Statements in Debates
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I’ve indicated before, the Dehcho First Nation, the grand chief and I have had some discussions in the past about how we could try to find a way forward. We agreed on a terms of reference for a small group of senior officials to get together and without prejudice, and to look at how we could find a way forward on some very difficult and complex land issues. I think that it appears, from all accounts, the outcome appears to have found a way. It’s now going through a process with the Dehcho First Nations. I understand the grand chief has gone on the road to all his...
Finally, a question that I can answer. All GNWT employees sign a code of ethics when they enter into employment with this government, and as part of that code of ethics they have to adhere to certain principles and criteria, and I’m sure the honourable Member would be the first to cry out loud and clear if an employee of the Government of the Northwest Territories would come out and directly criticize it.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Member is correct; it is a land negotiator position. Thank you.
Madam Speaker, that depends on the question. Thank you.
This funding is consistent with the government’s policy on third-party accountability. There are different definitions of third party. I believe some portions or some groups are eligible for different increases, different categories. I will ask, through you, Richard to go into more detail, Mr. Chair.
I know what devolution is and I know what decentralization is. Decentralization is where we take jobs and move them out into the regions, into the communities, so that people most affected by decisions are the ones that make the decisions and they’re closer to where they live. So, I know what decentralization is.
We are working on a plan. We have the Department of Finance, the Minister of Finance will be leading through the Refocusing Government Cabinet committee. He will be developing a plan. We will be building 30 houses a year in the communities. Along with increased services, we expect to...
I guess I could wait until we approve the whole thing, but it’s when we get to intergovernmental relations, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Of course we have a plan. We have described it many times. We have a three-phase plan. Phase 1 was where we had departments identify positions to be decentralized. We decentralized 18 positions. Phase 2 was to decentralize through devolution. We are very close to completing that. With our new organizational design, we expect there will be approximately 90 positions that have been decentralized. Now we are entering phase 3. Once all the work on devolution is done, we have requested all of our deputy ministers to identify opportunities for decentralization. Through this...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The main reason is because of forced growth, an increase of $36,000 for collective bargaining increases; there are some other adjustments for financial shared services and for TSC chargeback for the Technical Service Centre, and also an increase of $5,000 for devolution impacts. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The first is a lands negotiator, which is incremental resource resulting from devolution. With the Government of the Northwest Territories now taking on the responsibility for Crown lands, there’s an increased requirement for this position as we are also the Aboriginal rights negotiators, including land. The second position is the coordinator of the Intergovernmental Council. It’s another incremental resource resulting from devolution. This will help us coordinate and support the activities of the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management and will be made up of all of the...