Wendy Bisaro

I won’t thank the Premier because I didn’t like that answer at all. I guess I would have to say to the Premier that the capital funding that goes to the city, the gas tax money that goes to the city, that’s like asking the city to give me, for my personal home, some of the gas tax funding which the city gets. This is private property. This is a group of homeowners who happen to be on a private piece of land. So it’s very unlikely that the residents of this city are going to approve gas tax money going to an individual homeowner.

I really feel that the funding that the Premier is referencing is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and I want to follow up on my Member’s statement. I’m asking the Premier these questions because the situation at Northland cuts across many departments. It’s a potential huge housing issue, it’s a safety issue that Health and Social Services is involved in, it’s a MACA issue because it’s a community, it’s ITI, it’s Justice, it’s income security.

There’s a moral responsibility on the part of this government through the Condominium Act, which was NWT legislation in 1990 when this happened. I want to ask the Premier why this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have community residents in my riding who are in a dire situation and seriously in need of assistance. A group of about 258 families, 800-plus residents, a number higher than the total residents in many NWT communities, live in an area which is essentially an accident waiting to happen; a potentially unsafe, unhealthy environment. I speak of the property owned by the Yellowknife Condominium Corporation No. 8, better known as Northland Trailer Park.

The sewer infrastructure that supplies these 258 homes is 40 years old and, by Canadian standards, should have been...

I certainly would hope that we would go local and that sending somebody outside would be a recourse of last resort. In terms of training that our HR staff get, I know they are certainly trained in many areas, but in the area of accommodation of workers returning to work after injury or illness, I would like to know what kind of training our HR staff get. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are addressed to the Minister for Human Resources. In my Member’s statement I talked about the duty of employers, and particularly the GNWT, to accommodate and reintegrate employees, who have been off the job, as quickly as possible. Some of my anecdotal evidence indicates that that doesn’t necessarily happen within the confines of our GNWT employees. So I’d like to ask the Minister what policies and procedures exist. What timelines do we identify in policy and procedures to integrate, reintegrate or accommodate employees who have been...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I am glad to hear that we are expanding our view on both persons with disabilities and accommodating people who need to be reintegrated into the workforce after a time away. I would like to ask the Minister, I mentioned in my statement I think it’s important for staff to be trained. I also think it’s important that workers know what things are out there for them, that they need to know our policies and procedures. So what kind of training do GNWT workers get in the area of accommodation and reintegration? Thank you.

I guess I’d like to know if we are working with statements from physicians, if I have been injured on the job and my physician says that I need an assessment to determine whether I can go back to work, when an assessment is required is it standard policy or practice for the GNWT to go to local resources first before we go outside to get these sorts of assessments done? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members will know that the NWT recently observed Mental Health Week. There should be no debate because it is well documented and well known that a person out of work is subject to many negative forces. Injured or laid-off workers are without income and often without purpose. They have to deal with financial stress, loss of self-esteem and feelings of aloneness, any and all of which cause a downturn in an individual’s mental health. Such circumstances lead to mental distress for the worker and, at its worst, depression or other mental illness. That’s why it’s imperative...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that specific information. She mentioned, when I asked earlier, that there’s no need at this point for cost information, but I’d like to ask the Minister this question -- and I exaggerate these dollars totally -- if it’s going to cost $100 million to cover the end of our working spectrum who are not currently covered, if it’s going to cost $100 million to do that, that’s going to have a huge impact on what I determine to do with the “high-end” earners or where I’m going to get the revenue from to offset that expense. I’d like to ask the...

I thank the Minister. I am aware. I thank her for the short history lesson. My question was more to the amount of time that’s required for implementation. How much time is being allocated for consultation? How much time is needed for implementation? That was why I asked for the basis for September 1st.

To the Minister: once a decision is made on whatever these changes are going to be, how soon does she and the department expect the changes could be implemented?