Glen Abernethy

Thank you. The memorandum of understanding and the policy went live on April 1, 2013. We tried to get that information out as best we could. We’ve included it on our website; we’ve got it out in Bear Facts a number of times. We had a joint letter go out with the UNW to all UNW representatives in the Northwest Territories, and to date, we’ve actually had nobody take us up on this policy and program.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is recognized as one of Canada's top Diversity Employers in 2013 for the initiatives we've undertaken to enhance opportunities for Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and other under-represented groups. The GNWT is committed to developing and maintaining a public service representative of the people we serve across the NWT.

The Department of Human Resources, in conjunction with the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, is conducting an Aboriginal Inclusion Survey among GNWT employees, focusing on recruitment and retention of Aboriginal persons. The survey will gather...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Justices of the Peace Act, be read for the third time.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Today with me on my right is Kelly McLaughlin, the director of legislation with the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to speak about Bill 19, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2013. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for their review of this bill.

The purpose of this act is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed and errors or inconsistencies have been identified.

Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:

It must not be controversial;

It must not involve the spending of public funds;

It must not prejudicially affect rights;

It must not create a new...

Yes, please, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left is Shirley Kemeys-Jones, assistant deputy minister of the Solicitor General branch of the Department of Justice; and, Thomas Druyan on my right, legislative counsel.

I am pleased to be here today to speak about Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its review of this bill.

The purpose of the Protection Against Family Violence Act is to provide emergency and long-term protection for victims of family violence. The act also allows emergency access to assist a person who may be the subject of family violence.

In 2011 an evaluation examined the first five years of the act’s operation, to determine how the legislation was meeting its goals. The recommendations from...

As I’ve indicated, we’re running this program for a year. We’re learning our lessons. We’re getting information. Unfortunately, we haven’t had any uptake on it, but we may. We will take that time from April 1st to the following October to draft some draft legislation and we will come forward with the legislative proposal and follow the normal legislative process in the Government of the Northwest Territories, and we will definitely have something through the House, hopefully before the end of this government.

Mr. Speaker, I can’t speak for the actions of a previous government, but I can say that when we came into the 16th Legislative Assembly, whistleblower legislation was a priority for both Regular Members and I as the Minister. Through negotiations with the union, the union requested that we work with them on a memorandum of understanding to put together some joint policies around whistleblowers, which we’re basically used as a pilot study. That work has been done. It was made effective April 1, 2013. I made a commitment that after we ran this program for a year, we’d do a bit of a review, learn...