Frieda Martselos

Can the Minister tell us if the affirmative action strategy applies to all departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I'm going to talk about the Affirmative Action Policy and how it is not being evenly applied across all departments within the Government of the Northwest Territories. What I mean is that I have brought several constituency issues pertaining to the Affirmative Action Policy to the attention of the Minister responsible for human resources. Oftentimes, the Minister will defer any answers on these particular enquiries to the department or Ministers who are doing the hiring. Through my work on these issues, it has come to my attention that there is not an even...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to review its policies and practices for racial and cultural bias, especially as they relate to education, Health and Social Services, Justice, housing, and government hiring; and further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Some people believe that direct appointments are beneficial for Indigenous P1 individuals. Can the Minister tell us if she agrees with that statement?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of human resources tell us if her department is ensuring that the Affirmative Action Policy is being evenly applied within all departments of the government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to use my Member's statement to thank and acknowledge the church community in Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, there are three churches in my community: the Anglican, the Catholic, and the Pentecostal. The church community in Fort Smith has become a core constituency of the town itself. The church community contributes to the entirety of the community of Fort Smith. They want Fort Smith to thrive and do well, along with the rest of the NWT. The church community contributes to local events, and they share their building space with other organizations or...

I'll turn to page 181, then, and go to Health and Social Services Authority funding. That went up by $22 million, so my question is for clarity. Everybody is equal in the territory, and we all expect the same services everywhere. I know it's very difficult. You can't have a large hospital in a small community, but it seems like we're always making sure that the Health and Social Services Authority funding, it went up by $22 million. It puzzles me how these budgets are presented because I just feel like it could be done more simply, so that we all understand very easily because I'm very good at...

My question is: community clinics and health centres, the budget went down. That's all the small communities, and I guess we're not considered a hospital. We're considered a health centre. The budget went down by almost $2 million. I'm just wondering, especially now that we've been through a pandemic and are still in a pandemic, why would budgets go down in community clinics and health centres? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to present a petition dealing with the matter of returning Fort Smith Regional Airport runway to former specifications.

Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 550 signatures, including 127 electronic signatures and 344 written signatures of Northwest Territories residents, and Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request that the Government of the Northwest Territories return the main airport runway at Fort Smith airport to its former width for reasons of public safety and economic growth.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I have a short presentation. Further to my Member's...

Can the Minister explain how often reviews of airport infrastructure are done in the NWT? Are reviews done periodically within a set time frame, or are they done subjectively, based on the decisions of the Minister and the government of the day?