Jane Groenewegen

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. I’d like to ask the Minister if an employee themselves can instigate a direct appointment. Can they express interest in a position and bring it to the attention of their superiors that they would like to be considered for a direct appointment to a specific job opening? Thank you.

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...

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...

On this community-by-community basis, the rates are set and the Public Utilities Board examines the cost of delivering that service and approves those rates. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize former colleagues. I won’t name them, as they’ve been mentioned here before. I’d also like to recognize a little girl, Mikayla Jacobson. When we had a retreat up in Tuktoyaktuk one time, I met her before I met our Speaker. We attended a child care centre there, and Mr. Ramsay and I were both quite smitten with this beautiful little girl that was sitting there. She was so engaging in talking to us, and when she arrived here last night at the Assembly, she wanted to go immediately down to Mr. Ramsay’s office to say hello. What a delightful young...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report progress. I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you. Mr. Speaker.