Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions will be for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It is, yet again, about the Yellowknife school problem. Mr. Speaker, my question will be framed around lack of consistency, clarity and practice throughout the Northwest Territories where there is more than one school in that community. Is there any ECE legislative authority, policy or directive that is enforceable which points to a minimum capacity level that community schools must be at, and, if they are not, are they either amalgamated or closed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t deny that the Finance Minister was correct on that information. However, I’m talking about a proactive approach that actually gets ahead of the problem before it gets away from us. I’m talking about getting ahead of the problem so we don’t have to work on trying to force and try to reach a compromise to have these big, deep, forensic-style audits. So, Mr. Speaker, the fact is the Auditor General will do this. All we have to do is put it in a line item now that we have the FAA open. Would the Minister reconsider that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will follow the line my Member’s statement drew out, so my questions will be directed to the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, in short, I want to make sure our Crown corporations are giving all the NWT citizens value for money. Mr. Speaker, my question, therefore, is, is there a value to the directors of the Crown corporations and the GNWT shareholders in conducting occasional performance audits on Crown corporations? Can the Minister indicate whether there has been any progress on this file since I raised the issue back in February 2006? Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In February 2006, I made a statement on the need to perform regular performance or value for money audits on Crown corporations owned by the GNWT. At the time, the Finance Minister indicated he was open to examining the issue and possibly considering an expanded role for our very own Audit Bureau. Over a year has gone by and I have yet to hear anything from our fine Finance Minister on this issue and there have been no concrete steps on implementation of this idea.

We all know that Crown corporations are subject to annual financial audits by the Auditor General’s office...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about the health care workers at Stanton regarding fairness, a stress-free, and safe working environment. As of late, this weekend I had spoken to a constituent in regards to this important issue; their concern that a staff survey is being done, but want to know if the staff survey is independent. Who’s writing the questions? Are they yes’s and no’s? Are there any interviews being done? Are they really drilling down to what the problems are and are they part of the solution? There are concerns out there, Mr. Speaker, and that needs to be answered...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I rebut that, I won’t be able to ask my fourth question. Mr. Speaker, I raised another serious concern in my Member’s statement about relief workers and agency workers and the fact that there are many staff employees at Stanton who feel that they are losing their senior staff. They are getting new ones as good as they are, but the problem is we don’t have the experience and the seniority that that has. Our senior staff can get jobs in the Yukon or elsewhere at these great bonuses. There is no incentive. Would the Minister take on this problem and show some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the issues that had been highlighted to me is the fairness of bringing issues forward without feeling the pressures of other people looking at you or implying things that aren’t right. We would all be well and good if we had whistle-blower legislation or an ombudsman for someone to complain to. So what is the Minister doing to ensure that we have anti-harassment training done and used, and to ensure that all employees feel safe to bring issues forward to management if there are problems, without any fear of reprisal? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Hiring agency nursing, Mr. Speaker, may help with the short-term pressures, but the question is, do we have the right staff levels there in the first place? Fixing the Public Service Act constantly gets raised about finding solutions. I say it’s time we be innovative and lead Canada rather than someone else coming up with a solution. Let’s find a made-in-the-north solution that recognizes seniorities. Sometimes we need to put the rules aside and look for solutions.

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you a flag has been raised at that hospital. It’s not a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me say that that whistle-blower legislation will be well received, because there are people out there who feel that their jobs are at risk when they put issues on the line by putting their name forward and saying I believe this is a problem. So, Mr. Speaker, the next problem I highlighted in my Member’s statement was lieu time. There is an unfair balance of how lieu time is orchestrated out there. It’s about fairness and morale and the fact that many people feel that this is an imposed change without any consultation. Can the Minister agree to go back and look at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during my Member’s statement, I raised a number of concerns at Stanton Hospital that I feel very strongly should be addressed. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services tell this House today that the survey we are talking about will be shown and guided with keen leadership? Will the Minister show that it will be an independent, open, fair discussion with all employees, both union and management, and be considered to be done at arm’s length to ensure there is full buy-in to ensure workers are happy and safe? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.