Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: where the department has been unable to or the authority has been unable to recruit the appropriate homecare supports, then how is homecare being delivered, or is it not being delivered at all?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's answer. What I heard him say is that there was more money than there were positions filled. If I have that right, could he tell us how specifically he is going to strengthen recruitment for homecare?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my last question is: what efforts is the Minister going to make to engage residents of the Northwest Territories by giving some profile to this consultation on the Department of Finance website?

My question is why the consultation on this issue is happening now, when there are no more budgets to come in this Assembly.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two years ago the Finance Minister made a commitment to explore a sugary-drink tax in the NWT. He is now making good on that promise, although the effort looks half-hearted. The discussion paper on the tax was posted on January 22nd. Consultations began five days later. Don't look for a news release. There wasn't one. Be prepared to dig around the Department of Finance website to find the online survey. The whole exercise feels less like fulfilling a promise and more like a cynical box-ticking exercise.

Here's why this discussion matters. I am going to repeat...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the negotiations between the Government of the Northwest Territories and its unionized workforce represented by the Union of Northern Workers. The union is in a legal strike position. Rather than wait for the results of mediation scheduled for this weekend, they served a strike notice yesterday for next Monday. This is a deliberately provocative move that increases the stakes for this weekend.

At the end of the day yesterday the government responded with a provocative move of its own. The deputy minister of Finance noted that strike...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Friday, February 8, 2019, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that this Assembly call on the Government of the Northwest Territories to agree to enter into binding arbitration before the scheduled strike begins. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Is the government prepared to enter into binding arbitration if mediation fails?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. Yesterday, his deputy minister sent an email to all GNWT staff that many interpreted as encouraging people to cross the picket line. Given the outrage this message has provoked among union members, will the Minister walk this statement back so that options to cross the picket line are excluded? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister is no doubt aware, the temperature on this dispute has gone up very considerably in the last 24 hours because of actions on both sides. What is his plan to reduce the temperature around this labour dispute at this time? Thank you.