Robert C. McLeod

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize the importance of proper communication during the upcoming forest fire season and forest fire seasons of the past. We are working with Lands on a data-sharing process so that all departments are aware of the good values on the land, and we are also working with MACA through their emergency measures officer on emergency preparedness. We communicate daily with the EMO during extreme fire seasons. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think the Member said it well when he said that part of the onus is on the property owners to take steps to ensure that their properties are protected. As far as educating the public about how fast a wildfire is, well, it is hard for us to predict. We can help them to try and be prepared in the event that there is a very fast wildfire that is moving. I think the wildfire will educate us more than we can educate the public. We have to be prepared for it, and we will communicate through our websites and other social media.

Again, as I said before, Mr. Speaker, I stress the importance of folks...

We are working on establishing contact information with all property owners. That is why we stress the importance of all property owners to let us know where they are, let the departments know where they are and, more importantly, give us some contact information so we are able to contact them in the event of an emergency. We talk of properties and values, but our most important value is the people who are out there. We need to know who is out there so, in the event of a forest fire that is moving very quickly, we can react to that.

We are looking at different communication methods. I think the...

I’m not aware of any unreasonable offers. I would be pleased if the Member would share his letters with me.

I take the question as notice, Mr. Speaker.

Our department is in contact with the employees. They won't be offered a job just because they are an affected employee. They have to actually be qualified for that particular job that they apply for. Our staff is working with those who are affected.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am looking forward to some “Shane” days at the end of this session.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, the quick answer is that affected employees have priority on all new hires, so if there was an opportunity in their home community, again, they do have priority, and that could be taken into consideration.

Mr. Speaker, that depends on when they were hired, how long they have been employed, and where they were hired from.

Mr. Speaker, the decisions we make here in the Legislative Assembly have real impacts on the people of the Northwest Territories. Make no mistake about it; they are watching us to find out what our plans are and how they will be affected. This puts a big responsibility on us to make sure that what we say here is accurate and does not cause any public fear or misconceptions about the government’s plans.

We have a particular responsibility to our staff, Mr. Speaker. We make the decisions here in the Legislative Assembly, but it is the dedicated professionals in the GNWT public service who put our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled "Inter-Activity Transfers Exceeding $250,000, April 1 to December 31, 2016."