Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm aware that we do in fact, within HR, have an individual. In a number of departments we have individuals who are disabled. But I'm not going to stand here and highlight who, where and what position. We have individuals working with disabilities. The issue at hand is, as the Member stated, there are numbers and then there's statistics. He's used the fact that 13 percent of people are identified as disabled within the Northwest Territories. The question should more appropriately be, I guess, I look at it is how many of those are in the area of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, June 5, 2006, I move that Bill 10, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2006-2007, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we have to look at as a government when we put out for positions to have filled by residents of the Northwest Territories is the type of function and other parameters we have to work within in having people be successful in applications when they apply for that position. We can’t just set targets and say there’s a 20 percent requirement here, let’s fill it with persons with a disability, or that are from a different part of the territory, or aboriginal descent, 1922-ers or whatever we call, as well. The fact is, first and foremost, as we put out positions that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct in his quoting of the numbers of the amount of people who have counted themselves as disabled when they’ve applied for positions or have positions within the Government of the Northwest Territories. The numbers, in fact, since our tracking from 1991, are very similar throughout the years. They haven’t changed much. Part of the issue, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that when somebody applies for a position within the government, they have to identify if in fact they are disabled or not and some people who are working within the government...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we’ll get those numbers. Right now my understanding from the estimates I have is the Alberta government’s small business tax rate is three percent. We’re at four percent. So we’ll provide that information.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we start branching into the area of contracts, that brings a whole new set of rules on its own. Part of the issue is that we had to go down this path of going onto one payroll system is that departments, boards and agencies had too many different systems out there causing a lot of grief for those that would get payroll and then have some changes that needed to be made. We had to go back after the fact. I think there is an opportunity here. If we can work out an arrangement with the Tlicho agency on the timing of when individuals come in, if we had...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Should I just say yes, I understood the question and go from there? The fact is, yes, we do recognize the impacts of the high cost of living on the Northwest Territories small businesses. That is why there has been a steady trend since the 1990s when the small business tax rate was in fact in the area of 10 percent and the last reduction I believe happened in 2003 when we reduced it from five to four percent. With the changes in the federal government, there will be an impact to this government’s revenues because of the amount of tax applied to the small business. The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue has arisen as a result of the payroll systems being amalgamated where we would use one system of pay. Previously, boards and agencies outside our system or who had their own systems would cut off-cycle cheques. Since being requested to be incorporated in our payroll system, this issue has arisen. We have been working together with Education, trying to come up with another form of off-cycle cheques being issued. Part of the problem is that we need to try to shorten that timeline. Right now, they have fallen into the casual payroll system. To...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a government we’re always willing to look at suggestions of possibilities here and I would hope that when we bring forward the employment equity policy here for discussion with Members, that we will have a good dialogue on what options are out there and opportunities that we can improve on our hiring practices as a government. So, yes, we’re willing to look and sit down and discuss what options we might be able to implement as we move forward.

The other issue is, just for the record, Mr. Speaker, when we use direct appointments as a way of putting people...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the fact is, as a representative government, I can’t defend what previous governments did or did not do. The fact is that when Ministers bring forward a request for direct appointment, it’s tied to some of our other initiatives. For example, when we talk about graduates from our Nursing Program, our Social Work Program, as well as some of the teachers, and as well the internship program that we have of people who’ve gone to school, receive some training in their area and have worked within the department for a year or so, we’ve used that tool as an avenue...