Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the career and technology services in Tu Nedhe, both Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e. I have questions for the Minister of Education pertaining to the situation in Lutselk’e. Can the Minister clarify why the current community learning centre facility cannot be maintained temporarily for a career and technology services trades programming until the Lutselk’e Dene School expansion occurs?
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
As the Members know, there is a community learning centre going up in Lutselk’e. The existing building that is in place right now, I guess it has been surplus to the community on the CLC, the community learning centre. The money that’s been operating with the existing building will be transferred to the new facility. If the community wants to take over the facility, the operating cost of the building will be on the onus of the community. That’s part of the reason.
I’d like to thank the Minister for that answer. I thought that the building was going to be decommissioned. There is a critical need for tradespeople and opportunities for the people in Lutselk’e to be employed at the mines. Does the Minister think that if there’s not enough money in the budget for the local district authority that the Department of Education would be able to assist in the operation and maintenance and custodial services to provide in the old community learning centre to be used as a shop?
As I indicated, the money that will flow with the new community learning centre will happen. The Member is asking for additional funding. We provide funding to the local DEA to provide programming in CTS and different areas. At this point we don’t have the additional dollars to put into the system. This is an area we can look at for next year’s planning session. At the same time, the funding that has been in existence is being transferred with the new building.
Can the Minister commit to giving direction to the staff to work with the local district education authority to come up with the costs to operate the old community learning centre as a shop for the career and technology services?
I can have my department work with the DEA on this matter. The Member has brought this to our attention on a couple of occasions now. We’ll definitely work with it and with the Member as we move forward. I’ll definitely agree to having my department work with the DEA.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister do that for the 2011-2012 school year? The beginning of the 2011-2012 school year?
Those are the things that we need to look at: what’s out there right now, what are the options. We need to get back to the department and find what we need to work with. This is an area that we need to look at in more detailed information and we’ll see what the outcome will be.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I’d like to follow up on some of the questions and statements that I made in my statement.
I talked about a request for tender and that it does not allow for -- I didn’t mention this -- full-cost accounting of the service that is being sought. There is no opportunity for the buyer to do company reference checks, to consider the ability of the company’s staff in light of the work being contracted for. To get a full value of our money on such a contract, I believe we ought to be using a request for proposal. My question to the Minister is why Stanton Territorial Health Authority did not use a request for proposal for the medical travel contract.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the Member’s concerns in this regard. It should be made clear that the local businesses were given all preferential treatment available under our government policies to support northern businesses. With all that considered for about a $250,000 contract, there was a difference of over $100,000. So there was quite a substantial difference in the prices and, secondly, it should be made clear that while we are having discussions about government policies, it’s really important to make sure that we don’t suggest that any staff has done anything wrong. Stanton staff have been under attack in the House and I have to tell you that all government rules were followed and especially in this contract process.
Mr. Speaker, I believe it’s a legitimate discussion for us to discuss what more could we do to give preferential treatment to northern businesses, but for this contract all the rules were followed, the staff did all the right things and if the Member suggests that maybe we should give everything to a request for proposal, we could do that, but that’s a separate issue.
Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that this was handled as a tender because that’s how it was done previously. This was not a new process. They were not looking for new ideas. It was a northern business that earned this contract last time as a tender and so it went out as a tender for the second time. Thank you.
Thank you. I think the Minister missed my point. I have no concerns with the process. I never once mentioned the process. My concern is that a request for tender does not get us the evaluation of the contractor that we should be getting. It doesn’t allow us to look at all aspects of the service that we’re asking for. I know that the northern agencies were given preferential treatment, that was made very evident to me and I have no concern with that.
It’s been about a month now since that contract has been awarded and I now understand that some of our medical travel staff are experiencing some problems with this new contractor. I’m told especially slow and lengthy turnaround time to get itineraries for travel bookings. So I’d like to ask the Minister how are things working out with the new contractor. Thank you.
Thank you. The Member has a valid point. If she would like the government to consider that all of these things get done by a request for proposal, that’s something that we could look into, but that would be within the responsibility of departments in charge of contract rules.
