Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much. So it is clear for me, it’s completion in ’16-17 and using the biomass sustainability plan currently.

My other question would be Public Works and Services is responsible for the planning studies for capital projects and the one that they’re particularly looking at in Fort Simpson, as well, is the replacement health centre. I’ve been trying to get some certainty on that work and with the community of Fort Simpson about engaging them in a planning study as we move forward.

I guess one of the big things is about the location of the new health centre. So I know that they’ve...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As we work with Public Works and Services here just reviewing the much needed Public Works and Services shop replacement here in Fort Simpson and centralizing the carpentry, plumbing and electrical trade space, a couple of questions. In the document here it says shop replacement 2016-17. I just wonder if that’s a typo at all. Most particularly, we’re reviewing capital estimates for 2015-16.

When the Minister is responding, I’m presuming, as well, that he’ll be accessing the biomass steam heating plant for heating the new shop building as well.

Thank you very much. I’m pleased with the Minister’s commitment to look into it and I truly believe that all our education authorities must involve Human Resources and must involve them at all levels, even at the interview stage, because I believe that we’ve taken great strides for this government. This government wants a represented workforce and it must include our education authorities. So once more I ask the Minister to look at that, meet with his officials at the boards and ensure that our Affirmative Action Policy is followed. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I’m going to have to contradict the Minister on the DEAs following our Affirmative Action Policy and our representative Workforce Strategy because I’ve been informed in the past, there’s one particular case, where an Aboriginal teacher had the same equivalencies as southern teachers, where we get a lot of them from, I’ll say that in this House, but that job was given to a southern teacher instead of our Aboriginal teacher. The affirmative guidelines clearly state same experience, same level of training and we lean towards the Aboriginal teacher.

So once again, can the...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased with the Human Resources department strategy on striving for a representative workforce and ensuring that we follow our Aboriginal… I’m sorry, my notes are a bit mixed up here, but the Affirmative Action Policy is what I wanted to address here.

Our regional education authorities have no involvement or request no training from Human Resources for their hiring committees. This is concerning because I have heard of several cases in the past few years where our Northerners and our Aboriginals who have become teachers are often overlooked for applying...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m very happy to recognize my partner, Lucyanne Kendo, in the gallery this week, and also my stepdaughter, Brittany Jewel, who’s showing off her haircut to the whole of the Northwest Territories today. Welcome.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. In the Minister’s previous response, he was talking about schools in small communities and I did a Member’s statement last week. Most particularly for Trout Lake, in the budget here, we have renovations to the Charles Tetcho building. I have consistently made the case that is a community hall that was shared with the school. It looks like the renovations are to make more space for the schooling needs. Sorry, Trout Lake is one of the communities in the North that has a growing population, most particularly from zero to 10 years old, so they definitely need more...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. It continues to be a rough ride down Highway No. 7. Kilometres 0 to 20 were scheduled to be chipsealed this summer, and the contract went out to a southern company. The Department of Transportation told me it had done its due diligence and assured me that Fort Liard and other Northerners would still receive some benefit, even though this contract went south.

In order to secure the contract, the BC company provided certain assurances as to their intention to use services from two northern companies out of Fort Liard. My constituents inform me that this did not occur at...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the Minister and staff for that answer. I think it’s important for me to hear that definitely it’s not meant to be a long-term solution. As you do the planning study, I think a few things are important to engage the community, to engage the chief and band council and let them know that. Chief Dolphus Jumbo has told me, he says, Kevin, I’ve seen this before. They’ll come and do temporary, but it will end up permanent. I don’t want to lose that stand-alone school that we’ve been working so hard to get. I think that’s important.

I don’t know if part of...

Thank you very much. I know those are technical details that the Minister of Public Works and Services can certainly answer, but I’m asking, I know that the Stabilization Fund was used already and I’d like to ask Mr. Premier when can this government review that and also review a further reduction using this Stabilization Fund for this coming year, given that gasoline prices will continue to decline at this quarter. Mahsi.