Rylund Johnson

Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment commission a study on the state of Michif in the Northwest Territories and options to recognize Michif in the Official Languages Act;

And further, the study should be tabled in the House within the first 18 months of the 20th Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Mercer is the Clerk of the Assembly, he's essentially our deputy minister, but the thing I like about Tim is unlike quite a few deputy ministers, when he speaks, I understand what he's saying, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Mercer truly lives the ethos of fearless advice and loyal implementation. I had the honour of chairing caucus through the first half of this Assembly through some tumultuous times and I spent many hours in his office getting advice and discussing things, and he provided me a wealth of direction and options and always after those meetings, I was confident that...

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories includes in the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework support in finding housing at the new job site for Indigenous employees who are relocating to take a government position or move within government; provide a moving allowance for Indigenous employees relocating to other communities; offer education leave to help Indigenous employees to finish any education that was not completed before employment with the guarantee to remain in the public service at a minimal return to the same job...

Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories set up a policy and a plan to display more Indigenous language signs before the 19th Assembly ends;

And further, the policy should require all new signs at all territorial public bodies and community governments to prominently feature the local Indigenous official language;

And furthermore, the plan should set targets and offer funding for new Indigenous language signs. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To clarify, once oral questions is concluded, I am more than happy to go back to anything but returning now ends the time on the clock and I am going to use it.

My question, Mr. Speaker, is for Minister of ITI. We have been waiting years for a new procurement policy that will finally give us a new definition of northern business and hopefully that definition you will remove Walmart from BIP. When are we going to see that definition? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories work towards increasing participation of Indigenous students in all programs, grants and contributions focused on youth by advertising the availability for youth development and making it known in small communities; creating recruitment campaigns in small communities so youth can participate in existing programs and apply for positions; have an advocate for youth and students in each department; creating and tracking hiring targets in all communities for Indigenous youth seeking public service...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories recognize the right of each resident to receive services in the official language of their choice;

And further, this right should go beyond the concepts of "significant demand" and "nature of the office," and follow the principle of substantive equality.

And furthermore, as such the Government of the Northwest Territories should consider quantitative and qualitative characteristics when determining service levels to each official language community;

And furthermore, this right should...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No way I'm letting 42 minutes left on the clock.

Yesterday in the House, I asked the Minister of Infrastructure to provide an update on how much we estimate Taltson to cost and she refused to do that. And my concern here, Mr. Speaker, is the last cost estimate we have is $1.2 billion from 2013. I think it's fairly safe to say that in the last nine years, construction costs have increased. And I am really worried that this project is going to have a bit of sticker shock. It's going to be similar to Giant Mine which we were all talking about costing a billion dollars...

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories commit to transparent retention practices by requiring all departments to develop and follow succession planning guidelines; maintain and share internal position tracking; track and share information about transfer assignments, and/or promotions; ensure that departmental succession planning is informed by employees' goals and expectations by connecting with development goals expressed by employees in the annual performance appraisals; ensure that all Indigenous employees in senior management...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment help ensure Indigenouslanguage early childhood education is available in each community;

And further, to achieve this vision, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment should provide additional and sufficient funding to program operators that use Indigenous languages. Thank you, Madam Chair.