s an area that we would have to look at to see how that would fit into the policies of this government for travel...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is there were at least 12 people who went on the trip and it’s a matter of getting all of their different observations together and compiling a report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that question. With regard to the trip to China, which I understand was very successful, the group that traveled to China met recently to report on their views on the benefits of the trip. There was some follow-up activity resulting from the visit. I am still waiting for a report on the trip. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the honourable Member for his observations about morale in the public service. As I said, human resources are our most important asset. This is an area which is difficult to quantify. In the past we’ve used employee engagement surveys. This is something that we will be doing, I understand, in the near future. The last employee engagement survey that was undertaken was in 2006. At that time the results of the survey indicated that most of the employees were satisfied with the responsibilities of their position. I think that’s probably the best way to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize some Metis cousins.

---Laughter

Kenny Hudson, president of the Fort Smith Metis Local; as well as Vern Jones, the president of the NWT Metis Nation; Arthur Beck; Kara King; Jim Green from Dog River; I think it is Shannon Cumming. Also two constituents of mine from Yellowknife South, Mr. Gerald Read and Janet Pound.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Definitely, we would like to find a way to have a single-window approach, especially with the Community Futures program. I expect that the timeline would have to be tied in with the business planning process. I would think that it would probably be a period of four to five months, I think. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I haven’t seen anything formal other than I know that within the Department of ENR, there have been indications that they do require additional space for their own departmental requirements. Until such time as we are officially advised that they want us out of there, we will continue to stay in those locations. Thank you.