Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Department of Public Works ensures that the community has a stockpile in each community for the work that’s required during that year. In 2013, the haul this year, we had a plan to put a stockpile in Aklavik and we were advised by the community that there was a local contractor that had sufficient stockpile of granular material that we could use, so we didn’t stockpile any further, but we think there’s enough material there for us to do our work.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to have a discussion with the deputy on this because I’m not quite understanding how we would be able to do that. When someone leaves the employ of the GNWT then that position becomes vacant. That vacant position, if there’s an immediate requirement, then that position could be filled with a casual. That gives an opportunity for the department to maybe evaluate what they wish to do with that position. As an example, it could be a position that’s hard to recruit. I’m not quite understanding clearly how we would be able to let the public know that we have this many...

Thank you. I don’t think we have a category in PeopleSoft, in our system totally at all that are a category that our jobs are held back for someone else. We have vacancies, yes. There are vacancies that can be held for an individual that’s on a transfer assignment that is going to come back to their home position and then there’s also, on the other side of the coin, there would be vacancies where the department sees that it would be a good opportunity for someone to come into the department on a transfer assignment, those vacancies filled by casuals because they’re having positions that are...

We have not set targets as a department. We are asking all of the departments to come forward with the positions that we are hoping to fill with the Regional Recruitment Strategy. Once we have all the departments who have identified their positions, then we, as the Department of Human Resources, will go back and engage those departments to make sure that there aren’t more positions that can go under this strategy. At that point, we will set targets of how many positions we hope to fill using the Regional Recruitment Strategy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Any policy change that would occur would have been to try to accommodate the Regional Recruitment Strategy. As I indicated, we have discussed this and signed an MOU with the Union of Northern Workers. So, there hasn’t been anything put in place to make it difficult for individuals to apply. In fact, it’s been the other way around. We are trying to accommodate this. Now that interest is starting, we are hoping we will have our first employee underneath the Regional Recruitment Strategy this month and more in April. We’re going to get some employees in March and April through the strategy and...

Part of the 18,000 cubic metres of granular material that the hamlet is to use this summer is also material for Willow River, so there is a plan to start using some of this granular material to build to that gravel source. Aside from that, we can work with the community to make sure there is sufficient granular material to do all the projects, including the parking lot. Thank you.

What I’m saying is that for all the capital plan activities that require granular material, there was sufficient granular material for that. I’m not sure if part of that plan included construction of a parking lot for Moose Kerr School. If the community is wishing to do that, that becomes part of the capital, but I do know that at the beginning of the year all the capital that was planned and the need for granular material, we had enough in Aklavik to do that. Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “2012 GNWT Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey, Summary Report.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as of October 31, 2013, of the 1,150 vacancies, 208 of those categorized as vacancies were filled by casuals. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve indicated in the House previously that we’re also going to be posting jobs at the community level. I’d indicated in the small communities exactly where the jobs would be posted and so on.

To answer the Member’s question, if the department has a vacant position that they wish to fill, then they indicate their desire to fill the position by ensuring that the job description, the ad and everything is ready, then they start working with the department. My understanding is that from the time the department advises HR that they wish to fill the position, that position...