Wendy Bisaro

Thanks to the Minister. I understand that there’s been lots of talk; there’s been lots of getting together. However, there’s been no change. I asked the Minister about what he called an official languages strategy that he mentioned he was going to table in this House.

I again ask the Minister, does that strategy exist and has it ever been tabled? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For some time now we’ve had an Official Languages Act which specifies that there shall be two languages boards, an Aboriginal Languages Board and a Languages Revitalization Board. Although these two boards and their membership is clearly laid out in the Official Languages Act, the GNWT is not following its own legislation, nor is the government, specifically the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, heeding the advice of the 16th Assembly Standing Committee on Government Operations, which did a thorough and comprehensive review of the Official Languages Act...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t need to comment much more than I already have. This motion is the result of the work of committee and the need that we felt to support the Information and Privacy Commissioner in her desire to get legislation for access to information and protection of privacy legislation for municipalities. This is the result of that work.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a couple of questions here. The first one is the first line item, the funding for increased costs related to Hay River Health and Social Services Authority Pension Plan. This is an item which I think has appeared every year since I’ve been here, or at least for the last several years.

Can I get an explanation as to whether this is something that is going to continue on into the future until we presumably bring those staff in under the GNWT public service, or is this an amount and is this amount that is going to be similar for the years following, or is this kind of...

Thanks. I guess my last question would be: What is the total cost of this bundle of projects? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 188-17(5) be reported and recommended for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.

Thanks to the Minister. What I’m trying to understand is this $28.5 million is presumably the 75 percent, because it’s going to be offset by funding from the federal government, so where is our 25 percent share? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. Yes, $25,000 is not a heck of a lot of money. However, it probably barely covers the increases to salaries and so on for those organizations, but it’s a bit, so I appreciate that.

The organizations that are doing this work, particularly the Status of Women Council is a group of three people, there are only three employees and in order for us to make advances, particularly in our small communities, there needs to be a much greater infusion of cash. So for us to expand activities throughout the territory as opposed to keeping it in Yellowknife and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 206-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2014-2015, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 206-17(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. I am very proud that we have a lot of senior managers who are women and I’m glad that the government recognizes that as an accomplishment.

The fact that the Minister says that we want to get better, I need to ask the next question, which is: How is the Minister, how is this government going to affect that vision, going to effect that change?