Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled “Follow-up Letter to Oral Question 37-18(2), Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link Project.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member pointing out the fact that I need to do additional homework on this particular issue. That is fine. I will make that commitment to have a conversation with my officials and see what updates are underway, and then I will share that information with the Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have an interdepartmental GNWT legacy committee which includes Health and Social Services, ENR, Lands, WSCC, and ITI. It was created in 2015 to provide a coordinated approach to the topic of legacy contaminants. I am also aware of at least seven projects that are being conducted by academic institutions and one by ENR to study the legacy of contaminants in the Yellowknife area.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. We have a better understanding of the effects of arsenic. Development of a bio monitoring program through the human health effects monitoring program of the residents of Yellowknife, Ndilo, and Detah, to understand current health is underway. This will set a baseline for our ongoing monitoring.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from a statistical perspective, 2016 was a below average fire season. A total of 188 wildland fires were reported in the 2016 fire season, burning 229,000 hectares. As a comparison, there were 241 fires and 622,000 hectares burned in 2015. That is half the number of hectares burned in 2016 than in 2015, and 50 fewer fires. Of the 188 fires this year, 16 fires were suspected person-caused. The department provided some type of action on 83 fires, or 44 per cent. In addition, 292 extra fire fighters were hired in the NWT for training or in support of wildland...

I could have that conversation with the Premier. I'll also have a conversation with all my colleagues. You know, we hear the concerns in the House. We actually hear the concerns from the people out there about the fact that sometimes they feel like they have an unfair disadvantage trying to move through the system.

I want to make sure that all our employees, our Aboriginal employees, and those who are thinking of coming into the public service come in with the understanding is if they come in and they put in some good work and have some good training and add a lot of value then that will be...

I think one of the best strategies is to encourage our young Aboriginal people out there to get the training that's necessary so we can get them into the system and put processes in place where they can succeed based on the qualifications and the work ethic and everything else that they bring to the position. What other strategies are we working on? We have the Aboriginal Management Development Program. Right now we have, I believe, about 16 per cent of our Indigenous Aboriginal senior employees who are eligible to retire immediately. We have 52 per cent who are eligible to retire with a full...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this year, the Government of the Northwest Territories took part in a national business satisfaction survey known as "Taking Care of Business." The survey is administered independently by the Institute for CitizenCentered Service.

Between January and June 2016, more than 200 NWT businesses were surveyed to get feedback on government service delivery. The results will help government identify priorities for improving service to businesses.

The Department of Finance has received the most recent results for the NWT. Our service reputation score, which is businesses'...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table to following two documents entitled "Capital Estimates, 20172018 for the Department of Public Works and Services and Department of Transportation" and "Taking Care of Business 5." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As you can tell from the numbers that I quoted last week, it is targeted. We have a lot of P1 candidates, I think it was 24 of the 32, that have taken us up on it, so that's a good indication that they are targeted.