Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also stated in my Member’s statement that one of the concerns is that with all this movement happening to transfer these jobs to Hay River and wherever else, what is not certain yet is if those people who have lost jobs because of closure of Dene K’onia are going to be able to take advantage of these jobs. I tell you, the people who are losing jobs at the Territorial Treatment Centre will be even more upset if they lose their jobs and it didn’t happen for the reasons that it was meant to be. So I’d like to know what’s in place for the Minister to assure that in fact...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question also has to do with the Member’s statement earlier that I made with regard to the transfer of the Territorial Treatment Centre. Mr. Speaker, there are lots of issues involved in this with respect to the decision, but I think the more important and crucial question that I’m hearing from the people impacted are the way in which this has been done. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I don’t think any of us wants to hear the bad news that within a year or two we’re going to lose our jobs that we love, that we have been trying to do and are committed to and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I simply conclude by saying, Mr. Speaker, I think this might be a really classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, and in the end really it is not very beneficial. Mr. Speaker, I think one of the critical questions we have to ask is for the people who have lost jobs in Hay River, we are sympathetic to that and we have dealt with that issue a lot in this House, but in the end or even two years down the road will they be able to benefit from these jobs? I will be asking those questions. Does it make sense for the government to transfer 21 jobs that might not end...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure if I can top that. Mr. Speaker, I would speak also on behalf of the employees of the Territorial Treatment Centre who recently found out from the newspaper that they will be losing their jobs.

Mr. Speaker, as you can appreciate, jobs are about the most important thing for all of us, and it is never a good thing to find out that you will be losing your job down the road. To hear it from the newspaper is quite another story.

Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the department and the contractor who runs this centre are under negotiations and discussions to plan...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier the Minister answered that he will make an effort to meet with the affected employees and perhaps the administrator of the program to answer some questions or allay some of their anxieties. Will the Minister be willing to talk to them about possible severance packages, or give them more certainty about what’s happening with their jobs in light of the fact that all of this is happening in the media and causing them undue hardship that could have been avoided if it was handled better? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to suggest that if the recent experience that Bosco Homes is having with respect to this one and in terms of what they have to deal with with very anxious staff who have been told about their layoffs in the media, I’m not sure if they’ll be so keen to enter into another contract in another place with the government. Having said that, Mr. Speaker, if there is no suitable contract or any business that can operate this, is there a plan for the government to make these jobs into government jobs so that there will be enough people hired to deliver...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary, Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that from what the Minister is saying there is really not a certain connection between transfer of these jobs and the loss of jobs in Hay River. What I mean by that, Mr. Speaker, is that because of the decision of the closure, politically we feel bad about that, so we’ll just, you know, discontinue this contract in Yellowknife and just move these jobs to Hay River and just give it to whoever is going to take that. Is this the kind of thing the government should be doing to use people’s lives and jobs for pay off and pay...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know when that meeting that the Minister refers to has taken place. As far as I’m aware, the employees impacted have learned about their job loss through the mainstream media. So I’m gathering that the Minister and his officials met with these employees after the fact. Now, I think that is a problem and I’d like to know if the Minister could make a commitment to send someone to meet with these people and have more information about what is going on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome all the distinguished guests in the gallery. I don’t think I’d be allowed to repeat all the names, but if I may just mention a couple of names; Mr. Ed Jeske, a distinguished elder in our community…

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…and Katherine Youngblut who is sitting next to Mr. Jeske. Also I’d like to recognize two people who work a lot to make my job easier everyday; Cathy Olson, my constituency assistant, and my mother, Taejeong Lee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement? Thank you.