Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT is committed to developing a competent public service representative of the population it serves. There are a number of things that we are doing. We do have the Affirmative Action Policy that we apply to all staffing actions. But we’ve also put in things like the Associate Director/Superintendent Program and a few other programs. We also have the Aboriginal Employees Advisory Committee, which has been put together to provide some guidance and direction to myself and Cabinet on how to improve representation of Aboriginal peoples within our public service.

In the...

Mr. Speaker, originally this project was slated for completion for March 31, 2013, but as the Member knows, because he lives in Inuvik and he has seen the school which is still standing, we didn’t finish on March 31, 2013. The new date is June 20, 2013. That is when we expect the school to be done, the site to be open.

The reason it was delayed is because ceiling tiles and fume hoods not identified in the original Hazmat were identified during Hazmat deconstruction. There is asbestos in the drywall that wasn’t identified in the original Hazmat assessment and mudded pipe joints which contain...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The original cost, or the value of that contract, was $1.25 million. Since that contract was awarded, there have been three change orders, one for $741,000, one for $373,000, and one for $86,000, which brings the current contract value up to $2.451 million. The costs are related to the removal of asbestos and asbestos-contaminated material discovered during the demolition, which was not included in the original Hazmat assessment completed by a northern consulting firm prior to tender. In this case, anybody who bid on that contract would have been bidding based on that...

Mr. Speaker, for things like nurses and social workers and teachers, it is a little easier because we have programs designed specifically for those. We do know the students that are in the northern program here in Yellowknife for social work and for nursing, for education as well. That one is a little easier to link to.

For students in the South who are interested in coming to the North to work in a variety of professions – the Member mentioned things like a lawyer or these other trades – it is a little bit more difficult. Through Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, we do have...

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 19, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2013, be read for the second time.

This bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in statutes of the Northwest Territories. The bill deals with other matters of a minor non-controversial or uncomplicated nature in the statutes and repeals provisions that have ceased to have an effect. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of different things that we do. One of the things that we do is the Graduate Internship Program. Since 2001, over 300 northern graduates have been supported through this Graduate Internship Program. We do market this program to students through a number of different ways. The GNWT Messenger, posters displayed in Yellowknife, through the Human Resources, direct e-mail blast from Student Financial Assistance, newspaper advertisement and Bear Facts. We have a budget of $1.3 million. We can support about 33 internships a year at $40,000 an internship. We also have...

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, be read for the second time.

This bill amends the Protection Against Family Violence Act to remove the ambiguity respecting the duration of emergency protection orders, giving Supreme Court authority to correct minor defects in emergency protection orders during the review process, allowing the Minister to review emergency protection order transcripts for research, evaluation and training purposes, and increase the maximum fine for offences under the act...

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

This bill requires that all gunshot and stab wounds, other than those stab wounds reasonably believed to be self-inflicted or unintentionally inflicted, be reported by health facilities and ambulance services that treat those injuries. The bill outlines the information that must be reported and the circumstances that trigger the reporting obligation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Internship Program that we are talking about is actually an opportunity for a department to have a secondary or supernumerary-type position. It is not one of our indeterminate or full-time positions, but it is an opportunity for a student who has no experience but a great education to come into the public service, to develop some skills, consolidate their learning with a one-year placement in the Internship Program. From there they have the criteria to then apply on jobs as they become vacant. So this is an opportunity for people to learn, develop, get some experience, help...

Mr. Speaker, I suppose a disconnect could exist, but I think one of the big challenges that we face is the fact that we had 65 applications and 33 seats. That means at least 50 percent of the people are going to be disappointed or upset.

As of today, there is still a Graduate Placement Program for nurses and social workers. Were graduate nurses, graduate social workers, as well as teachers are guaranteed an offer of employment. The problem with these guarantees, in some peoples’ perception, is that they don’t offer you a job in the location you are from. They don’t offer you a job in the place...