Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Speaker, we do have a Workforce Planning Strategy and where we’re looking at including the strategy I referred to, Regional Recruitment Strategy. There are various strategies that we are employing as a department, working with other departments in the GNWT. Our intention is always to try…(inaudible)…our numbers set out by the Affirmative Action Policy. The Affirmative Action Policy calls for the government to be representative of the population and that’s our goal, so we do work, as a government, with other departments to try to achieve those goals.

We’re moving ahead with some of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are starting to employ the Regional Recruitment Strategy as one of the strategies that we’re hoping will bring the Aboriginal numbers up across the GNWT. Also, as far as trying to advance more Aboriginal employees in the GNWT to senior management and management level, we are using the Aboriginal Development Program, which is we are placing associate superintendents and associate directors, Aboriginal employees, into the system for them to take those jobs on. Also, we are now developing associate managers so that people from lower than managerial positions, such as...

Our transportation system is harmonized with all the other jurisdictions that have interconnected highways into the Northwest Territories. When we consider removing the requirement for somebody to have a Class 3 and certain size vehicle, we do have to consult with other jurisdictions. So, currently there is a regulation that certain size vehicles need a certain class of licence. At this time, we’re pleased with the way that’s going and it fits in well with the other jurisdictions.

We can look at it to see if there is something we can harmonize with the other jurisdictions, but we can’t make a...

Yes, Mr. Speaker. The intention is to have on-line services for commercial vehicles within the next two to three years.

The plan moving forward and the portion of the plan that we had submitted to the federal government that was approved was for the reconstruction of most of the highway infrastructure across the territory. The Dempster is in there. As soon as we’re able to match the dollars, if we’re able to find matching dollars for the Dempster in 2014-15, then we will be starting year one of the Building Canada Plan work on the Dempster and other highways this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Again, I’m looking at case-by-case would be the way to resolve this issue. People have not come to me, individuals have not come to me and said that they had been working jobs, have 20-plus years’ related experience and then were not eligible to apply. I’ve had situations recently exactly as the Member spoke, an individual that said that they had 20 years’ experience, but they didn’t have a Grade 12 education that was a requirement. I encourage the person to apply for a job at any event. So, I don’t know that is an issue. I haven’t specifically heard that is an issue until today. If...

Mr. Speaker, related experience does matter. Minimum qualifications, as far as education goes, and related experience matter. It’s written in most job descriptions, if not all job descriptions, that we receive from the department. If an individual has directly related experience in the job they’re applying for, it has a significant impact on whether or not the individual gets hired. If a person has directly related experience, education that may not be directly related, but many years of directly related experience as the Member is talking about today, we will not screen that individual out...

We can discuss this with the departments. The departments do the job descriptions and through their knowledge, skills and abilities that are typically required for a position that they’re posting. So they need to do a certain job; there are tasks that have to be done; the department determines what type of qualifications that individual needs to carry in order to do that job. So, if we’re discussing with the department on looking at those qualifications that maybe a job with a different type of task in there may be sufficient, then we’ll have that discussion. I’m more than willing and prepared...

Mr. Speaker, the Aboriginal employees are all employees that were affected by the financial shared services. Regionally there were 16, and 15 in headquarters, so 31 people were affected by the position, and the majority of them were placed into jobs with the government. I think there is a possibility that a couple of the specific cases where individuals may have been applying for the positions that would have been considered an advancement did not get the jobs, but my understanding is that there were some discussions held with these individuals. I don’t have the specifics on the individuals...

This is a national issue. Alberta does have its own regulations. We aren’t exactly similar. We are trying to become part of the transportation system. We do harmonize with the other provinces. Harmonization is the ability for vehicles to move across the country and into the Territories without switching loads or being ineligible or eligible of driving a vehicle of that size. So we would look at everything, not just one province and just harmonize with a province where the most commercial vehicles are coming from. We’d look at everything. Like I said, if that was the best possible solution, was...