Bob McLeod

Mr. Speaker, today I’d like to provide Members with an update on initiatives that have been launched under 20/20: A Brilliant North that focus on diversity in the public service of the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The government is committed to increasing the representation of people with disabilities in the public service and creating an inclusive workplace open to all Northerners. Human Resources staff met with the director of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities in January to share our work plan on employability and to seek advice on our proposed direction and planned...

We are taking steps to advise everybody that the GNWT workplace is open to all Northerners, and anybody that is planning for jobs with the Government of the Northwest Territories, if you currently have a disability and you require accommodation, we encourage you to identify your needs if you apply and we will accommodate those needs during the hiring process.

As far as training, it’s something that our whole focus is on delivery, service delivery to our clients, and we will provide all the training that is required to our workers that deal with persons with disabilities and ensure that they...

Each situation has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis in order to determine what accommodation is required. Some of the areas depends on what type of special equipment needs to be provided, what kind of amendment to duties are involved, whether there is retraining involved or whether we have to amend hours of work. If there are assessors here, and I understand we do use local assessors or, depending on the situation, we may be required to go south for an assessment. But, like everything else, if there is the capability here, we’ll use it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Northwest Territories Tourism 2010-2011 Marketing Plan.

I guess our immediate intention, assuming our budgets are approved, is we were going to work on developing a domestic fishery so that we could have Northwest Territories fish processed and sold in the Northwest Territories. Until such time as we are officially withdrawn from FFMC, we are faced with restrictions, as Mr. Abbott is presently facing for export. As far as setting up something similar as FFMC or so on of FFMC provided for the by GNWT, I think that’s a discussion we would have to have with the fishermen. They just voted to remove themselves from FFMC, so one would wonder if they...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are investigating that and we are supporting the fishermen who have voted to withdraw from the FFMC. So we are doing all of the legal work. We will be undertaking consultation so that we can begin to move forthwith to proceed with withdrawing from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, tourism is a vital industry here in the Northwest Territories. It is our largest renewable industry, a $130 million sector that hosted 73,000 visitors in 2008-2009. It is also an industry that casts a wide net economically, as all our regions benefit from tourism activity.

Because of the importance and the potential of our tourism industry, it is critical that we market the Northwest Territories outstanding range of tourism products and that we consistently develop effective plans to do so.

Mr. Speaker, with that goal in mind, I’m extremely pleased with the results of Northwest...

Presently we have all of our tool kit of business programs that are available to a business like Mr. Abbott’s. For the other fishermen that have voted to have the Northwest Territories withdraw from FFMC, this government is committed to working with all of the fishermen to develop the fisheries and to develop and find further potential opportunities for fishermen of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Essentially, the process is we have to consult with other aboriginal governments and also make opportunity for interested public to have input into the process. We would have to advise the federal government or the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation of our intention to withdraw. We would have to enter into a negotiations process, because there are liabilities, financial and otherwise, that we have to deal with. We have to come back to this Legislative Assembly to withdraw or eliminate the applicable legislation. My understanding is the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation has deficiencies...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize some very important people here in the gallery today. First, Jenni Bruce, the president of Northwest Territories Tourism and general manager of the Chateau Nova; Larry Jacquard, secretary, Northwest Territories Tourism and director of sales for the Yellowknife Inn; Ms. Kelly Kaylo, principal of K2 Communications and Consulting, co-chair of the Tourism Marketing Advisory Committee; as well as my wife, Melody, and my youngest grandson, Cooper McLeod.