Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll play this game. Will the Minister of Health like to revamp her statement from last week saying that there are no ward closures or other ward closures coming? It has been my understanding from several nurses, the union, etcetera, that that is not the truth. Would the Minister like to revamp that statement about further ward closures. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I have some clarification of whether or not I can go back to the Minister of Finance responsible for HR. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for HR.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, it's apparent that the issues at Stanton that are leading to ward closures long predate COVID despite it being used constantly as an excuse. From an HR perspective, how does the Minister plan to properly investigate, characterize, and address the poor morale situation at Stanton that existed prior to COVID in order to address the longstanding issues at the hospital? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm probably going to steal the Member for Hay River South's question by asking whether or not the Assembly has considered just widening the roadway to include a sidewalk versus creating a separate path. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm confused then, because when I look in the paper all I see are advertisements for ER and ICU nurses. So can the Minister speak to what's going to happen when those positions aren't filled and those wards have to close down. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Finance, as I mentioned in my statement the Northwest Territories is the only jurisdiction in Canada that did not use COVID to compensate our healthcare workers for the increased hazard and workload that they've been dealing with. Will the Minister, with her Finance hat on, comment or commit to finding money to provide Northwest Territories frontline workers with retroactive hazard or pandemic pay? Is there any indication that more money is coming from the federal government for COVID? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I mentioned that I'm interested from an HR perspective. HR has tools that are available to them that include workplace investigation, etcetera. I do believe that these questions can be answered by the Minister of HR, and she actually answers my questions so I'd like to hear from her. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this session, I'd planned to speak to a range of issues from tourism and business relief funding to mental health supports for residential school survivors and those experiencing addiction. However, I've spent most my time lately consumed with the healthcare crisis at Stanton; a crisis that this Cabinet appears to be characterizing as unavoidable.

However, according to the Local 11 union president, the UNW has been raising this concern to the department for at least 18 months now; concern about the low morale of Stanton personnel who have been experiencing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for her thoughtful answer. It's very important for the staff to be hearing from Cabinet that they take responsibility for what's going to on and that there's action that's going to happen.

My next question is what is the department going to do to compensate workers financially for the increased hazard of their work due to COVID as other jurisdictions have? Will this financial compensation be retroactive? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for HR. How can the Minister reassure staff at Stanton that it is worthwhile to participate in the current workplace survey being undertaken given the inaction of the government to act on them in the past. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.