Wendy Bisaro

Mr. Speaker, I’m glad to hear that the Minister is open to working with the Council of Persons with Disabilities. I’d be most pleased to help him facilitate that.

I mentioned in my statement that I believe that persons with disabilities priority ought to be changed. I would like to know whether or not the Minister would consider that for revision, changing the priority for persons with disabilities from P2 to P1?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

We need to remedy this situation as soon as possible and can do that by removing barriers to hiring persons with disabilities. We must: (1) change the Affirmative Action Policy to show persons with disabilities as P1 priority — a no-cost budget item, and (2) establish a career assistance program for persons with disabilities. I can provide information on that to the Minister of Human Resources for whom I will have questions later on.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m a little dismayed at the amount of this item: the $739,000 for the increase in contributions to the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority pension plan. It seems to me, and from what I understand, that this is an extra contribution that’s been required in the past several years. I’m wondering whether or not we can soon expect that these employees will become part of the G.N.W.T. public service so we can avoid having this extra expense.

Mr. Speaker, having heard the Minister’s answer, I’m sensing that there is not a strong formal program at the moment for input from staff.

Two questions, I guess. Maybe I’ll ask them one at a time. The first one is whether or not the Minister can advise if there’s any real input from staff, any real savings, any real efficiencies that come from the various recognition programs that he outlined.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to follow up on my statement in which I talked about using our employees as a resource. I’d like to ask the Minister of Human Resources what mechanisms currently exist for staff to provide input into our annual budget process?

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Yes, I am looking for a formal program with monetary recognition. I think it’s important. The Minister mentioned that there was a program earlier with nominal recognition. To my mind, something like 10 per cent of the amount of savings which are garnered would be an incentive. If somebody saves $200,000 for this government, that certainly is going to give them incentive to do it. So I would ask the Minister if he would consider reinstating such a program.

So I take it from the Minister’s answer that there are no formal mechanisms and processes in regard to input for the budget.

I would ask the Minister whether or not there are any mechanisms in place, apart from the informal system that he’s already outlined, for an individual or for staff to provide input into…. Sorry. Should they see that there are efficiencies to be gained in an operation or savings to be gained, is there a mechanism for them to have input into the department’s operation?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My hearing is going; I didn’t hear you the first time.

Mr. Speaker, since the Finance Minister’s fiscal strategy announcement, which outlined the need for massive budget reductions for 2008-2009, Members have all been working very hard considering how to reduce expenditures, the implications of reductions and how to minimize the impacts of those reductions.

One of the unforeseen impacts that has resulted from the announcement of the fiscal strategy is the effect it has had on G.N.W.T. employees and the non-governmental employees who deliver programs and services for the G...

That was before the end of this fiscal year, so I guess that will be the 31st of March. Okay, thank you.

When can we expect to see a community identified for the wind energy demo project that was a recommendation from the conference? It also was a recommendation in two reports from 2007.

Over the last several weeks, as the mercury slid to minus 40 or more, our homes and businesses were gulping fuel to keep us warm and cozy, unfortunately to the detriment of our environment. The indications of climate change are all around us — we see them throughout the North — but there's hope. Alternative energy sources are available. We just have to accept and advance them.

The N.W.T. currently has such an opportunity. Last November the community of Tuktoyaktuk hosted the Remote Community Wind Energy Conference, and by all reports it was very successful and produced a number of excellent...