Wendy Bisaro

I can assure the Minister that she will hear from the committee, I am positive of that.

To the questions that are a part of the document, I’m very glad to see that the questions are there. We could argue about the content of the questions for quite some time so I’m going to leave that, but I am a little concerned that the questions don’t leave it open for changes to the observations. So I would hope that anybody listening to the Minister takes her point that all of this is possible and any comments will be accepted.

I’d like to ask the Minister, the questions and this document that’s out there...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to echo the comments of my colleague Mr. Bromley. We have talked about the issue with the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and their employees for quite some time now and my comment is simply just bite the bullet and do it and get it done. Thank you.

The three assumptions are: that all families should have a fair and equal access to Government of the Northwest Territories funded programs that assist with the cost of uninsured health services; that the structure of these programs can be confusing, this makes application for benefits or claims frustrating; a statement that we need a clear policy; a statement that we need a program that provides help to those who are most in need while maximizing our limited resources, and the assumption is that the uninsured health benefits are sustainable for the Government of the Northwest Territories...

Certainly those explanations make sense, but I guess if we know those things, why are we not budgeting for increased costs at the time that we put the original budget on the floor? Thank you.

My thanks go to the GNWT staff who set up all the details for my trip. My thanks go to VANOC, the Olympic Committee, for hosting us so well, for welcoming and pampering us as they did. I hope that I and the NWT will get the chance to return the favour sometime in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Sorry, Mr. Chair. I think this belongs here, so I better ask it now and find out. The Minister mentioned the Human Resources Transition Team resolving outstanding pay and benefits issues and backlogs and so on. I just wondered if I could get an update on where things are at in terms of pay and benefits and the backlog. Has it finally gone down to zero or are we getting close, et cetera? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a quick question here with regard to the contract services. That amount has increased significantly and I just wondered if I could find out why. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I asked a question yesterday with regards to recruitment and retention and I have received an answer that suggested that there is going to be a government-wide effort to put in place some recruitment and retention strategies for hard to fill positions. One of the ones that I am concerned about is within the Department of Justice, lawyers particularly. I just wondered whether or not the department is developing an across government strategy if it is going to include, for instance, lawyers, legal aid lawyers that are required by the Department of Justice and areas such...

Thanks to the Minister for that clarification; I now understand. I just wondered, the Minister’s statement about increasing our ability to track and report on all employees with disabilities who require an accommodation, could I get a bit of an explanation as to what that action is intended, what it is intended to do, I guess, and how it is going to be done? Thank you.

Thanks for that to the deputy minister. Maybe it’s the language in the Minister’s opening remarks, but it talks about the sensitivity training project; the training will be focused at directors, managers, officers, administration staff and persons with disabilities. So I’m wondering why persons with disabilities need to have sensitivity training. So maybe I could get an explanation of what’s intended with that statement. Thank you.