Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s important that we run a government that serves the people. Mr. Speaker, to do that, we need to be aware of the culture that we’re living and working in.
In the Sahtu region, this government has many employees who really need to know about our culture. I don’t know why there are no cultural awareness programs for territorial government employees. We have them for teachers and they’ve been very successful. They are proper both for the teachers and in the communities. It’s a very simple program to implement, Mr. Speaker.
I propose that we make it mandatory for government employees working in the region to learn about the culture of that area. The program should include traditional activities and some basic language skills. This should be done properly, in a one-week program. People in the communities should be involved in it. This would have added advantage to helping government employees meet people from around the region, learn from one another and build relationships and work together. Most importantly, a cultural language program will help improve our government services.
I am not raising this issue out of the blue, Mr. Speaker. Last May 18th, the Deputy Premier stood up in this House and made a good promise. Mr. Miltenberger gave us his word that the Department of Human Resources would have a cross-cultural awareness program developed, including an on-the-land component, available to all GNWT employees by the end of the fiscal year. Time is running out, Mr. Speaker, and we have not yet seen that program going out in the Sahtu region or anywhere else. I know the Minister of Human Resources is part of this department’s plans for a Brilliant North. The action plan states that cross-cultural awareness training will be rolled out this year. I look forward to seeing that happen, especially in the Sahtu region. I expect local people to be involved in the training plan and teaching our way of life.
I will be asking the Minister of Human Resources questions about this training program at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
