Glen Abernethy

Thank you. I don’t know. I will talk to my ministerial colleagues. We will talk about opportunities that are out there, and the Premier has directed us to look at not just Yellowknife, but all communities in the Northwest Territories where jobs exist and to hire as many students as we can. So I’ll certainly bring your message forward to the Cabinet table. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak today about the successful negotiation of three new agreements with the bargaining units that represent our employees.

A contract has been negotiated and ratified with the Northwest Territories Medical Association, and collective agreements have been negotiated and ratified with the Union of Northern Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association. They are all four-year agreements, which provide our employees with predictable, stable terms of employment in a volatile economic environment. Four-year agreements also provide the GNWT with the...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, the bill amends the Securities Act to provide a framework for the recognition of auditor oversight bodies mandated to oversee the performance of auditors of publicly traded companies, and provide a framework for the regulation of credit rating organizations and the establishment of legal rights available to investors in respect of a failure to comply with the requirements set out in the rules made under the act respecting the delivery of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is committed to improving mental health and wellness services in the justice system and it’s absolutely going to take a partnership between the Department of Health and Social Services, Justice, as well as the other social departments.

We have followed up on the motion that was put forward in the 16th Assembly and also recommendations from Member Bromley and committee to move forward with this, and I have committed previously that we are going to move forward and come up with some decision points that can be reviewed by committee. But the first thing that...

Thank you. I believe last year we got about 280, 281, 282, somewhere around there. So far this year we’ve hired 241. I’ll have an update of numbers for all Members tomorrow. It continues to move. We hope to hire as many as we can. We’d obviously like to see numbers similar to what we’ve had in the past, but as we’ve indicated, there are obviously some financial limitations and the department will be hiring as many students as they can both afford and that there’s work for.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m actually not aware of any specific jobs in the riding that the Member represents. I know that one summer student has been hired. The Premier has given the Ministers direction to hire as many students as can be afforded and as operational requirements allow. So we will be working to hire as many students as we can throughout the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The analysis that we’ve done shows that we could increase as much as 11 inmates over a year period and the cost of that is projected to be around $53,000, which includes all the costs that would be coming with that, food, time, staff. We don’t see it as a significant cost, but we also don’t anticipate that kind of hit during this fiscal year. We’re halfway through this fiscal year, or almost halfway through this fiscal year, and the provisions of Bill C-10 haven’t come into effect yet, so we’re not affected yet. When they do, they will take some time to get through the...

Like I said, Public Works and Services will absolutely work with the department and the authority. I do understand that there is a barrier-free bathroom downstairs, which is completely accessible by elevator, so the person can get to an accessible bathroom on the downstairs floor, but as far as that bathroom, we will work with the Minister and the authority.