Mr. Speaker, I’m wondering. The Minister had mentioned the standards that they adhere to. Is that from time to time, I wonder? I’m aware of it sometimes taking months to fill positions. I’m wondering if the Minister could look at putting in an accountability factor and looking at a Web-based competition status so that people who are applying for jobs know exactly where that competition is at.
Mr. Speaker, I know the Member has the best interests of the government at heart. Competitions generally take about eight weeks. The competitions are controlled by the managers of the various departments. The things that can delay competitions could be a number of factors. They can include managers not being available, candidates not being available, having a person in an interview being unsuccessful so you have to re-book the file. There could also be appeals. But generally the rule of thumb is that competitions would be about eight weeks.
Mr. Speaker, I do have the interests of my constituents and the residents here in the Northwest Territories at heart when I do question the Minister.
I want to again get back to the accountability side of things. I think the department should look into a system like they have in Alberta, where it can tell the applicant whether the competition is in the screening, interview, offer or appeal stage. That, to me, is a fairly straightforward accountability measure that the department should be employing.
I’d like to ask the Minister: will he take a look at the system they have in Alberta and try to get it implemented here?
Mr. Speaker, we are always interested in looking at ways to improve our level of services. Certainly we will look at the Alberta model and look at implementing it, if it will improve our level of service as indicated by the Member.
Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Mr. Speaker, I’m wondering if the Minister can also commit to looking at grievances and the length of time it takes for employees to have grievances heard. As I mentioned, I’m aware of some that are two or two and a half years in duration. That’s unacceptable, and I want to hear from the Minister what he has in terms of adding some accountability to that process.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct that we do have a big issue with grievances and arbitrations. As of last week there are 233 outstanding arbitrations. As the Member knows, it takes two to tango. For over a year we’ve had difficulty in scheduling arbitrations with the Union of Northern Workers. The grievances have been filed at the highest level, so they go directly to arbitration. Arbitrations take some time to resolve.
We have had discussion with the union, and we’ve set up a very aggressive timetable or schedule to begin to address these outstanding arbitrations.
Mahsi cho. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Minister of MACA. Today I spoke about the many challenges my communities are facing regarding hiring properly trained recreation youth staff.
In response to my previous question on challenges in communities hiring trained recreation staff, the Minister of MACA acknowledges it was something that was recognized for quite some time.
I’d like to ask the Minister: Would he commit to following through with his commitment to meet with me to discuss these challenges, possibly redirecting financing to find solutions?
I’ve already committed to meeting with one of the communities in the Member’s riding. It wouldn’t take a whole lot more effort to meet with the Member in the other community he represents, Fort Resolution. We’d be glad to talk about budgeting and being able to redirect financing and things of that nature with the communities, along with the Member.
Thank you to the Minister for that answer.
Mr. Speaker, I pointed out the successes that we all are aware of in the trades program. Just look at all the apprentices in our community. Would the Minister commit to supporting the recreation director-type position and the trades apprentices-type approach or possibly working with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to reinstate the Public Service Career Training Program?
I certainly would commit to working with the Department of Education to look at how we can improve the numbers for qualified recreational staff. Aurora College already has a program, the Recreation Leaders Program; however, there is no real mechanism for an apprenticeship type of program in the community. Some communities have gone as far as to develop training plans for their communities, but it’s a kind of one-off situation designed specifically for their community. I would like to see that brought forward as a template.
We also have a number of programs geared toward our recreation facility maintainers through the School of Community Government. I’d be glad to share that information with the Member also.
I don’t have anything further. I’d just thank the Minister for those answers.
Presently there’s a health crisis going on in the Inuvik region. It has to do with providing medical services to the whole Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea communities and Inuvik itself. Right now we’re short some five doctors in Inuvik; we’re down to four doctors when we should have nine. Clinic tours to our communities have been cancelled because of the shortage of doctors. In regard to the collective negotiation that’s going on, they seem to have no problem filling the Yellowknife Stanton hospital, which has some 27 positions. Out of that, 26 are filled.
Yet, Mr. Speaker, this health crisis we have in our communities is…. Without having medical services by way of shortages of nurses and, more importantly, doctors…. Doctors are the ones who play the most important role in our health care system. Without doctors, we’re just another Third World country.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services: what are we doing as a government to ensure we have the capacity to deal with delivering health care services, especially with the shortage of doctors in the Inuvik region?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for the question. As I indicated to the Member from Nunakput yesterday, we are experiencing a very unusual situation, even within the context of the shortages of doctors and health care professionals we normally face.
This month two doctors were on scheduled leave, and the other two decided to move elsewhere to practise. Right now we are operating with about 50 per cent of our normal complement of doctors.
We are actively searching to fill the positions by locums so that we can provide the services. Beaufort-Delta made a choice of not being able to have the doctors visit communities, but we continue to provide services through the nurses in our clinics, who are able to be in touch with the doctors.
This is a very serious situation. We are aware of that, and we are working hard to fix the situation.
