Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is seen as an extension. From time to time there may be requests, but the normal closure is set for March 15th of the year; that is set on an annual basis. At this time the request has been made to extend the season to April 1st. We feel that the cost that would be incurred for that portion of extending the season is in the area of $142,000 for the additional work that is required because of the increased usage for the development that is happening in that area. When you look at the increased maintenance cycles, the upgrading of the snow fills in some of the...

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. A large part of this increase is as a result of the increased usage of hospitals outside the Northwest Territories. Almost two-thirds or three-quarters of this, actually, is in the area of increased utilization. Approximately $2.8 million was just the increased use, add another $330,000 for the additional rate increase for the services that were charged by the Capital Health Authority, and then claims processed between 2003-04 and 2004-05 is about another $800,000 or $860,000. The biggest driver here is the actual increase in use of the hospital facilities...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of human resources in the government has been one that can be said to have been plaguing us for quite some time, since the changes that we had back in the mid-1990s when the Department of Personnel was done away with and each department then started doing their own human resource functions.

There have been some concerns about fairness to employees, following the policies within government, and Members of assemblies have raised the issue. A number of reports were done. As a government, we have looked at that. We have decided to move on that. I...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this is a result of the immediate impacts as a result of the development, the increased traffic load that’s going through that area. Enterprise is right within a section and a junction of where a lot of trucks would travel and stop off a weigh scale station there. The community is feeling that impact at this point and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has granted their request for their land use plan in the area of their staging area. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. It would be difficult. There are about 40 positions that are still under review and it all depends on the years of service, if retroactive payments are involved, the classification that they are in, if it is a community nurse, a whole lot of things come into play. It would be pretty hard to crystal-ball the possible outcomes. Some of it might be turned down and need very little adjustment, but what we did when the first grievance was filed by the UNW in January of the last year, we went into a review that resulted in about 472 positions being re-evaluated and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to move a motion under Transportation, highways, operation expenditures. I move that $311,000 be added to the actively “Highways” under the Department of Transportation operations expenditures, not previously authorized, on page 15, for the Mackenzie Valley winter road. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a response to another question earlier this week regarding that committee, it has been quite some time since that committee has been in operation. We have started down a course for the Human Resource Service Centre modules that is going on. Approximately 140 employees have been affected by this change. We have been working with them through this. We want to get through that stage first. As I have committed to Members in this House, I will be coming forward with a plan in the fall around the affirmative action side and, at that point, will be...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, as this came forward we were informed that through the Enterprise community with the increased traffic load with the heavy trucks they needed to be able to set up a marshalling area for all the equipment. That is something that was not part of their normal plan. So this came forward as a request to cover those costs for that development. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, the Government of the Northwest Territories went under a major review of the job classifications so a job evaluation process was initiated back in 1998. In March of 2000, a grievance was filed by the UNW on behalf of about 42 nurses that were grieving that their job descriptions did not accurately reflect the duties that they were required to perform. With the work that we had started on that basis, we did a re-evaluation of their jobs and coming forward with the results of that and making the adjustments in the pay scale system, this is the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When we enter into the area of communities that have a private sector, we do not bulk purchase or purchase futures, is one way of looking at it. It’s pay as you go. When you get that monthly bill from the supplier, we would pay the invoices. So in the larger communities, where there is a private sector, it’s a pay-as-you-go area. We realize the cost to the government. One of the areas we have had to look at and plan to bring together is a broad energy strategy that will take in the concerns raised around this area when it comes to the supply of power, as well as...