Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three documents for tabling today.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide an update on the progress relating to the amalgamation of human resource services.

It has now been one year since we took the first steps towards a modern human resources management structure with the amalgamation of human resource services that resulted in, and continues to result in, identifying issues and areas where improvement is necessary.

One of the issues that was identified last summer was a significant backlog in both the pay and benefits areas. In both areas, plans were introduced in September 2005 to improve the situation. On the benefits side...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 1, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2005-2006, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as I stated yesterday, the department, the recommendation by Public Works and Services to the department was a couple of options and ultimately one, the best value for money long term would be replacement of this facility. Once that project is agreed to -- and that would have to be agreed to ultimately through the building or business planning process coming up in September -- if that is agreed to then the department, we would have to look at should we build our own or should we now go out for lease space. So that decision is yet to be made. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has raised a significant point. In operations, the Tlicho Government, as he stated, has difficulty from time to time dealing with the daily changing plans of individuals and our elders in trying to accommodate those.

On a larger scale, the Government of the Northwest Territories and our system has even greater difficulty making those small changes. That is why we need to try to arrange a plan that would work for both parties and is a little more difficult than initially stated. One of the other areas we could look at is possibly our contract...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, ultimately we need to find space. Spaces where we’re occupied at this time we would lose the opportunity to use that space. Going out for a tender at this time we still wouldn’t have a building in place for more than a year to complete what’s required. I suggest we’d be lucky to get it completed and people moved in in two years if we were to pull something off the shelf and just say we need so much square footage office space. There is some office space, there’s a learning centre. So there’s different types of spaces here that are required, but...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will provide a summary of the building usage, the complete facility as it is, the GNWT users and then the non-government users. I will leave it to the Members to do the addition. I don’t have that tallied up by GNWT and non-government users. We do have the square footage for all occupants and then the total facility as it stands is calculated. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the detail as to who we actually were in discussions with. I know we monitored the situation and other CRTC hearings for those types of decisions that would have impact on the service providers in the Northwest Territories. I can get that information for the Member and provide it later. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As to the numbers, the paper that’s been handed out to Members now, the total space used now is 4,488 square metres. That includes government and non-government. The portion of the government usage is split out and, as I read out earlier, the amount of square footage that are occupied by GNWT users and then the square footage by non-GNWT users. There are sections of the building that was involved in a fire in the past and sections of that building have been not used since then, and it’s not our intent to renovate that portion of the building or to do the repairs to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Joining me at the table here is the secretary to the FMB, Mr. Mark Cleveland.