Sandy Lee

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I did indicate that I do, in principle, support multi-year agreements, but right now we are reviewing our arrangements and agreements with various groups. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government and the department, in general, support multi-year funding arrangements, but right now our department is under fiscal pressure and we are reviewing all of our arrangements with NGOs. While we are going through, we are not able to commit right now to multi-year funding, but I want to assure the Member that we do support that policy. We are just having to review what we are doing right now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, his constituent wrote to me on February 14th at 10:23 a.m. and I responded to her at 11:25 a.m. on February 14th. I stated to her that given the questions and concerns that the graduating class has expressed and some of the confusion that might have created because of the discussions being held here, that I have asked Department of Health staff as well as Human Resources staff to go into the classroom and meet with the new grads so that they get full and comprehensive information about the employment opportunities available to us. We are, as a...

Thank you. I believe the system has been in place less than a month. I believe it went into effect at the end of January and the Member mentioned in her question that she’s hearing that there are problems. I’m not aware of that. I’d be happy to receive that information from her and I’d be willing to commit to taking a look to see how we are delivering that program, because obviously when we get somebody to deliver a program on our behalf, we want to make sure that the work is being done right. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the Member’s concerns in this regard. It should be made clear that the local businesses were given all preferential treatment available under our government policies to support northern businesses. With all that considered for about a $250,000 contract, there was a difference of over $100,000. So there was quite a substantial difference in the prices and, secondly, it should be made clear that while we are having discussions about government policies, it’s really important to make sure that we don’t suggest that any staff has done anything wrong. Stanton...

Yes, absolutely. I would even commit to the Member that his constituent who wrote to me, I will personally write her and ask her if I can come and meet with them. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, absolutely that is not what I’m saying. We do support multi-year agreements. We have not discontinued multi-year agreements indefinitely. We see the merit in that and we will continue to do that, but for right now we are reviewing our agreements with various organizations to see how we are spending our funds. So that’s where we are and we will make decisions about multi-year soon. Thank you.

As I stated, GNWT and the department does support multi-year agreements when the funding allows. Of course, we would not allow for multi-year agreements on things that are proposal based. Right now, as I stated to the Member, the department is engaged in budgeting analysis, we are under pressure, and we are reviewing all agreements and for that reason we are right now just doing one-year agreements. Thank you.

Thank you. Media clips are taken seriously, but they are not comprehensive and they are not always accurate, which is the reason why I’ve asked our staff to go and meet with the grads.

Mr. Speaker, the Graduate Nurses Employment Program is a successful program. It’s one that nursing grads could benefit from. We have currently four graduate nurses employed at Stanton. In 2009 and 2010 there were 10 graduate nurses placed at Stanton and seven in 2008-2009. This is a successful program that allows the grad nurses to transition into a nursing position. They don’t have to go through that program but...

Thank you. As I indicated, the contract has been in place less than a month. I believe it came into effect at the end of January. I believe it’s a two-year contract with a renewal clause. At the appropriate time I would be happy to commit to an evaluation. Having said that, I’m not sure if a month is enough to do an evaluation on something. Thank you.