Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the 20192020, the most recent public service annual report, 82 of the 82 appeals that were filed were denied, Mr. Speaker. Previously, the department has used this to say there's no problems with the staffing process; it's working out just fine; all the appeals, you know, are denied. Mr. Speaker, I would say that this is a fundamental problem with the appeals process in  and people are giving up hope on appealing if there's no hope of actually being successful, regardless of whether an independent officer is reviewing it.

So furthermore, Mr. Speaker, the end of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So of those 16.5 percent of people who applied for GNWT jobs who were eligible to appeal, when I look and try to figure out exactly what the grounds of an appeal could be or within the process, I have a hard time let alone those people who just didn't get a job, Mr. Speaker. So my question for the Minister of Finance is what information is provided to an unsuccessful candidate who would be eligible for appeal, at 16.5 percent, to help them formulate and understand the grounds of an appeal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I bring up my concerns about human resources today, I want to acknowledge that the vast majority of GNWT hiring is fair, it succeeds in getting the best candidate for the job, and that our HR staff are hard-working and do care about increasing  creating an inclusive public service. Human resources is not an easy profession, and I thank the staff for their work. However, Mr. Speaker, as an MLA, people don't complain to me about successful hiring. They come to me with HR processes that fail. And, Mr. Speaker, our human resources program must be about building trust...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know the Minister has spoken to this in the House, and I understand the reality that it's cheaper for ECE to put people in public housing than give them the rental accommodation allowance, but you know, that's  I think net overall, it is a  it's more expensive to not have people housed, and we know there are about 900 people on our housing waitlist who are costing the government money by being in the shelter program, by being in transitional housing, by picking up the slack in other areas. So I think a wholeofgovernment approach is to get everyone housed. And one of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe right now the Housing Corp rents about 200 units, and it rents it off of very large southern landlords. I propose that those lease agreements would be suited with Indigenous governments and nonprofits or northern people in the private sector. So I know a number of Indigenous governments have wanted to take on housing, but the O&M proves a barrier. So the more that the GNWT can enter into longterm lease agreements with Indigenous governments, the more security they can have in O&M and taking over their housing for their citizens. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my knowledge, there are very few, if any, bilingualrequired positions in the GNWT where the bilingual is an Indigenous language. There are a number of bilingualrequired HR positions that are French. And I know there is a bilingual bonus for people who speak one of our official languages but I think, really, in the HR hiring process, especially for an area such as the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat, those Members who speak an Indigenous language are not getting the appropriate credit and additional scoring on priority on their applications within hiring...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the priorities of this Assembly was to increase food security to locally produced, harvested, and affordable food. There was a number of mandate commitments made in there. And my experience as a Member is that that mandate item is presently the responsibility of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Health and Social Services, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Lands. And I've asked many questions about food security, and I've found it very difficult to try and get those departments to coordinate on the importance of this issue...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and the Minister is correct. In 2018, the Standing Committee on Government Operations recommended that some plain language documents would be provided. And I'm glad to hear that committee recommendation has been followed through with. So thank you to the department for that.

Mr. Speaker, when I was looking for the last major analysis on the GNWT's human resources practices, I had to go back 20 years to Grant Thorne, a law office, and the consultants then found that the appeal process is perceived as not conducive to an independent and fair hearing and it leads to a...

Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. I guess, you know, the first couple bailouts, I get, when their main concern is insolvency and keeping these essential routes open. But we're getting to the point where the government is clearing propping up these airlines, and I think some larger conversations have to happen about whether we're just going to keep pouring money into them without getting a seat at the shareholder table. And that was very much the Minister of Finance federally's point in taking six percent of Air Canada as part of their bailout, to make sure that they're at the shareholder table and...

Thank you, Madam Chair. How much have we given Canadian North to date? And including this top up here. Thank you.