Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the question is not clear enough for me in terms of the crisis he’s talking about. If he wants to be more specific, I’ll try to be more specific as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit to the Member to give him the background on the rationale and reasoning for the $750 and the issue of how the issue of treaty rights was interpreted in this particular case.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the policy is that there is a rent or a cost billed to all those who require and move into long-term care third-level facilities where there is 24-hour supervision. It is a maximum, I believe, of around $700. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if an individual wants to go into a specialty area, either nursing or going from being an MD to being a specialist, there are separate courses of study and training required. You don’t just walk in with your college diploma in hand and walk into the most complex or high-requirement job in the operation without any further training and time on the job. I’m not clear on exactly what the Member is suggesting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that the highest end of the LPN classification is that it’s not classified higher than the starting salary of a nurse, so I’d have to look at the specifics. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to think that the Northwest Territories is a very progressive jurisdiction as is the Stanton a very progressive hospital, but it is also my understanding that Newfoundland and P.E.I., as well, pay nurses in this similar way. Every other jurisdiction, in one way or another, recognizes that a nurse is not a nurse; that there are different levels. There are higher skill requirements in some areas. In the work that we did here as a government, no nurses’ salaries went down, but there was a recognition, clearly, that there are some higher levels...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services of the Government of the Northwest Territories has a very competitive and, I think, progressive pay and benefits package for nurses. We see it as a very positive step, all the work that has gone on in the last number of years, the work with the nursing association and the work with the unions, the work with the government, to come up with a fair remuneration package. So the Member and I have a different point of view on the value and the benefits of that particular issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The management has met with the nurses. No nurse took any loss in pay. There was a recognition, as we’ve indicated earlier in the House, that those jobs with the higher skill levels are paid more. There have been meetings, I believe there have been some grievances filed that are being dealt with through due process, but the fundamental bottom line is that no nurse took any loss in pay or benefits and, in fact, the pay and benefits for all nurses have gone up. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the jobs have been classified, the job descriptions rewritten with the skills, requirements and the education in an outline, and it’s my assumption that people in those positions meet those requirements. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we place tremendous value on the nurses and their skills that they bring to the job, and that is recognized by the way they are paid, the amount they are paid, the value we place on them in terms of other benefits that we give them, the work that we've done to update and modernize the Nursing Act, the way we've moved to bring in nurse practitioners, and the way we are going to move to incorporate LPNs as well. Mr. Speaker, I think the proof for us is demonstrated by our actions and the reality that is there today, when you look at how well nurses are...