Glen Abernethy

Just for some clarity, not all GNWT employees are eligible for the mandatory with-pay days during the actual Christmas holidays. Every department is asked to do a bit of an analysis of their department to determine which services are continuous or required over the holiday season. Things like health care workers and correctional workers and certain positions in Transportation as well as some positions in Public Works that are responsible for maintaining buildings and actual public safety and some positions in the Department of Human Resources like medical travel; these positions don’t shut...

I am not aware of a global statement that we have with respect to customer service. I believe a lot of the departments, with respect to their actual program areas, have identified a level of customer service or a level of expectation for each of those program areas, but as a global statement, I don’t believe we have one. Once again, I will speak to the department and see if we can track something down in that sense.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I don’t really have too much to add. These positions were created in 2008. They both haven’t been re-described; one of them is exactly the same as it was in 2008, the other is switched from an associate to an assistant deputy minister. It doesn’t change the bottom line of the department. We’re still funding it from within the department, but we thought it was important to not have the positions invisible. We thought it was important for people to see the, so we brought them forward that way.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Buying a Condominium: A User’s Guide” and “Owning a Condominium: A User’s Guide.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The two-month commitment was on the costing. I’d like to see that costing information as much as the Member and I’m committed to getting that information out. It is taking longer than I’d like, but it does take a little bit of time to do the level of analysis required.

As I’ve indicated, that doesn’t stop us from doing the work. We have pulled together a committee to begin the work on alternatives and diversions, and it’s not just in the courts. We’d like to divert people before they even enter the justice system. That includes working with the RCMP. I’ve had a number of discussions with the...

Thank you. The department in no way shape or form is waiting for these costs to start doing some work. We recognize that some work needs to be done. The government is focused on trying to find ways to keep people out of the justice system completely. We want to focus on alternatives and diversions. One of the things that we’re doing is we’re talking to other jurisdictions about the types of courts they have put in place, such as mental health courts, such as alcohol treatment courts or addictions courts. Those are things that we need to explore as a way to divert people out of the justice...

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to establishing a public service that is inclusive of all people and that accurately represents the population it serves. Today I would like to provide Members with an update on initiatives launched under 20/20: A Brilliant North, the Public Service Strategic Plan, that focus on diversity in the public service.

There are several government initiatives currently underway aimed at increasing the number of persons with disabilities in the public service. This is a segment of the population that we understand has historically...

The positions were both established in 2008 but they were unfunded positions. They were being funded internally. Nothing is really changed other than the fact that we’re identifying them within the position count so that people can see that they’re there. The associate ADM position has been around since 2008 and the senior policy advisor has been around since 2008 as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table two documents. The first document is entitled “2011 Annual Report of the Public Utilities Board of the Northwest Territories” and the second document is entitled “Northwest Territories Law Foundation Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2011.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I recently attended the F/T/P meetings in PEI with the Ministers of Justice and I did have an opportunity to sit down with the other two Ministers from the other two provinces and we had the same issues and concerns about Bill C-10. We’re all being affected slightly different because of different realities. Nunavut’s got a bigger problem because they actually have no capacity in their jails whereas here in the Northwest Territories we do have capacity and the Yukon just built a new facility, but the impacts of the bill are going to be the same in many ways. So we have agreed to work...