With the decline in the CMHC funding, it’s getting awfully difficult for the Housing Corporation to put in other units, so we have to replace the ones that are already there. We have a lot of units that are old and that need replacing. The two units that I spoke to before, we’re doing our initial allocation for the market housing and the money that we had received through FMB and the Legislative Assembly to try and provide housing for professional staff in the community. We’re doing our initial allocation. I think there are a few that are earmarked for the Member’s riding. As well, next year there’s going to be another significant investment in the Member’s riding with the seniors complex in Fort McPherson, and that’s in addition to the $31.8 million we’ve spent in the Member’s riding since 2006.
Order! Order! The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
I want to ask the Housing Minister questions too. Unfortunately, I don’t have any for him today. Seeing how, of course, the Housing Minister is giving out millions of dollars here…
My questions will be directed to the Minister of Human Resources. I’ve received a call, like most MLAs do every year this time of year, which are from both summer students and certainly parents alike, and often they see that other students are getting jobs and they’re hearing about placements already being made.
My question is to the Minister of Human Resources regarding the policy, as such, for early hires. Do we have any particular policy that allows summer students to be hired in advance of the April 1st new budget year starting? It does cause a lot of stress and concern for the students that e-mail, phone, the parents that e-mail and phone, and they want to know why certain kids seem to get all hired early February, or even sooner, and it’s quite frustrating when their kids are competing for jobs and seem to never get a shot.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no policy for early hiring of students such as in March or February. The target group for the hire of summer students are the students that are finishing the courses down south. Usually these courses end, I think, at the end of April, and so the target for the summer students would be for May, June, July and August, so kind of a four-month program that runs during those four months, and that is the target group, and I think the majority of the students come in there. I’m not aware of students starting earlier than that.
It’s difficult to tell both a parent and a student about the competitive process that they don’t see, don’t know about, and when you tell the parent, well, don’t worry, the system is there for you, I assure you, to be honest, I don’t actually believe that at times, because you hear from parents who see the concern that their kids aren’t being hired, and you hear this regularly.
My question now for the Minister of Human Resources is: What type of public scrutiny process is there to ensure that these potential job openings in departments for summer student positions are not only fair, but honest and transparent so people can see them in a competitive way? Because right now both these parents and students think of them more as they’re about who you know and not necessarily what you know.
The departments use various methods to attract students. They’re on the website, they’re advertised by posters and so on. I indicated yesterday that that type of campaign for this coming summer was started in December 2013. The plan is to try to match the students as much as possible to their studies, so more of what the plan is, is to try to take the students and match them into the departments that they’re eventually hoping to study, and based only on that, not based on people hiring people that they know and so on.
Well, all I know, and I think a lot of Members know, is there’s a little button on some web pages that says apply here, click, send your resume in and good luck. That’s all that exists. There is no transparent process to know you’re competing for anything. There’s no transparent process to say or show or demonstrate your resume actually has gone anywhere besides the in-box of who knows who, who knows where, and who knows when. There is absolutely nothing for any student to know that their resume has been sent out and fairly, competitively been considered. That’s all I’m asking.
Now I’m asking the Minister of Human Resources, what does he have in his authority as a policymaker, as Minister of this department, to show parents and students alike that jobs are being fairly competed for, rather than, as I said earlier, it’s not about what you know, it just seems to be who you know.
The campaign last year and all the years past to try to attract students usually attracts around 700 students, and the target is to try to hire about 300 students. Again, because the summer students are hired based on the vacancy rate that is in the various departments, the departments determine how many students they can hire with that type of budget. We think it’s fairly broad. Like I indicated, we recognize that about 700 students usually register for employment, 700-plus every year, actually, and then around 300 are hired.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have to school a single parent by saying we don’t have a job for every student. They know that. They understand that. They respect that. They know we don’t have the money for that. They’re not fooled. But what they are fooled about and certainly upset about is the myth that their child’s resume is being competitive, and that is making them mad, because they feel they have a fair shot and they’re not getting a fair shot.
All I’m asking this Minister to do, and I’m going to ask him this again, is what type of transparent process can he bring forward to ensure that there is some type of competitive process going on there? Because, quite frankly, parents are seeing their kids not being hired or even considered for interviews and this isn’t happening one year out of three years, this is happening year after year and year and I’ve witnessed it myself. Many darn good A students are being ignored, and the parents’ frustration with me is I guess I’m not a connected parent, I just don’t know the right people, what am I do to. I don’t have an answer. Maybe the Minister of Human Resources has an answer so I can start looking these parents in the face and telling them something. Thank you.
