Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions, as well, today are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. I’d like to start off by asking him about an event that was held about two weeks ago, not that long ago. It was open houses that the Department of HR held in seven different communities across the NWT. I haven’t heard anything since they were held as to what sort of success there was from these open houses, what were the results of the initiative, so that’s my question to the Minister initially.

Were these open houses successful? Does he have any results that he can share with the House as to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is Intergenerational Day and the day is being celebrated in over 100 cities across Canada, including Yellowknife. This is where younger and older people come together for intergenerational immersion. The goal is to create respectful relations and better understanding between children, youth and older persons. And it’s good to see so many active elders in the gallery today. Welcome to you all.

Since time immemorial there have been generational differences, but the speed of change and the technological impacts on society in the last 50 years has widened the gaps in...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have 18 seconds, so will fit another question in here. I appreciate the clarification on the funding, but we have just recently approved an operations budget in early March. We are now being asked to spend an additional $800,000.

Why was this expense not put into the operations budget which we approved just a few months ago? Why does it have to come forward as a supp? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to both Ministers. I hear that this money is going to be used for five new positions, and I can appreciate two things. I can appreciate that we’ve taken on greater responsibilities, and I can also appreciate that our communications have been seen to be lacking. I am certainly one of those who has suggested that we could do things a heck of a lot better. But I’m wondering where the decision that we needed five PYs has come from. Minister Miltenberger indicated that this money is going to be used to look at things and determine where to go. The Premier indicates...

Thanks to the Minister for the detail. I accept it at face value, but I just have to reiterate that it’s hard to know exactly how this is going to fit in with a strategy we haven’t seen yet. Thanks. That’s all I have, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the Minister. It’s difficult for me to feel comfortable in approving a fund, sorry, and to approve this funding in the absence of knowing exactly how it’s going to contribute to a plan that I haven’t seen yet. So, I appreciate that the Minister says that it’s coming, but it certainly would have been helpful if we had had that strategy before we had to approve these expenses.

I just want to say, in my limited experience with trying to get somebody through this Nominee Program, it’s not an easy process. It seems to be fraught with bureaucratic red tape and much of it, part of it is...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to consider Tabled Document 248-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016; Bill 37 and Committee Report 15-17(5).

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I totally agree. It seems like a no-brainer that reducing the vacancy rate is going to bring more people to the Northwest Territories. But I guess I would like to know from the Minister, if we’re trying to reduce our vacancy rate – and I have to say, I have to give credit to the department for reducing the vacancies by 200 or so, as the Minister mentioned – or we’re trying to fill jobs, why would we not, at these open houses, albeit we’re giving out info, but why would we not give our staff the ability to hire on the spot to fill as many jobs as...

I look forward to seeing the numbers that the Minister can pull together at some point in time. I’m not surprised he doesn’t have them. It was only two weeks ago, after all.

We’ve held open houses or career fairs, job fairs, whatever you want to call them, in the South as well. I would like to know from the Minister, my understanding is that when we hold a career fair or a job fair in the South that the staff that are attending these fairs are able to offer a job on the spot to applicants who they think are credible and could take a job. I’d like to know from the Minister if I’m correct in that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to see so many seniors here today. I would like to recognize specifically one from the riding of Frame Lake, Yvonne Quick. It’s always good to see Yvonne here. I want to just mention, as well, Carole, Loretta, Wendy, Joe, Darryl and there are many more up there who I can’t see.

As an ex-teacher, I would also like to specifically welcome the presidents of the teachers’ associations across the country. Welcome to our home. Welcome to our territory. I hope you have a grand time. I’m sure that Gayla will show you a grand time. Gayla Meredith is the president...