Bob McLeod

Mr. Speaker, human resources are the most important resource in an organization. Government of the Northwest Territories managers and the Department of Human Resources are becoming strategic partners in human resource management, ensuring the GNWT has the right people in the right jobs to support GNWT business program delivery.

In the months to come, I am looking forward to providing this House with an update on those efforts and highlighting some of the initiatives that will enhance our ability to recruit and retain a top-notch public service. Today, I would like to touch on a few areas for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a department, we would like to be where the action is. We will be prepared to look at moving downtown as the Member indicates there is office space available. The main consideration would be one of cost. If it is one way to service our clientele better, we will be definitely prepared to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have had some discussions. That situation that the honourable Member described also occurs in other communities. The reasons we haven’t dealt with it yet comes down to money, and it costs money to relocate to another office. As well, there has to be office space available. The approach that we have taken to date is we are not going to move unless the growth requirements of ENR requires us to move out. At that time, we would approach Public Works to find us appropriate office space and a suitable location so that we could service our clientele. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What the Member is referring to is a fairly new concept and part of the problem with living in the North and travelling on airplanes and other means as we do, I’m not aware of any readily available companies whereby you can take advantage of these carbon offsets. Perhaps upon further investigation I might find that it’s quite easy to buy carbon offsets at the same time as you book your ticket, but I’m not aware if it’s that readily available. I guess that’s an area that we would have to look at to see how that would fit into the policies of this government for travel...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is there were at least 12 people who went on the trip and it’s a matter of getting all of their different observations together and compiling a report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that question. With regard to the trip to China, which I understand was very successful, the group that traveled to China met recently to report on their views on the benefits of the trip. There was some follow-up activity resulting from the visit. I am still waiting for a report on the trip. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, it was also discussed in the context of mitigating climate change and the opportunities for utilizing infrastructure to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, I’ll be working with my colleague, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, who has the lead on dealing with climate change, and will communicate that to him. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For a while there I thought I’d go through this session without a question.

---Laughter

The northern economic development Ministers met in Ottawa Thursday and Friday of last week. In the discussions on climate change and in the three briefings that were presented to the northern economic development Ministers, it was pointed out that climate change is in fact a reality and this is a first instance where the issue of discussions on utilizing infrastructure as it means for adapting to the effects of climate change. This was discussed in the context of a number of different...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to commend the movers of this motion. As a new Member of the Legislative Assembly, the Members' Conduct Guidelines that have been put forward lays out all the attributes that I would aspire to in serving in this Legislative Assembly. So I will be supporting the motion. Thank you.

---Applause