Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there are a number of changes. We have two positions that were sunsetted. That’s an environmental health officer in Norman Wells as well as a midwife consultant in Yellowknife. We’ve got some initiatives where we have added some positions: two fulltime, one parttime, for a total of three as a result of the increased funding and changes to the Mental Health Act. We have some internal re-allocations, one fulltime, one parttime within the Beaufort Delta, midwife positions, and we have some reductions as a result of our reductions exercise, strategic human...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the Member described it pretty much exactly right. The department will become a true ministry focused on bigpicture policy, big Ptype initiatives. Anything that is considered operational or will have direct impact on client delivery will become authority. It’s not a matter of shrinking. It’s a matter of aligning it in the appropriate area. Ministry will be smaller. Authority is going to have some additional functions, some things that are currently delivered either at Stanton or in the department, which really should have been operational to begin with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the encouragement actually came from the Premier who asked the departments to do everything they could to try to attain last year’s numbers. Ultimately, the hires are the responsibilities of the individual departments. If we do get resumes of individuals with particular skill sets, we will forward to the department if they match the type of work that the department is doing. We’re trying to get the information out there, let the departments know who’s out there, know who’s working, who wants to work for the Government of the Northwest Territories. I do have...

Thank you. For clarity, that’s the Professional Development Initiative Fund. That fund is available to help professionals in the Northwest Territories to do non-required training, training that is beneficial but not required for their jobs to help them be more well-rounded and offer them some skills sets that aren’t part of the normal job.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I saw the same press release that the Member did. I had a quick conversation with the department and staff are getting in touch with Ottawa to figure out what those dollars are, how they intend to allocate them, and what, if anything, may be available to residents of the Northwest Territories. It does not mean that the dollars would go to the GNWT. They might go to the Inuvialuit. They might go to different groups. They might come through us. We don’t know. The department is trying to figure out those details right now.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I believe there’s a mistaken belief out there that we provide Metis health benefits that are different than the NIHB, the Non-Insured Health Benefits. In fact, the Metis health benefits we provide here in the Northwest Territories are an exact mirror of NIHB in every way, it just happens to be funded by us rather than funded by the federal government. Moving forward, we anticipate, given the Daniels ruling, that the federal government will simply include Metis people under NIHB. The benefits that they receive should be identical, unless there is a decision by...

Not yet.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as I indicated, the way that the mains are presented are to line up with how we are required and needed to report for CIHI for tracking data, so we’re to create a logical system. I hear the Member that there’s some confusion about how it is between the business plan and the mains. We will work to make sure that everything’s lined up. Midwifery services under CIHI falls under nursing services recognizing that midwifery services aren’t exactly nursing services but that’s where CIHI has put them, so that’s why they’re identified in that particular section. We will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. National Public Service Week is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of the public service employees across Canada. Here in the Northwest Territories we have an engaged and highly motivated public service that provides quality programs and services for our residents. Our employees’ commitment to service and dedication to their communities are an important part of what makes the GNWT a great place to work and what makes the NWT a great place to live. It’s no secret that these are challenging economic times, Mr. Speaker. In the face of these...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we got permission from the last government to do a one-time transfer from the midwifery program in the Beaufort Delta to use those dollars to do our portion of the Organ and Tissue Donation Registry in Alberta, so it’s one time.