Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The career fair in Ottawa was one method that we were using to try to attract individuals to the North. They come to the North; they would be subjected to the same type of infrastructure and housing deficiencies as anyone else here.

We are also trying to advertise in the North. We have open houses. We’ve had one in Simpson. We’re going to continue to have open houses the next couple of months in all of our centres where we have career centres. We are going to have these open houses to try to bring people from these communities to the open house and talk about their...

Mr. Speaker, I know that we need some infrastructure in the communities where the employment rates are low. Some of those positions can’t be filled unless individuals are brought into the community to fill those jobs, because some of those positions need some qualifications that are not easily attained in some of the smaller communities. The jobs that can be filled in the smaller communities with individuals that have the qualifications in those communities will be filled, but when we have to bring people in…

As I indicated in my response earlier, of the 570 active positions that we are trying...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is our mode of communicating with individuals. A careers website is what we’re using to advertise for the people that are looking for jobs in the NWT. The departments, various departments are constantly trying to advertise the jobs on the career website. If there are 100-and-something jobs on there, I can check with the department to just determine why there are not more jobs on the career website at this time.

The Department of Public Works will advise the group of areas where spaces would be available for art display. Like I indicated, there will be a policy developed, and I think that’s going to guide us on whether or not we are displaying art, in which buildings and what pieces of art that we will be displaying. As I indicated, at this point it appears as though the group, the NWT Arts Council, that we’re working with were happy with the display appearing on the television and the TV display system, but because the policy is not finalized, it would be difficult to indicate at this point what art...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. After the commitment was made to do this work, a working group consisting of four departments, ECE, ITI, Transportation and Public Works, was put together to work with the NWT Arts Council on making this display of art in GNWT buildings possible.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There was not a design issue; the issue was with the installation of the bridge. The bridge was installed and the panels that sit on top the bridge were not totally lined up with the installation of the sides of the bridge. It took some time to make the correction, so that has been corrected. There’s no issue with the safety of the bridge or anything. The corrections have been made and the bridge is now properly installed. Thank you.

Thank you. The chipsealing will be done this summer during the summer construction season. Once that is completed if there’s a request from committee for us to debrief committee on the contract, then the department is prepared to do that. Thank you.

Thank you. This was a guaranteed negotiated contract. There have been no requests from the contractor for any change order to increase the costs of the work that was done on the Highway No. 4 bypass. Thank you.

Thank you. A public highway is a public highway. Any public highway, once it’s officially opened, is the responsibility of DOT. It’s fairly standard practice to put down the base of the road and not put the chipseal immediately, and in this case there would be driving on it and when it is appropriate and the weather allows, then it will be chipsealed, but up until the chipseal is completed, the contract is still there, but legally, at the time it was opened it became a DOT asset. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, at any one given time the Government of the Northwest Territories carries a vacancy of around 10 percent and this is fairly standard, 10 percent of the entire public service. The positions do fluctuate. The various departments have about 1,500 staffing actions per year. So between all of the departments, there is always various staffing actions, so this is a shot that has been fairly consistent throughout the government but it’s like one shot. Almost immediately as this information comes forward it is out of date, but we have to at some point take a spot and say this has been...