Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in the day I spoke about the difficulty my constituents had, the long-term employees advancing as well as new employees that want to get in with the Government of the Northwest Territories. I want to ask my question to the Minister of Human Resources.

In our 20/20: A Brilliant North, NWT Public Service Strategy Action Plan 2012-2016, how is the Minister and this government planning to advance our Aboriginal employees in management and executive? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Once again, for new employees, entry-level jobs are often overqualified and they don’t get attention for the years of experience and training that the individuals we have.

Does the plan address this fact? Are they reviewing those entry-level jobs and lowering the qualifications because people cannot get in. When you want a new employee, it’s about just getting them in there. They’ll learn the system; they’ll learn the organization and become long-term and valuable employees. Can the Minister look into that?

One of the issues raised was when they created a new financial shared services division, a long-term employee with many years of experience and training applied for a management job and yet that person wasn’t qualified. Once again, I question the government’s ability to over-qualify jobs and not giving enough attention to many, many years of service. How is this plan addressing that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I continue to be concerned about our Aboriginal people and employees who are not getting jobs and advancement opportunities in our government.

Earlier in this sitting, I spoke about how the new shared services department made it difficult for employees to advance but treated long-service employees like new hires. We have to take pride, Mr. Speaker, as we say we do, to support our Aboriginal employees as they advance in our government.

I also have many Aboriginal employees who have been trying to be hired by our GNWT, without success. They are upset because they are...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s too bad that the motion was a bit confusing when it first came out on Thursday because the media was quick to pick out a one-year extension and certainly it coloured the whole debate. But I think the principle of the motion was about seeking the authorization to extend. I believe that with the amended motion now it’s more clear, it’s just the authorization to extend from the federal government. Once again, this motion does not actually extend our term at all. We have a fixed election date of October 5, 2015, and that date has to be actually changed with...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I like Mr. Bromley’s motion to try to have it in October, but it gives the appearance that we are really not extending our term. At the same time, perhaps September 3rd or September 5th is the best day too. This motion doesn’t allow that flexibility, so I won’t be supporting the amendment. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Last weekend people were getting together for the annual Beavertail Jamboree. People came into Fort Simpson from all over the Deh Cho, Tulita, Fort Providence, Yellowknife and northern Alberta. Our hardworking organizers arranged a mix of events to get people outside into the fresh air. It’s time to enjoy the longer days of sunshine, knowing that summer is just around the corner. I was happy to enjoy the festivities and the great weather, and especially that everyone had a happy and safe weekend.

The tradition of the Beavertail Jamboree began about 35 years ago...

Thank you very much. There is outstanding support from the Yellowknife Members and I want the support from Cabinet as well.

As the MLA for Nahendeh I’m the MLA with the most small communities. Actually, four of my communities don’t have the nursing and policing services that this motion speaks about. Most particular, I’ve been up here time and time again trying to get those same services for the community of Wrigley.

In order to get full Cabinet support I’m going to move an amendment here, Mr. Speaker, that we remove the reference to add to the budget in the 2014-15 year because Cabinet...

I’m pleased to hear progress on the Dehcho and Akaitcho fronts there.

Just with respect to the bills, are there any significant restrictions on amending the devolution laws, and if so, what are they and what are these limits?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in the day I mentioned in my Member’s statement about devolution and some of the legislation that this House will be passing. Mr. Premier committed to a public review of the devolution legislation starting soon after it’s passed or after April 1st.

Could he describe how he expects the process to unfold so that the public knows what to expect?