Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my great pleasure to welcome the students from N.J. Macpherson here and I want to thank all of you for the flash mob. It was awesome. You guys did a grand job. I’d also like to thank you for your very good behaviour here in the House; you are very impressive. You could teach a few other students in Yellowknife a few things. Thank you for that. I know that all of you here represent all of the ridings in Yellowknife. My riding is Frame Lake. I know there are some Frame Lakers up there. Welcome to you students from Frame Lake.
I would like to specifically recognize representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada who are here. I can’t quite see them all but I believe they are all here. Julie Docherty, Sandra Lockhart, Bob Haywood, Leon Nason, Lynn Simmons, and I would like to specifically recognize Lorraine Hewlett and her son Christopher Coomber. Lorraine is president of the UNW Local 1.
I cannot recognize a former colleague – I was going to say old but he’s not that old, our relationship is old – Mr. Roger Windle, who teaches at N.J.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to recognize in the gallery my sister, Janet. We both lead extremely busy lives. We seldom get to visit each other but she’s up in the North for a whole week and she’s going to join me in Hay River this weekend for the Kamba Carnival and then back up here to fly out of Yellowknife next Wednesday. A whole week with my sister. I’d like to welcome her.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce to you, and through you, you did mention some members here from the RDEE Canada, which is the... [English translation not provided.]… Again, he did a great job pronouncing those French words. We did have one person here who we should note is the executive director of the RDEE, who is Jean Leger.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again I want to take a moment to recognize our N.J. Macpherson students here. Ms. Bisaro is quite correct; it’s quite impressive, both their flash mob dancing as well as their behaviour here in the House. She’s quite correct that the way we’re seeing our students behave here today is so impressive, I agree with her that many people could learn quite a few things from the students. That said, this is the generation that is standing up to bullying and I thank them for that, because the line needs to be drawn and they’re certainly showing their support with their pink shirts.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to recognize Ms. Stella Nadia, the deputy mayor of the Village of Fort Simpson, up in the gallery here today. I just want to say that she is a champion of the new pool in Fort Simpson as well as a tireless volunteer in Fort Simpson. Welcome and enjoy the proceedings this afternoon.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is also my pleasure to recognize all the students here today and their teachers. I especially welcome those who are residents of Weledeh, which includes Ndilo, Detah and Old Town, Niven Lake, that area. Welcome.
I also would like to give special recognition to the representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and Lorraine Hewlett, who often stands up for the public interest.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Leon Nason, a resident of Hay River, and Lorraine Hewlett from a long time ago when she used to live in Hay River. I’d also like to welcome all the children from the schools as well.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. I’d like to welcome all our visitors in the public gallery here today, especially all our youth. Watching you earlier this morning, you guys did an awesome job. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’d also like to thank all the public for taking an interest in our proceedings here today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. I mentioned in my statement about workplace bullying. I’d like to ask the Minister what we in the GNWT have to deal with workplace bullying. My first question to the Minister is whether or not the GNWT has a policy that addresses bullying in our workplace.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Glen Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT is committed to providing a workplace where all individuals are treated with fairness, dignity and respect. We do have a Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy, which replaced our old Workplace Conflict Resolution Policy, which came into effect in 2011. One of the reasons we modified the program and went with the new Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy was to reflect the current emerging jurisprudence in the area of personal harassment, which is, basically, bullying, and to reflect current GNWT structures and practices in applying the policy. Short answer, yes, we have a policy in place.
I’m really glad to hear that. I’d like to know from the Minister what encompasses the policy, what is in the policy. What things will it prohibit our employees from doing in terms of harassing or bullying their fellow employees?
There are a number of categories of harassing behaviour covered under this policy and they include harassment, personal harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority. The policy also has an accompanying guide to apply to the policy which reflects current practices and processes for informal and formal complaint resolutions, demonstrates management, encouragement of prevention and resolution of conflict through frank communication, speaks to management and employees about roles and responsibilities in creating and maintaining respectful workplaces, and helps identify the manager’s role with respect to resolving issues before formal complaints are required.
Thanks to the Minister. One of the concerns that I have with workplace bullying is overt bullying is readily seen. It’s recognized, and it’s probably relatively easy to deal with, but there’s something which I was thinking about in the last few days that could be considered soft workplace bullying, and it tends to be more sort of the implied threat or suggestion that if you do such, this is going to happen to you or have such and such implications.