Secondly, the Member is saying that she’s heard of problems. I’ve not heard of any problems with people booking medical travel. If the Member has a specific question, I’d be happy to follow that up, but I’ve not heard from the Member on that issue prior to today and I’ve not heard from anybody else who is suggesting that there’s any problem with the way the program is delivered. Of course, as a Minister I’d be happy to hear any of that at any time and follow up as I always do. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for the response. I guess it disturbs me somewhat that Members have to tell the Minister how to be creative and that we have to tell our staff what to do. I would hope that they would be constantly looking for ways to save money, and in my estimation an RFP is far better than a tender.
To the Minister not having heard any concerns, that’s great. Maybe there aren’t any, but with a new contractor in any program area, I think there should be constant monitoring in the early days. So the Minister told us that we were going to have a seamless transition a little while ago. I’d like to know if either the hospital or the department has asked the staff for an evaluation to date, are they happy with the new system, has their workload increased, are things more or less efficient than before. Thank you.
Thank you. I believe the system has been in place less than a month. I believe it went into effect at the end of January and the Member mentioned in her question that she’s hearing that there are problems. I’m not aware of that. I’d be happy to receive that information from her and I’d be willing to commit to taking a look to see how we are delivering that program, because obviously when we get somebody to deliver a program on our behalf, we want to make sure that the work is being done right. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister I would like to say that I would hope that when we have a new contractor, we would be proactive and we would be checking up to make sure that things are working okay. I appreciate the Minister’s commitment to do some sort of an evaluation. That was my next question. So I wish her to confirm that either she or the hospital will do a brief evaluation of the contractor and the service to date, and will she report those findings to the House? Thank you.
Thank you. As I indicated, the contract has been in place less than a month. I believe it came into effect at the end of January. I believe it’s a two-year contract with a renewal clause. At the appropriate time I would be happy to commit to an evaluation. Having said that, I’m not sure if a month is enough to do an evaluation on something. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up on my Member’s statement on northern grad nurses. I mentioned that I received a copy of the letter to Ms. Lee from one of my constituents who was really dismayed and took offense to the remark in the House by Ms. Lee. I just wanted to get some clarification, questions. Is there an actual policy or directive of government that graduated nurses that have designated RNs must take some additional training to be employed in our system, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, his constituent wrote to me on February 14th at 10:23 a.m. and I responded to her at 11:25 a.m. on February 14th. I stated to her that given the questions and concerns that the graduating class has expressed and some of the confusion that might have created because of the discussions being held here, that I have asked Department of Health staff as well as Human Resources staff to go into the classroom and meet with the new grads so that they get full and comprehensive information about the employment opportunities available to us. We are, as a government, fully committed to using and hiring all of the nursing grads. We have done that before and we will continue to do that, but we need the students to work with us, because there are many jobs in many different places in different communities and different practices.
So let me just state, clearly our nursing program is a very good program. We graduate highly qualified, skilled, competent grads out of that class. We hire those grads, but nursing jobs all over the Territories are different. A nurse’s job at Stanton is different from a nurse in Jean Marie River or Fort Good Hope or Inuvik. Being a nurse in charge in Aklavik is different from being a nurse in Smith. So at no time did I say that those nurses are not qualified to do the job, there are just so many different jobs that a nurse would take on and we do have programs that would have them be practice ready, which is different. So I think it’s important that we treat our nurses well and we respect our nurse grads and we do that. I have indicated to the staff that we need to meet with them so that they have all the information and not go by what’s in the media clips coming out of this House. Thank you.
Thank you. The media clips that come out of this House are taken with seriousness by all our constituents and people throughout the North because what’s said in this House is reflected sometimes in policy and in how we administer our government. So just given that, Mr. Speaker, if anything, given the seriousness that my constituents have taken with it, the chief of the community has taken it very seriously as well, and I think, if anything, if there was an error in her statement and she offended people, I think the Minister owes an apology. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Media clips are taken seriously, but they are not comprehensive and they are not always accurate, which is the reason why I’ve asked our staff to go and meet with the grads.
