Robert Villeneuve

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As far as I know, the employees did get locked out prior to their strike deadline that was issued to the employer. Can the Minister’s department do more than just monitor at this point in time? Of course, time is of the essence in this whole issue. We have people who want to come home and want to get treatment here in the NWT by people that they know and have received treatment from in the past, I am sure. What can the department offer besides just monitoring? Can we provide some mentoring, perhaps, Mr. Speaker; anything besides just sitting back and monitoring...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question again is to the Minister responsible for Human Resources, the Honourable Floyd Roland just about with the Nats'ejee K'eh clients. I guess Health pays the bill. Just with the government having notification of the lockout prior to it actually coming through, but efforts were taken to notify the clients and their families of the move to ensure that as little as possible interruption of their treatment would happen. What efforts were made to notify families and clients that they would be moving south? Were they given advance notice? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that mandatory orientation and training be implemented for all new Workers’ Compensation Board employees before they are allowed to engage clients. The committee further recommends ongoing professional development be programmed for each employee, manager, executive and member of the Governance Council and Appeals Tribunal and documented and reported annually as a key component of performance measurement. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me ask the Minister if the added cost that the GNWT or the Department of Health is incurring because we have to send these clients down south, is that cost over and above what we are providing in terms of what contracts are in place to the treatment centre today? If they are, why doesn’t the government just provide that additional funding to the centre so they can meet the terms and conditions that maybe some of the employees are demanding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ironically enough, from October 29th to November 4th is Canada Career Week. You find the work you love and build a life you want, and here we have a gallery full of 22 people that obviously found the work they love and are building a life that they want and a lot of northerners want their clients to have. They are here today dealing with this lockout. What assurances can the Minister provide to the current clients that are down south, and their families, that they will again have access to treatment here in the NWT in the near future? When might that be? Thank you...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today is a sad day for me and many Dene people in and around Yellowknife, especially for Deninu Kue constituents and a lot of people from Detah. Mr. Speaker, this morning I just attended the funeral of the late Ms. Helen Toby. Ms. Toby was a very well-respected Dene elder who lived in Detah and she passed away after a long battle with cancer. I just want to send out my sincere condolences from everyone here in the Legislative Assembly to all the family, friends and relatives and the many, many, many friends of Helen Toby. Our prayers go out to them all.

Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know under the current list that's been introduced, it's for the persons under the health care plan that are insured. I'm just wondering what about the people under the non-insured health care benefits plan. Are they included in this list when it's submitted or when it's requested? Thank you.

With the new employment equity of programs, Mr. Speaker, is the government going to be applying any special measures to improve the rate at which our qualified members of a designated group are hired in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay. Well, let’s review the policy again and we’ll go over what was mandated in that policy. I’m pretty clear that there was an advisory committee that was supposed to be established. That’s all I’m saying. I don’t see why we would sway from having an objective body to oversee the operations like that. Just with respect to Yellowknife alone, the population of Yellowknife comprises of roughly 51 percent of aboriginal population here and the public service here in Yellowknife only comprises 14 percent of indigenous aboriginals in the public service in a community which...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister responsible for Human Resources with respect to the Human Resources amalgamation. Just as I was stating in my Member’s statement today, Mr. Speaker, my first question to the Minister is, the affirmative action policy since it was first mandated in 1989, there was a policy in there to put together an affirmative action advisory committee, which was an objective, independent committee that had a gender balance and a racial balance to oversee the operations of the affirmative action policy. I think if that committee was implemented when it was...