Kevin A. Menicoche

No, it’s not a specific case, it’s just that there’s such a backlog because they have extended it to every six weeks to have the Territorial Court sit in the communities and it’s creating quite a bit of backlog. I guess I can ask the Minister, if he’s not too familiar with it, maybe if he can ask for a briefing note and share that with me. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to briefly touch on our RCMP services in my riding. I think, particularly in Fort Simpson, I am pleased how they interact in the community, especially with the new organization for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. They really came out and pitched in, helped out with the kickoff of that event, and I am pleased to see that. I am also pleased to see that they continue to do drinking and driving. There were 11 charges in January, which is good to see. It sends a message to the community that we take this very seriously in the Northwest Territories. When it...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I guess another issue that’s directly related to this is that we have 570 job vacancies in our government, 21 of them in Fort Simpson alone, but it appears that there are three or four of them advertised. Those impacted employees who are going through the shared services reorganization certainly have first priority at those. The Aboriginals and Northerners in my communities want to apply on jobs but they’re limited. There are 21 positions in Simpson.

What are the Minister and this government doing about getting those jobs out in the public system and getting...

The Minister touched on it briefly. It’s still not clear. Is it three years of experience is equivalent to some type of education level or programming or degree? Perhaps the Minister can answer that.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to speak about Northerners and Aboriginals getting jobs with the Government of the Northwest Territories. But firstly, it was good to hear that the shared services and long-term Aboriginal employees were addressed in the House yesterday. This government should be investing in Aboriginals and Northerners. We should be proud to have them in our public service. I think it would be a proud day when we can finally say the GNWT has a truly representative workforce.

Sadly, well-qualified Northerners and Aboriginals, P1 candidates, are still be screened...

I’m glad the Minister was able to answer the questions on vacancies and specifically to the Dehcho, as it were, partly in my regional breakup. Social Services calls it Dehcho, but half of it, of course, is the Nahendeh. But certainly it addresses my issue of having job opportunities available for all residents as we move along.

Just with the vacancies alone, I think I spoke last budget in this House about Fort Liard and their need for consistent social work and mental health services. I just want to know if things have been addressed in Fort Liard. There was a high turnover of social workers...

Thank you very much. I didn’t think it added up to 24, but between Stanton and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, I guess, Madam Chair. I’m just trying to understand why there are increases, 20 more positions for Yellowknife. As we go along, I think I pointed it out in the previous department too, although it was there that things continue to grow and grow in Yellowknife. It looks like these authorities, of course, are specific to Yellowknife. So just two more questions, I guess. I think we were short a couple of positions. I didn’t that came to 24, what she was saying. The...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Just for clarification, we’re on 8-11?

---Interjection

The Minister somewhat clearly described the process of equivalencies, but my issue is that I have three files in my constituency where people have been screened out. They do have the years of experience, some certification. More specifically, it was an accounting clerk position, an entry-level position in our government yet they wanted three years of business management and a bunch of experience. No wonder people are frustrated with trying to get a job within our government.

Can the Minister explain why entry-level jobs have such a high qualification? I know that when somebody gets into a job...

Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement on Aboriginals and Northerners getting employment with our government. More specifically, constituents are contacting me. They’re telling me that a lot of the entry-level positions, they seem to be overqualified as well as they’re being screened out because they’re not being credited for their years of service. I understand, and perhaps the Minister of Human Resources can answer the question, when they have years of service it kind of qualifies for education equivalency. Maybe the Minister can explain that to me.