The time for question period has expired. I will allow the Member a supplementary question.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The whole health care system is dependent on four doctors to provide services to eight communities in the Beaufort-Delta Region. It’s not realistic to ask these doctors to provide that service and also ensure that we will have a stable health care system.
Also, the Minister stated that nurses….
Please ask your question, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, it’s not only the crisis with the doctors. We also have shortages with nurses in communities where our health centres are being closed or put on emergency notice.
Can the Minister tell me exactly how many health care centres in the Inuvik region are on emergency notice, where they can only deal with emergency cases?
Mr. Speaker, all eight communities in the Beaufort-Delta Region are on a regular course of business. They do have the full nursing and primary health care services, including nurse practitioners and nurses.
We are not able to have doctors make regularly scheduled visits to communities as they usually have done, once or twice a month. Right now the community health nurses and nurse practitioners have to rely on doctors’ services by phone.
We are working hard to fill the positions with the locums and to have more doctors in place in that region as soon as possible. We do understand this is a very unusual situation.
A short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister tell me exactly how soon these doctors’ positions can be filled in the Inuvik region so that the residents of the Beaufort-Delta Region will have some comfort, knowing that those positions will be filled?
Mr. Speaker, this is on high alert, obviously, because we only have four full-time-equivalent positions, or hours available, of doctors’ services out of the eight that we normally have.
We are doing everything we possibly can to fill them with the locums and to fill the permanent positions as soon as possible.
Final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give me a month, date, year by which she’s going to fill these positions?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday I stated in the House that we would like to have the full complement by the end of March, either by locums or by other means, but we are hoping we could do it sooner than that, if at all possible.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled Government of the Northwest Territories 2007 Public Service Annual Report.
Document 33-16(2), Government of the Northwest Territories 2007 Public Service Annual Report, tabled.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled Status of Women Council of the N.W.T. annual report 2006-2007.
Document 34-16(2), Status of Women Council 2006-2007 Annual Report, tabled.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled N.W.T. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Report 2008.
Document 35-16(2), N.W.T. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Report, 2008, tabled.
Pursuant to Section 68 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I wish to table the 2006-2007 Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Document 36-16(2), 2006-2007 Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Information and Privacy Commissioner, tabled.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 9, written questions.
Unanimous consent granted.
My question is for the Department of Human Resources.
Please provide a comprehensive, up-to-date list of direct appointments by department for the past four years.
Please provide the affirmative action status of those persons directly appointed and a justification for each hire.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, May 22, 2008, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that this Assembly urge the Prime Minister of Canada to make a public apology to the many aboriginal people who suffered abuse while attending federally funded residential schools, and further, that this Assembly strongly recommends the Premier of the Northwest Territories communicate this desire to the Prime Minister at the next opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.
Motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Motion carried.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today. Mahsi.
Unanimous consent granted.
Mahsi cho colleagues. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS generations of aboriginal children suffered physical and emotional abuse, leading to a loss of language, culture and parenting skills, while attending federally funded residential schools;
AND WHEREAS the impact of this abuse will continue to have an ill effect on the health and wellbeing of aboriginal people for generations to come;
AND WHEREAS while paying compensation to aboriginal people who attended residential school is appropriate, it does not address reconciliation;
AND WHEREAS a public apology by the Government of Canada would go a long way to addressing issues rising out of the abuse suffered while attending residential schools that many aboriginal people are still struggling with on a daily basis;
AND WHEREAS precedence exists in Canada vis-à-vis apologies made by the Federal Government to Japanese-Canadians wrongly interned during the Second World War and Chinese-Canadians who were subjected to the discriminatory immigration practice known as the head-tax;
AND WHEREAS other national governments, notably last week’s apology on behalf of the Government of Australia by their Prime Minister, the Honourable Kevin Rudd to the Aborigine people of Australia acknowledging the damage done by past government practices;
AND WHEREAS it would be desirous for the Government of Canada to offer such an apology to the aboriginal people of Canada who where subject to abuse within the residential school system, in order to further reconciliation and forgiveness efforts;
NOW THEREFORE I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that this Assembly urges the Prime Minister of Canada to make a public apology to the many aboriginal people that suffered abuse while attending federally funded residential schools;
AND FURTHER, that this Assembly strongly recommends the Premier of the Northwest Territories communicate this desire to the Prime Minister at the next opportunity.
Motion is on the floor. Motion is in order. To the motion.
I would like to thank all of the honourable colleagues and all here today for allowing me to put this motion forward through unanimous consent.
It is something that is affecting almost all of the people of the Northwest Territories, because I believe that over half of our population has been affected by the residential school system. It was something that was imposed upon our aboriginal people — and not only aboriginal people, Mr. Speaker, it was anybody that lived in the North through the laws of the eras of the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s. It was actually mandated law that children must be in school. Because of the vastness of the Northwest Territories, they were actually forcibly taken from their communities and forced into central school systems.
To me, I attended those schools, too, Mr. Speaker. I was forced to go to these schools. And I never did understand the reason why I had to be away from family life. And it was the same for many, many people that entered these systems as well. But today I understand that it was a mandated law. And both through school…. I went to the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in B.C.
