Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the intent of this motion to create flexibility within the Legal Services Board when it comes to hiring an executive director. However, I do have to say that there are a number of compelling reasons that the executive director should be a lawyer. The bottom line is, if that non-lawyer is recruited as an executive director, a senior lawyer would have to be hired to perform those functions that the executive director is required to provide as a result of this legislation. At a time when federal contributions to the Legal Aid Program are frozen, we cannot...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The provision that the Member is talking about existed in the original Legal Services Act. It was mostly in existence when Nunavut was still part of the Northwest Territories. Those regional bodies haven’t existed in a large number of years and there is no plan to bring them back. What we would like to see is a commission that is representative of the Northwest Territories. So membership on that commission would include people from regional offices, regional areas so we can make sure that we have a good cross-section of Northerners sitting on that commission providing...

I believe the number is 14. During the last budget session, Members requested that we increase that number. I think it’s gone up to 14 now that are actually GNWT employees and employees of the commission itself.

I do, Madam Chair.

Mr. Speaker, this is a significant day for the Northwest Territories. Today, for the first time at any northern correctional facility, Commissioner Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is at the North Slave Correctional Centre to acknowledge residential school experiences, impacts and consequences.

Over the next several days, inmates can give individual statements to contribute to the historical records the commission is gathering on the legacy of residential schools.

People who have been through residential school, or have suffered from the devastating effects on their...

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 13, An Act to Repeal the Credit Union Act, be read for the second time.

This bill repeals the Credit Union Act and makes consequential amendments to the Co-operative Associations Act and the Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, No. 2 be read for the second time.

This bill amends the Human Rights Act to add as a prohibitive ground of discrimination a conviction that is subject to a records suspension.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 13, An Act to Repeal the Credit Union Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the program is to encourage safe workplaces, which we stand by completely and support wholeheartedly. Our concern is about the actual administration of the program.

As I indicated before, based on the Q1 performance update 2012 balanced scorecard on WSCC’s website the 2012 target for time loss claims per 100 workers is 2.42. The GNWT currently rates at 1.8. We already exceed what their targets are, yet we continue to get some significant claims.

Our other concern is the fact that we are assessed as one GNWT as a whole, our whole payroll, and it wasn’t until...

Thank you. We obviously want a safe work environment. The last thing we want to do is see workers get injured.

With respect to health and social services, the three health and social services authorities with the large number of claims, Stanton, Beaufort-Delta and Fort Smith, have acute care facilities that have successfully passed an accreditation review by Accreditation Canada. So those require them to have certain practices in place to assist, avoid injury.

But there are a couple of other things. Although we see significant value in the intent of the Safe Advantage program, we do have some...