Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to speak about how we, the GNWT, treat some of our employees. I think we generally do a good job, but certainly I and all Members, I expect, have had constituents who have not been treated well by government.

To explain, here’s an example. I use the government’s actions with staff whose job it is to be decentralized. There are two issues here. One is how we advise our employees about the decentralization of their job. It’s done respectfully, but well before the job will actually change location. Staff are notified more than a year in advance of the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We wish to deal with Committee Report 13-17(5) and Bill 42. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks, Mr. Dolynny.

The committee began its review with an exhaustive examination of previous committee reports and briefing materials related to the management and delivery of official languages programming.

The committee examined the GNWT’s “Response to the Standing Committee on Government Operations Review of the Official Languages Act” – “the 2009 response” – tabled October 5, 2009. The committee was troubled by the tone of the response and the lack of commitment by the department to follow up with the standing committee regarding progress on implementing the...

Thanks to the Minister. There are specific policies that are listed, so I don’t think we have to take anything out of an act. I heard him say when we’re going to start but I didn’t hear an end date, so that will be interesting.

I’d like to ask the Minister another question about it. I don’t believe this is a policy, but it’s something that has come to my attention. I do believe that we have a fair number of GNWT employees who work for the GNWT but do not live in the NWT. They have moved out. They may be contracted on an annual basis but they are not living here. They are working from home in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister of Human Resources. I’d like to ask some questions about the policies that I referenced in my Member’s statement.

I’d like to, first of all, ask the Minister in regard to the Human Resources Manual. I found it extremely difficult to get information when I was researching policies in HR, and I found the HR Manual had absolutely no information on voluntary separation. I had to then go and find a number of policies elsewhere, which I did find but took a little digging.

I’d like to, first of all, ask the Minister why do we not...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement and ask a few questions about the Official Languages Act and our languages boards and the lack of movement on making changes.

In the wake of the report in the 16th Assembly by the Committee on Government Operations into the Official Languages Act, in response to that report, at some point, the Minister promised to table an official languages strategy and I’d like to ask the Minister, first off, was that strategy ever tabled? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a motion. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories complete the work necessary to bring municipalities under access to information and protection of privacy legislation;

And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories renew its commitment to produce and table a full and final report on this issue no later than August 2015, identifying the steps and resources necessary to complete this work in a timely manner;

And furthermore, that a proposal be included for phasing in this work such that tax-based...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This was another bill that required a fair amount of work on the part of committee, and it was another bill where we ended up with a better product than what we started with. There was good cooperation from the department and committee both, and some back and forth which allowed us to get to a good place.

I just want to mention a couple of concerns that are raised in the report that are not specifically dealt with in the bill. We had quite a lot of representation from stakeholders at our public hearing and they raised quite a number of issues, which again, like the...