Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, there’s always a concern when there’s criticism when we lose money. There’s a criticism when we don’t have enough accounting so money isn’t recovered. The issue of accountable advances, though, is hard to get past. It would be difficult for us to offer up much of our programming dollars if we didn’t allow the money to go out in advance of the program being undertaken. So we have to continue, I think, with the process of allowing for accountable advances. The goal is, of course, to make sure that we are watching for instances where the organization may be getting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report on the action this government is taking as we move toward the elimination of family violence in the NWT.

The government of the 15th Assembly has a strong commitment to social issues. One of the goals of the GNWT’s strategic plan is to have “healthy, educated people living in safe communities, who are able to contribute and take advantage of life’s opportunities.” In particular, Mr. Speaker, the strategic plan identifies the need to strengthen support for families in conflict and to support initiatives to build safer communities.

Toda...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I understand it, Mr. Speaker, close to 40 percent of the personnel in corrections from Inuvik through to Fort Smith have participated in the survey process already. That was done under some expectation of how the information would be handled. I don’t think at this late date of the process, we can go back and change that. It is a small population. It would be very easy to figure out who said what about whom, depending on what the recommendations may be. So we have to make sure we are protecting the integrity of the process and the privacy of the individuals involved...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also say that I know there are a lot of happy workers at the North Slave Correctional Centre. It’s not as if the entire staff are unhappy. The times have changed and the change in approach has added to the issue of contentment with the workplace. Not all of the staff are pleased with the change in direction and the change in the way the facility deals with inmates. That has caused some concerns among some of the staff. However, a large number of the staff welcome the change and are satisfied with the terms of their employment there.

Now I...

Mr. Speaker, I heard way more than two. I am not sure I can remember them all, in fact. We were talking about staffing and vacancies earlier. I pointed out that the number of vacancies has reduced over the past year and is going down very quickly because of the numbers of new trainees who started on October 4th. The Member has pointed out that there have been some changes. We have had a lot of changes related to people working in new positions and learning more about their jobs. There is ongoing training. The training programs are being set up to be online training programs so that all...

Mr. Speaker, what drove this in large part were questions by Mr. Ramsay and others about what was happening out there, and there were suggestions in those questions that there was a problem with the staffing. I have not said that I believe there is such a problem, but whenever an allegation is made about there being a problem, then it behooves the government and the department to look into that. The department is following through on those concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my previous answer, I’ll look into that and I will get back to the Member on the issue.

It’s not a situation where the money was available. It was a situation where we didn’t have the money, so it couldn’t be done in advance.

Mr. Speaker, I apologize if I am not answering the right question. I was having difficulty hearing the Member in his question. I believe it’s important to note that everybody is entitled to have a case heard in court in their language and if they need to have an interpreter, one must be provided by the courts. So the judge is the one who has to be satisfied that the quality of the interpretation is good, and it’s up to the person who needs interpreting to make sure that that need is communicated to the court. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when allegations are made that there is a problem, then it’s quite normal to look into them. I wouldn’t call it a full-scale review. I have never called it a review. We’ve asked corporate human resources in the Executive to provide assistance to examine the staffing processes and to make sure that the proper procedures are being followed and to make recommendations where change is needed and identify the strengths where we have those strengths. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.