Frame Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 29)

Mr. Chair, thanks to Mr. Aumond for that. I have to ask the same question I asked with regard to the financial shared services. We are spending money here, nearly not as much money, but we are spending a bit of money here. Do we have expectations that we are going to have savings through the centralization? I think the Minister alluded to it a little bit, but are we going to basically… If we are spending $165,000, are we going to gain much more than that by having these services centralized? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 29)

I have a question here with regard to the Procurement Shared Services Centre. We have an explanation here where there is a transfer of money in from various departments to centralize our procurement services, but we are taking in $515,000 and yet we are spending whatever $515,000 plus $165,000 is. I don’t have that number here. We are spending $680,000. If we are doing the job in the various departments and it is costing us $515,000, why is it when we bring everything in together that we can’t provide the same services for the same amount of money? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 29)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some questions, as well, on this particular expenditure, the financial shared services. Mr. Dolynny has mentioned two numbers, but there’s one more number under Public Works and Services a little further on in this document. It adds up to close to $2 million. I think it’s $1.9 million, give or take. I appreciate that these are one-time costs, and I appreciate that we are doing this for the better. This is going to presumably make our financial services somewhat better. But it is a large amount of money.

I guess I would like to know from the Minister, and again, I...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 29)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleagues for their words of support. I’d like to thank Mr. Bouchard for seconding the motion and allowing it to come to the floor.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 28)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion. My comments are similar to those of my colleagues.

I haven’t been directly involved in the program. I don’t have many constituents who are directly involved in the program, but I am well aware of the deficiencies of the program. It’s been made known particularly through social media, Facebook, the printed and the electronic media and so on.

Since the change came in two years ago, I’ve heard nothing but negative comments about this new program. Those comments have come through social media, Facebook, the printed and the electronic media...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 28)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. My last question has to do with transportation, as he just mentioned. I appreciate that the transportation costs are rolled in. I appreciate that the living allowance has been rolled into salaries. It’s my understanding that transportation is weighted fairly heavily in the criteria that make up the methodology that determines northern allowance, so I’d like to know from the Minister why transportation is weighted so heavily compared to, say, living costs.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 28)

I want to thank the Minister for that explanation. I realize that this is a difficult topic to discuss, but I am a little concerned that Yellowknife employees may be at some kind of a disadvantage. So one of the things that the Minister referenced was a basket of living expenses, I guess you would call it. It struck me that this basket does not include transportation. Transportation is outside of this basket. The other thing that is outside of this basket is mortgages.

So can the Minister explain, from his experience in negotiating this particular issue, why transportation and mortgage expenses...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 28)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is about the Department of Education, Culture and Employment proposal for minimum wage adjustment, specifically to the committee that has been established by the Minister to review the NWT minimum wage.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Speaker. I’m very glad the Minister sees the need for a regular review for the minimum wage, but I can’t agree with the Minister’s suggestion to strike a committee to review and set regulations.

I feel it’s overly bureaucratic and, quite simply, unnecessary. I have concerns with both the makeup of the committee and the length of...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 28)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, June 3, 2013, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that this Legislative Assembly supports the efforts of the federal, provincial and territorial Justice Ministers to better protect children by combatting cyberbullying, including changes to the Criminal Code of Canada that would make it a specific criminal offence to share intimate images without consent;

And further, that the Speaker transmit this motion to the Prime Minister, federal Opposition leaders, and federal...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 28)

I totally agree with the principle for equalizing rates for our employees across all of our communities.

The Minister mentions that the union has not asked to evaluate or do any kind of revisiting of this particular methodology. I’d like to know from the Minister when the last time was that this methodology was reviewed. When was the last time it was looked at across the territory and was there an evaluation to determine if the fact that Yellowknife is the base rate is actually appropriate still? Thank you.