Shane Thompson

Thank you. Is this the area for mental health where we are talking about those new positions, because on page 177, it talks about -- oh, never mind. It answers my question. I have no questions in this area, Mr. Chair.

That was a good little humour, and I thank you very much. So what I'll do is I'll get the chair to give it to me; we'll work on that. In my final closing comment here, I have to applaud the department. I've said this before in my reply to the budget address, and I have to applaud the Department of Education, Culture and Employment for taking this unique way of doing things. I mean, I was a little skeptical or concerned with it. I had long conversations with the Minister and people back home on this, and I, again, thank the department. I thank them very much. It is muchly needed, and I'm just...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that answer. It was confusing. He cleared it up very perfectly, so I thank him very much. Those will be my questions for this section. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess my concern is the job evaluation process. I've seen, in other departments, the process take up to a year, and that is a huge concern for me, especially with the need for these positions. In my riding especially, some of the challenges that we've been facing. So I guess my question is: does the Minister feel comfortable that these job evaluation processes are going to go smoothly? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. I guess my big concern is we start at five. We're around 20 now. If we continue to do it, it's just going to keep on going and going and going. I understand the department needs to do research on it, but at some point, I mean we just got to bite the bullet and do it.

I really think that this needs to be done sooner than later. I honestly believe that needs to be done during this 18th Assembly because, again, if we wait until the 19th Assembly, then we're going to see more increased costs. I guess my concern or my hope is that this will be...

Child and youth mental health workers here. This is the section. Can the Minister provide us with an update on what's happening with these positions for the Deh Cho and the Tlicho please? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to have to rebut that. I have been in the Northwest Territories all my life. Yes, it is 1.3 million great square kilometres, 33 communities. The day I am talking about, the plane went from Edmonton to Fort Simpson to Inuvik to Yellowknife. It hit four communities. Again, this airline company or the contractor didn't provide the service that was much needed.

I realize sending patient escorts out earlier than required might not be the best solution. I have heard it before about the potential appointments being cancelled, capacity issues with boarding homes, et...

I appreciate that, and I thank you very much. Kakisa, though, is in the Deh Cho, and I think the member from Deh Cho might get mad at me if I try to take that community away. My next question, and I do not know if this is the area, here is the cessation planning regarding smoking and that. I heard the Minister talk about a new program that they are implementing right now, so is this the area that we talk about this program right here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I realize we live in the Northwest Territories, but, again, if a contractor is not providing the services, we need to make sure we do deal with that. Has the department approached the contractor or have they approached the Department of Infrastructure to help get this situation fixed?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. We've given these positions to the authorities and they make a decision if it's on a casual basis or indeterminate position. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.