[Microphone turned off] …have very good numbers. When we’re hiring students, we’re hiring students that come back to the North to work. Over 95 percent of the students that do come to work for the GNWT are either priority 1 candidates or priority 2 candidates.
I can talk to the Department of Human Resources to track the students that are coming in. Like I indicated, we’re getting about 700 applicants and if 400 of those students are not hired, then we can track those to determine why they were not a match, why they were not picked by the various departments that they did apply for. Students actually show their interests in the jobs they wish to apply for, so it would not be difficult for us to track those students that were not hired and then provide some feedback to committee on the results of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to ask some questions on behalf of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving contingent in Fort Simpson. These questions are for the Minister of Transportation.
What is the department doing to tackle the high rates of impaired driving in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation is developing a High Risk Drivers Program, focusing on drivers that continue to engage in dangerous behaviours despite various interventions. We are now working with a couple of programs that are intended to put on more severity on individuals that are caught; for example, for repeat offenders of impaired driving and so on. We are looking at demerits, monetary penalties and suspensions and so on, and trying to address the issue. But just developing the High Risk Drivers Program is where we’re trying to focus in on this type of issue. Thank you.
With our government’s efforts to reduce drunk driving, parental groups like MADD and even SADD, Students Against Drunk Driving, have we seen a decrease in the amount of drunk driving convictions and charges in the last five years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that data with me. We are assuming that we’re still going to go and put in programs like the driver’s licence merit point program, the Alcohol Ignition Interlock Program and things like that, that are designed to address individuals that do drive impaired. But not having the information here, I’m not able to provide that to the Member to indicate whether or not some of this works… In the past, some of the work the department has done has had a positive effect on the impaired driving rates. Thank you.
I look forward to the information from the Minister. Does our government fund activities or have any resources that can assist with MADD Canada or its student counterpart, SADD Canada, or any of our groups here in the Northwest Territories?
Again, I don’t believe that the department does provide monetary support to the Students Against Drunk Driving or Mothers Against Drunk Driving. These organizations are funded by the general population through donations, but I could look into the situation and see what type of other supports the department can and does provide to both Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving. Thank you.
Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I certainly look forward to that research that the Minister wants to do and see what other resources are there that can assist these organizations.
I’d just like to know if the convictions for drinking and driving have increased. I think it was during the last review, I’d like to ask the Minister, has it increased? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, certainly as time goes, the severity of punishment for impaired driving has continued to increase. Impaired driving is certainly something that’s not viewed like it used to be in years past. It’s considered to be a very serious offence and is treated as such. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. I want to follow up my statement and talk a bit about bullying in the workplace.
Certainly over the last year to two years there’s been some excellent work done on behalf of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and they’ve been targeting young people. But bullying, as I said, transcends age and gender and it applies to society as a whole, but it also particularly applies in workplaces.
So in terms of the GNWT workplace, I’d like to ask the Minister of Human Resources whether or not there is anything that is being done within the GNWT to raise the profile of workplace bullying. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT across the board does have policies in the workplace against bullying, but I don’t have the information on the specific programs that are run, but there are programs that the GNWT looks at to prevent bullying in the workplace. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I’ve done some looking into what exists within the GNWT. I certainly didn’t find very much. I did find, as I mentioned, the Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy, I think is the title, and I think there’s an MOU, perhaps, with one or the other of our unions. As far as I know, there is nothing in any of our legislation and nothing in any of our policies which specifically says bullying. Harassment, yes, but not bullying.
So, I’d like to know if harassment is referenced, what is there within either the Department of Human Resources or within the government that assists workers if they have been bullied or they see bullying and they wish to report it, what system exists for them to do that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT strives to have a respectful workplace. The labour relations is a course that is a requirement for all managers in the GNWT and there are some more courses and programs that are going to be a requirement for managers in the GNWT that will address this particular issue. The individuals that feel that they’re being bullied have options to go to their managers if they think that their managers are the ones providing or distributing the bullying or they have the option to go to the next level. They have the option to go to union if they happen to be unionized. They can go to their Employee and Family Assistance Program as a place to start if they feel that harassment and bullying is something they are enduring in the workplace. Thank you.
