Bill Braden

Mr. Speaker, the third demand here is that our corporation work with other stakeholders to develop a convincing proposal to take to the federal government for additional investment. The Minister indicated he is going to be seeing the federal Minister, I think it was next month. We hope, Mr. Speaker, that he will take this message to heart and involve other people in the Housing Corporation's plans and visions. There’s a 10-year plan that we understand is in the makings. I wish we could learn more about that today or very soon, but I’m anticipating that in the near future we will, and I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Despite the fact they may or may not have been included in the articles of the settlement, does that mean that they should still be eligible under at least the spirit and intent of the agreement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister, for the answer. The settlement also recognized that casual workers who where employed by this government between that period were also included as being eligible. What efforts have been made to contact these casual workers and how successful has that part of the agreement been? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a privilege and a pleasure to recognize family, as always. Today I am pleased to recognize in the House my mother, Esther Braden, and another honoured senior within our community, Mr. Ed Jeske. Thank you.

---Applause

So just to confirm then, there’s absolutely nothing we can do about this expenditure.

Well, that’s a disappointing bit of news. It obviously takes away from the ability of this Legislature, and I would think others across Canada, to be able to make good decisions. We are handed a huge bill of goods, given the size of our airport and our population -- $11.2 million -- and we’re told pay it. There are good reasons for it -- security -- but I need to be convinced that as part of the Canadian traveling public and under the demand from a federal system, that we’re getting as square a deal or perhaps as bad a deal as anybody else in Canada. Mr. Chairman, I’m sort of layering this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Honourable David Krutko, Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

How many market housing units will be installed, in what community and by when?

As of today, how many units are occupied?

By what professions?

What market research did the NWT Housing Corporation undertake to identify potential tenants and determine their needs/expectations before committing to the market housing initiative?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m told that there was one distinct category that had to be created in which to, if you will, park the files of employees whose new positions had not yet been reclassified. This category went by, apparently the number 7777. Employees who may have found their position put into this category, I’m told, may have been overlooked in the settlement process and consequently in the search process, and would not show up on any eligibility lists. Could the Minister confirm that this category indeed was used for this purpose, and what efforts are being made to ensure that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this afternoon is for Mr. Dent in his capacity as Government House Leader and it follows on my statement about the equal pay settlement that our government signed more than two years ago now. The settlement, Mr. Speaker, set out a deadline of the end of December this year for application by employees who feel they may be eligible. Among its many provisions, the settlement recognized affected unionized employees and obliged this government to try to contact them. I would like to ask the Government House Leader how successful has the government been in...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In 1989, the Public Service Alliance of Canada filed an equal pay or work of equal value complaint against the Government of the Northwest Territories. The complaint alleged that the government had broken the Canadian Human Rights Act by paying men more than women in similar jobs. In June of 2002, three years later, this government, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission agreed on a deal for GNWT unionized employees regarding equal pay for work of equal value; an historic settlement, Mr. Speaker. It recognized that both former...