Kevin O'Reilly

I thank the Minister for his response and the efforts that his department is making, although I don't believe that an annual increase in income assistance necessarily should have been linked to things that were happening with other governments and sorting out things at our end. I'd like to ask the Minister if he is prepared to look into the issue of indexing income assistance payments to cost of living.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. All of the above makes me wonder why income assistance recipients are left out of annual increases to meet the valid need of paying higher costs to stay fed, clothed, and sheltered. In the absence of a guaranteed annual income, levels of support provided by income assistance cannot lift people out of poverty. I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister explain? There's a loss of two jobs. What were those two positions and are they currently filled or what? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I appreciate the explanation. I'm all for efficiency, but I don’t want that at the expense of fairness. It's my understanding is that the grounds and who can actually file an appeal are very, very limited which I think can lead to issues of credibility of our hiring process. What is the department doing in terms of the fairness of staffing appeals to ensure that we can maintain credibility and confidence in our staffing processes? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

I don't think anybody's actually answered the specific question I have, which is, are any of these positions that are currently vacant, one sounds like there's an individual who is retiring, what specific tables are they actually supporting? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We may disagree on a number of things here. But this issue of co-management vacancies is obviously a long-standing one when some positions have gone unfulfilled as long as five and a half years. Can the Minister commit to report to this House at least annually on co-management board vacancies and efforts to improve and avoid these sort of lengthy delays and appointments? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Looks like there's going to be four fulltime positions that are lost. Can the Minister tell me whether those are staffed currently? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

The Department of Executive website has a board appointment section on it, but there's really no easy way to determine which positions are vacant and for how long and when positions may be opening up. Would the Minister commit to improving the website in the interest of getting vacancies filled more quickly and to ensure greater transparency?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do appreciate the Minister putting up with my persistent line of questioning, but it was important to nail that down. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize Marie Buchanan who helped with the birthing of either our son or daughter. It's over 20 years ago and I can't remember which one, but she was there and helped very much, and I appreciate her efforts as a nurse in Yellowknife. Thank you.