I hear what the Minister is saying, but I don’t hear that we have addressed the word “bullying” in anything that we do. That’s where I’m trying to go. Harassment is not the same as bullying. Yes, it is similar, but I couldn’t find anything in any literature on the GNWT website which talks specifically to bullying and I think we need to go there.
The Minister mentioned earlier that there are some programs that people can access. He mentioned that people can go to their supervisor and work themselves on up the line, but I’d like to know from the Minister if he could tell me, please, what those programs are that he referenced and if he could tell me where I can find the chain of command that he referenced. Where can I find a policy that tells me, if I have been bullied, where I can go? Thank you.
As the Member indicated, the Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy would be a good place to start. Also, I referred to some of the labour relations training that would be a requirement for managers. Once those requirements are set down for various managers in the GNWT, that will educate the managers in this area. That is another place where we can see some results for perhaps bullying and harassment together. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure I really understood what the Minister was saying. I believe we need to address bullying in our workplace and we need to use that word. I don’t think I heard any commitment from the Minister to try to go there. I also didn’t hear from the Minister that we have concrete plans in place.
I would like to know from the Minister if he would commit to reviewing what policies we do have, the Harassment Free Policy, if he would commit to finding out what MOUs exist and if he would look at our legislation. I think the only legislation that applies is the Occupational Health Act or Occupational Safety Act. I can’t remember the name of it. Would he commit to looking at those and specifically address them and make changes addressing the word “bullying”? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it’s occupational health and safety training that’s performed by GNWT, labour relations. Of course, I do recognize that there is some bullying that occurs in the GNWT workplace as well. I don’t think it’s frequent, but it is there. I will be prepared to talk to the department and look at specifically trying to incorporate bullying into some of our work that we’re doing to try to make the GNWT a more respectful workplace. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to see devolution to start being implemented here and especially happy because my colleagues and I are able to ask questions and attempt to hold our government accountable for these decisions.
Following up on my earlier questions to ITI on taking over as the oil and gas regulator, I’d like to ask the Premier why is ITI the regulator when we know ITI interprets this role to be one of promoting and subsidizing industry. This is clearly a conflict of interest. Surely, the promoters should not be the regulators. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member should elevate his thinking to where we are presently. We are taking over devolution and we will be taking a Government of the Northwest Territories approach. The Department of Lands will be the lead department in dealing with environmental assessments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to publicly commit to elevating my thinking. Boards are different from departments. Boards make decisions based on evidence that is presented to them. Departments make decisions based on politics. How can we be sure that decisions made by the new regulator will be based on evidence and not based on politics when they are made behind closed doors of the Executive? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There will be three departments that will be involved with the regulatory process. I will emphasize again, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, the boards there will continue to be in existence and they will be making recommendations to the different Ministers responsible. We will have three different departments involved with three responsible Ministers. In our view, having people of the Northwest Territories make the decisions that were formally done in Ottawa, it’s much better and it’s in all of our interests of people of the Northwest Territories to be responsible for decisions that will affect them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are not like Manitoba or Saskatchewan. We have a duty to consult with our Aboriginal partners on every project proposed in the NWT. I would say, in fact, we have a duty to consult with all members of NWT society. An NWT energy board would make that process of consultation clear and transparent.
Why has this government chosen to switch from a public board model to a model that has no possibility for public participation in the decision-making process? Mahsi.
Our territory probably takes most seriously its duty to consult. We consult and we consult and we consult. We will continue to do so. The Member is making assumptions. We will be coordinated and we will consult and listen to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
As I mentioned before, this is starting to create a pattern. I’m all in favour of dilution…
---Laughter
…devolution, we all are. We want devolution for the people of the NWT, not just to the GNWT Executive. How does the Premier propose to reverse these power grabs and put oil and gas decision-making back in the realm of independent and fair public boards? If he’d like to add how we’re going to do all this public consultation instead of just saying that and creating structures that don’t have any public consultation, I’d be happy to hear that too. Mahsi.
It sounds like the Member would prefer to have the NEB continue to go back to Cabinet of Canada to make the decisions. That’s what he seems to be proposing. What we’re saying is decisions will be made by duly elected government and the Ministers that are involved. We are contracting with NEB. The National Energy Board will continue to be involved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
