Jane Groenewegen

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister outline for us briefly what is the purpose of direct appointments? We had a Minister’s statement on Aboriginal inclusion just recently in this House.

I would like to ask the Minister, for the most part, what is the purpose of the direct appointment policy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to reflect a little on the events of this past weekend as we commemorated and thought about the 20 year anniversary of this building. It was wonderful to see Members from the past here, sharing their thoughts, and it was truly inspiring.

I’m not a person who stops and ponders the past very often. I’m usually very much in the present moment and pushing forward in whatever that moment is. I was looking at the calendar just now and realized that it was 39 years ago today, on November the 4th, that my parents took a 17-year-old to the Union Station in Toronto, the...

How does the potential or possibility of a direct appointment come to the attention of Cabinet? What is the process for it getting there? What instigates it? Does it take a director, a deputy minister; do the Ministers themselves hear of opportunities for direct appointments? What is it that triggers the review of a direct appointment? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As an MLA, we get concerns from constituents on many topics. One concern I’ve had raised recently by constituents is in the matter of trying to advance in the workplace or be direct appointed, if that’s a policy that’s applicable to them. It seems that there is information about professional development, about applying for and successfully obtaining a job that they want that is not available to them.

I would like to ask the new Minister of Human Resources if the method or policy of direct appointments is one that is still employed by this government on a large scale or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Granted the issue of power rates and how those rates are arrived at are a complicated matter, but I’d like to quote from unedited Hansard from yesterday in the House. I’m quoting Minister Miltenberger. “One of the big factors in Yellowknife and Hay River, plus a couple of small communities, is that there is another power distributor, NUL. While we provide and sell power at wholesale rates, the provider in these communities adds their own costs on top of that, which is why there is such a distinct difference...”

Mr. Miltenberger’s comments imply that there is a different...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to rise today to say what a pleasure it is to have Mr. David Hamilton back in the Chamber today. I was elected, as Mr. Miltenberger was, in 1995, and was greeted by a bigger than life personality that was around this institution at that time and certainly I don’t think you could describe his influence and his work in this Assembly simply as Clerk. Mr. Speaker, I just jotted down a few things. Today in P and P we talked about the team that worked on the building. I think the team was actually a team of one. I think that this building was, in fact, a vision and a...

I would like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. What is the wish of the committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and a well-known keen champion of the protection of our environment, our land, our water, our resources, I’d like to ask the Minister if he is satisfied at this time with these approvals going forward, given the additional work, obviously, that still needs to be done. Thank you.

If I had to convey comfort to people who are concerned about this, is the Minister able to comment on the environmental review and assessment and approval process that is in place? Since this is something relatively new in our territory, is he able to comment on the effectiveness of the approval processes that are currently in place for this activity? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the point I’m trying to make here today – and I guess I’ll just ask the Minister this one last question – is that it’s not really fair to imply that there is something untoward or unregulated about the rates that Northland Utilities… It’s like yesterday in the House there was, to me, an unfair comparison made between communities serviced by NTPC versus NUL.

I would just like the Minister to confirm, for the record, that these rates are fairly set, based on the cost of service, and regulated by the Public Utilities Board which this government oversees. Thank you...