In some of my research, I was researching colonialism. And the policies of the day are exactly from the colonialist policies of the past that were instituted here in the Northwest Territories. I often tell people that the people in power, the government of the day, had 300 years experience in Africa before they came over to North America and instituted the same old colonial policies which, by and large, still exist today.
Just in terms of destroying a whole way of life, a whole people, I was really affected. And it’s only now that there’s been a resurgence of aboriginal rights and identity and wanting to show the world our culture — that it was once a vibrant, viable economy, culture and people. And we still are today. We’re an integral part of Canada.
I believe that the longer the Government of Canada takes to apologize to the aboriginal peoples of this country, it keeps the healing and reconciliation that has to happen on the back burner. It keeps us away a lot longer from the healing of the tragedy of our past, Mr. Speaker.
By and large, through the common experience payments and the residential school payments that have been happening over the last six months or so, that is recognition by the Government of Canada that there was a wrong and that they should apologize for it. I don’t see why they have to go through one more stage in order to do that.
I was really happy to see that in Australia, they had a huge ceremony at the opening of their House just two weeks ago. They had their Aborigines; they had their culture; they had their hand drumming; they had music. And there was great, great fanfare of finally recognizing a wrong by their government and working towards healing and closing the gap of their tragedy as well.
And indeed it’s a tragedy of ours. This chapter of our life should have some closure — not only to close the door but a closure in the sense of recognition that this type of incident, of activity that happened, of residential schools, of forcing people into the residential schools, should never, ever happen again. I believe that part of that apology should say that.
As well, as I travel about as an MLA for the past four years, people ask me about this residential school system and how it impacts us. People really didn’t understand what really happened. To me, that’s because it was such a sad chapter in our history that it wasn’t even in our history books. I don’t believe that even in our school systems, people are made aware of the impact and the things that they’ve done to our people to try to erase from us the memories of our proud and historic past.
Today we’re a proud nation. And we want to share that pride with all Canadians. This is one step in doing it. I believe the apology is important as well as to ensure that it never happens again and to ensure that everybody knows the story of what really happened.
So it really touches me to have this motion debated and spoken in this House. I look forward to full support when this vote comes for this motion, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.
Mr. Speaker, it’s an honour to second this motion, knowing the threat of residential schools and also that First Nations people in Canada have suffered under these long-held policies of past governments.
Yet, it’s still originates in our communities, from the suicides that we see, the alcoholism, the physical abuse — it’s still there today.
Mr. Speaker, I was amazed to find out that in my home community, Fort McPherson, there was a residential school operated by the church in 1895. That’s how far back you can go to recognize how this was implemented in Canada. We’ve had residential schools in Hay River, Fort Providence, most of the regional centres, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith. Along with my colleague, I went to a few of these places.
And yet the thing that stands out the most is to talk to your elders and hear of the experiences they went through. They were taken away from their parents at the age of five. They were taken to Hay River, and they were kept there till they were 12 years old, before they were let back home. Seven years you were put into that institution. Seven years you did not get to see your siblings, your parents, your grandparents, your relatives in your home community.
They send you back to your community after you’ve been gone for seven years, and you try to reunite with your family, not able to speak your aboriginal language to your parents, your grandparents, your siblings. Not being able to have the skills to sustain yourself in the harsh environment of a trapping community or a community that has to sustain itself through hunting, trapping and fishing. Not having those skills because you were put into a system that they were trying to brainwash you from having those abilities to carry out those skills.
Yet today we look around and see the problems that still originate in our communities. You can trace an individual’s family tree to where a lot of this stuff started from. It will take you all the way back to your grandparents, who were put in those institutions for seven years. And that’s why we’re burdened with problems we still see in our communities.
Mr. Speaker, as with anything else that happens around us, I think you get a lot more out of having an argument with somebody than simply saying, “Here’s a bunch of cash; we’ll take care of the problem,” rather than approaching an individual, confronting them and saying you’re sorry and honestly meaning that you’re sorry. It goes a lot more till you feel it in your heart. Money isn’t solving your problems. I think an apology from the Government of Canada will go a long way, like it did in Australia from the Prime Minister there, to make that public announcement and to basically have the reaction of the indigenous people of Australia. The same thing should happen here in Canada.
With that, I look forward to the support of all the colleagues in this House in directing the Prime Minister of Canada to seriously apologize to all the aboriginal people of Canada. Thank you.
Applause.
Mr. Speaker, I won’t be long, but I do want to emphasize a particular point. A lot of homes were broken up and challenged by this policy of the government. But the fact that they actually decided to make payment as compensation to recognize the mistake demonstrates the courage we need to have to take the next step to do the right thing, which is to formalize that through an apology. With that note, I hope our Premier will deliver that message. That one little step further may mean not just a little but a lot to a lot of people who have suffered through this.
Mr. Speaker, as we’ve come through a convention and as we’re being directed, and especially as the Premier is being directed to deliver this message, we would, on the cabinet side, be abstaining from this vote. Thank you.
