Glen Abernethy

Mr. Speaker, I can’t speak for the actions of a previous government, but I can say that when we came into the 16th Legislative Assembly, whistleblower legislation was a priority for both Regular Members and I as the Minister. Through negotiations with the union, the union requested that we work with them on a memorandum of understanding to put together some joint policies around whistleblowers, which we’re basically used as a pilot study. That work has been done. It was made effective April 1, 2013. I made a commitment that after we ran this program for a year, we’d do a bit of a review, learn...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 15, Gunshot and Stab Wound Mandatory Disclosure Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my right is Kelly McLaughlin, the director of legislation. On my left is Emily Ingarfield, the policy analyst. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am pleased to be here today to speak about Bill 18, Apology Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for their review of this bill.

This legislation would make an apology or expression of sympathy made by or on behalf of a person inadmissible as evidence of fault or liability in any judicial or quasi-judicial civil proceeding. Nine Canadian jurisdictions have enacted similar legislation.

In the absence of this legislation, people are unsure of the legal consequences of taking the natural human step of making an apology. They fear that an apology can be considered as...

Yes, Mr. Chair.

I’m committed to taking it through the process. I’ve already made that commitment to the House a number of times both today and previously. We will follow it through the normal legislative process, which includes going to committee, spending 120 days with committee, and then going to the House for, hopefully, first, second and third reading.

Thank you. The memorandum of understanding and the policy went live on April 1, 2013. We tried to get that information out as best we could. We’ve included it on our website; we’ve got it out in Bear Facts a number of times. We had a joint letter go out with the UNW to all UNW representatives in the Northwest Territories, and to date, we’ve actually had nobody take us up on this policy and program.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is recognized as one of Canada's top Diversity Employers in 2013 for the initiatives we've undertaken to enhance opportunities for Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and other under-represented groups. The GNWT is committed to developing and maintaining a public service representative of the people we serve across the NWT.

The Department of Human Resources, in conjunction with the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, is conducting an Aboriginal Inclusion Survey among GNWT employees, focusing on recruitment and retention of Aboriginal persons. The survey will gather...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Justices of the Peace Act, be read for the third time.