Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I acknowledge the difficulties in doing those types of surveys and how often individuals who are upset or have poor morale may not be willing to respond to them because they don't feel that it will do any good. I encourage the Minister to get out there and have people get out and actually meet with staff, and go out and meet with those staff and encourage them to actively respond to those surveys under the understanding that they are confidential. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll try not to forget my question halfway through this time.

---Laughter

My question is to the Minister of Human Resources. I’d like to start off by thanking him for his statement on human resource efforts and acknowledge all of the hard work that the staff at the Department of Human Resources have put in. Now, listening to the statement, something strikes me as being missing and that’s there was no mention of poor morale in the public service.

Through conversations with my constituents, it’s obvious that there are pockets of poor morale within this government. There are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my Member’s statement, I mentioned the space issues at Stanton and the fact that there’s limited space which affects both patient care and staff morale. Have they pursued any opportunities to find space for the staff at Stanton? Have they taken any direction to resolve some of the space issues at Stanton Territorial Hospital?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the problems I see with a survey that’s conducted over an entire public service is it gives you a general or an average, which would suggest that maybe morale isn’t awful, but maybe not that good. But it doesn’t identify those pockets where there are toxic environments. Is there any way that you can dig deeper into the surveys broken down by area in general to identify those areas where there is a toxic work environment where a significant amount of work needs to be done to bring up the morale and improve services to the public as a whole?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister of Health and Social Services, has any thought been given to removing some of the administrative functions from the hospital itself? I often wonder if the need for finance, if they actually need to be in the building; and they actually do take up a fair amount of space within the building. Do they need to be located there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Rule 85 requires that Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures:

Ms. Wendy Bisaro, the Member for Frame Lake;

Mrs. Jane Groenewegen, the Member for Hay River South;

Mr. Kevin Menicoche, the Member for Nahendeh;

Mr. Robert Hawkins, the Member for Yellowknife Centre;

Hon. Bob McLeod, the Member for Yellowknife South;

AND FURTHER, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, November 29, 2007, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures: Ms. Wendy Bisaro, the Member for Frame Lake; Mrs. Jane Groenewegen, the Member for Hay River South; Mr. Kevin Menicoche, the Member for Nahendeh; Mr. Robert Hawkins, the Member for Yellowknife Centre; Hon. Bob McLeod, the Member for Yellowknife South; and further that the following Members be appointed to the Standing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The catch is now figuring out where I was. Alright.

Further, they feel that some of these challenges may be overcome by assigning the responsibility, mandate and accountability for implementing the government’s commitment to the Executive under one Minister.

Mr. Speaker, later this afternoon I’ll be asking the Premier some questions regarding the effectiveness of having the responsibility for the voluntary sector under the Department of MACA and how the government intends to move forward in order to provide the support committed to the voluntary sector in March 2005...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Premier. Given that the voluntary sector is diverse and provides support to all areas of a community, there is merit in having the mandate for supporting the voluntary sector transfer to the Executive. Currently with MACA, the mandate is for sport, recreation and youth, and does not give them the knowledge, expertise and whatnot to reach out and address issues of voluntary groups such as justice and arts and whatnot. As Premier, would you commit to supporting the voluntary sector creating a clear and logical singular point of contact and...