Mr. Speaker, the Graduate Nurses Employment Program is a successful program. It’s one that nursing grads could benefit from. We have currently four graduate nurses employed at Stanton. In 2009 and 2010 there were 10 graduate nurses placed at Stanton and seven in 2008-2009. This is a successful program that allows the grad nurses to transition into a nursing position. They don’t have to go through that program but it’s one of many programs that the government has put in place to transition the nurses into a full-time nursing program. So it’s to their benefit. They don’t have to take that. At no time did I say they were not ready to take on a job. I’m just saying they have to be practice ready for the jobs that are available and we are here to help them.
I want to commit again that we are committed to hiring northern grads. We ask them to work with us and take full advantage of all the programs that we have available.
When we say things in the House it is recorded in Hansard. That’s exactly the words I have in front of me, which says, “They need more training before they can be put into practice settings. They wouldn’t be, I don’t think, ready to apply for a job that’s available on the website.” That’s the kind of thing that really shocks them and I think it’s outrageous. The chief of my community thinks it’s outrageous that the Minister would say something like that. Once again, if anything, I know that the Minister is taking great lengths, between her and her department, to meet with the graduating nurses, but I believe she owes the people who took offence an apology.
I didn’t hear a question there, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Justice. It’s in regard to the Aboriginal Court Challenges Program. I’d just like to ask the Minister of Justice, as he’s the person who oversees the program, what type of intake have we had in the program. How is this program being promoted in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We had some intakes into the funding that’s available but there hasn’t really been much interest over the years. We do advertise it. We have it on our website as well. The Aboriginal organizations, if they want to access it, we have on our website the list of criteria, what’s involved, how much money is available. It’s out there.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d like to formally submit a letter to the different Aboriginal organizations and non-Aboriginal organizations in the Northwest Territories to make them aware of this program. Can the Minister personally submit letters to the different appropriate organizations, Aboriginal organizations and non-Aboriginal organizations to make them aware of this program? Will the Minister consider that as an option?
This is an area that we can look at. We can reach out to the communities. It’s on the website but we can contact the communities and regions so that they’ll be aware of it. I just got a note that it’s been accessed 13 times over the last decade. That’s related to the previous question the Member was asking.
I’d like to ask the Minister when the last time an evaluation and assessment was done on the program. Taking into consideration and looking at the dollar amounts that are in there, I believe, looking back over the time, there haven’t been any major changes to the program. I’d like to ask the Minister if they are considering doing an evaluation and assessment of the program to see if there are changes needed to it.
This is an area that we can look at. We need to find out the status of the programming where there’s been access 13 times over the last 10 years. Why is that? The program itself, we as the Department of Justice can look at the overall program.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I’d just like to get some direction from the Minister. I know this is a program for the Northwest Territories but it does require that at one point you can appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding funding. I’d like to know if as part of the review that I put forward to the Minister, if he would also consider reviewing the programs we have and look at the federal programs to see if there’s the possibility of correlating our programs with the federal program in case there are additional resources needed for these type of court challenges, but they can access additional funding through federal programs in conjunction with our program.
We can definitely explore what programs are available to us from the federal perspective. With the Aboriginal Rights Court Challenges Program there is money in place to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. It does exist. The Member is talking about additional, possibly from the federal level, that we’ll definitely explore.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got questions today for the Minister of Justice. Recently and over the last few years there’s been some high-profile cases of repeat violent offenders getting light sentences even after 16, 17, 18 violent crimes. I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice if he’s aware of what constitutes becoming or getting the status of a dangerous offender.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The dangerous offender status or designation is the responsibility of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada under federal jurisdiction. If there is concern that the Member is addressing or bringing forward, then by all means we can receive the detailed information and share with our colleagues at the federal level.
Given the fact that we have such a high incidence of violent crimes and repeat offenders of those violent crimes, I’d like to get a better understanding of why we’re not seeing applications made for dangerous offender status for habitual violent offenders in our Territory.
This is an area that if issues arise or have been addressed to our Department of Justice, we seriously take them into consideration. We need to work with the federal government as well. It’s under their jurisdiction when it comes to dangerous offenders, that designation. Any issues or complaints that are being brought to our attention in detail, then we will definitely share them with the federal government.
My understanding is that in the provinces and territories the Attorney General or deputy minister of Justice must give consent to an application. I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice if under his watch that status has ever been given to an offender here in the Northwest Territories.
