Tom Beaulieu

The on-line services at this time are something that we will be running for three years. Then we are looking at re-evaluating or evaluating the service at that time. Currently, we have minimum walk-in services in most places where we do have walk-in services. For example, we have one station in a place like Inuvik where individuals have the option to walk in to do their registrations and so on. If we went to a full system to save some money, we would have to shut that one down. So, we’re thinking of continuing to run a dual system and that system is designed to make things more efficient...

Mahsi cho, Madam Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Madam Speaker, the new Highway No. 4 realignment opened to traffic on January 31st. Residents now bypass the remediation work underway at the former Giant Mine site and travel on a safer highway with better turns and sight lines. It is an important infrastructure investment toward ensuring responsible stewardship and providing jobs and business opportunities to dozens of Northerners.

This work started last summer with the construction of a new entrance. More than 250,000 cubic meters of rock were moved to use as sub-base and base...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We do surveys with our public service. Satisfaction surveys are one way that we are gauging whether or not individuals in the public service are happy or unhappy. That is, for us, the preferred method to try to make the changes while the staff are still with us, and usually if we only take a survey of the individuals that leave the public service and we’re going through exit surveys, the data is very slanted. So, like I indicated yesterday, it appeared to be an opportunity for people to vent their frustrations with having worked with the government and why they left...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to thank the Member for mentioning the best diversity employer. The department appreciates the Member’s comments on that.

On the turnover rates, there has been, from the information we have, a slight decrease between 2011 and 2012 of about a 1.3 percent. On average, we pretty well turn over about 10 percent of our staff on an annual basis, although our average tenure for the public service in the GNWT is nine years, but annually we’re turning over, I would say, about 10 percent, a little under 10 percent and sometimes slightly over 10 percent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I do.

I will talk to the department about what extent the bridge has been evaluated in as far as looking at the bridge for lessons learned and so on from the time the bridge was approved until the time the construction was completed and provide that information to the House. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There is no further outstanding work to complete the bridge. Thank you.

We do not intend to close any of the walk-in services. We would probably not gain any savings. Again, it’s for more efficiency for people who are trying to do their registration. It’s not a huge cost to add this system. On the other hand, the intent is not to save money by closing down the walk-in service. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The department is using some organizations in some of the smaller communities. For the most part, we have built our own infrastructure up in the department to be able to provide these services. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The career fair that we had in Ottawa is one method for the GNWT to attract individuals to come to work in the Northwest Territories. As a government, our approach is holistic when we try to also bring in some population, bring some people in and we have a goal of increasing our population in the territory, but one of the principle reasons for going to Ottawa would be to look at some of the very difficult to fill positions. Also, attracting some Northerners to come back to the territory.

When we were down there, we had contact with over 600 people. Some of...