I’d like to know from the Minister, if I, as an employee, feel that I have been “soft bullied,” does the system that we have in place allow for me to lay a complaint, and to feel safe in laying that complaint and know that something is going to be done about it?
I feel that it does. It addresses harassment in the workplace as well as abuse of authority, whether it’s overt, implied or suggested. The program is available, staff are aware of it, we continue to provide training to departments as they request it so that they can be prepared to assist employees when these types of situations arise.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I guess I would like to know – since he mentioned training, that’s where I was going with my last question – what does the training encompass. I know he said departments request it. I would hope he would consider making it mandatory for all employees, but does it tell the employees what bullying is and help them to recognize it, help them to understand their rights under bullying or harassment? If he could answer that question. Thank you.
The training is more focused on the program itself and what the program can cover and can’t cover. It’s not necessarily an awareness campaign about bullying. I think that’s what the Member is referring to, but it’s more specific to the program itself, how it applies, who can utilize it, how to access it, and the steps the individuals would have to go through to utilize the process.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my statement, I have dredged up some more issues in Hay River, as normal. I just have a question for the Minister of Transportation. Has the Department of Transportation begun to solve the department this year through their budget of dredging?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue with dredging the port of Hay River is certainly a big issue. The port hasn’t been dredged in close to 20 years. The Member is correct; there is a lot of silt being built up there and the navigation channel is being blocked. We do have to find some substantial capital dollars, however, to have a dredging program there, that’s why it’s important that we continue the dialogue with the federal government in hopes that they will rekindle the dredging program that they ran prior to 1994.
My next question is: Does the department have any money in this year’s budget to assess the needs of Hay River’s dredging and what exactly is it going to entail and do, maybe, some cost estimates to bring to the federal government so we have something to bring to the table other than our hands out looking for money?
All we have allotted in this year’s budget would be $60,000. It would cost $3 million or $4 million to take a good run at a program to start with in the port of Hay River. It’s something that currently is the responsibility of the federal government. Again, we need to continue that dialogue. I know we’ve met in the past with Minister Lebel, and more recently with the parliamentary secretary, Mr. Steven Fletcher. We have to continue to impress upon the federal government the importance of dredging here in the Northwest Territories and, specifically for the Member’s point today, the port of Hay River.
I’m wondering if the Minister can use that money to assess Hay River’s needs and make some sort of plan so that we have a plan to bring to the federal government. We know in the past when they’ve had infrastructure dollars come forward, often it comes quickly, and we need to have some sort of plan in place. Will the Minister commit to doing that type of assessment and having that type of plan in place?
I think, working with the folks in Hay River, we could come up with a plan. I will commit to the Member today that I’ll go back to the department and discuss this option with them and, hopefully, we can formulate a plan on next steps when it comes to a dredging program for the port of Hay River.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay, Final supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
My last question is: Will the Minister ensure that this plan gets completed this year so that I can stop raising this issue in this House, hat we have a plan in place and we just need to go to the federal government? I’m willing to go with the Minister to discuss this issue if that’s what we need, or if we need to do lobbying to get the federal government to do this. But we need a plan in place. Can I get commitment from the Minister that this will be completed this year?
We have invited Minister Lebel north. Hopefully, he has some time this summer to journey to the Northwest Territories. Failing that, we’re trying to line up some more meetings in Ottawa with Minister Lebel and other Ministers. Certainly, if we can make a plan here before next fall and the timing is right, if the Member would like to accompany me to a meeting to talk about dredging and a program to dredge the port of Hay River with Minister Lebel, we can certainly look at that. We do need millions and millions of dollars to accomplish this. It’s not something that’s in the financial means of this government today, or the responsibility of this government, but we have to continue that dialogue with the federal government and we will do just that.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask some questions on emergency services with the Minister of MACA. I know, recently in this House, several Members spoke up about ambulatory and ambulance services on our highway system, given the unfortunate accident on Highway No. 1. When I was in Fort Liard doing my tour, I asked about ambulance services. They actually don’t have any there. I would like to ask the Minister of MACA, how are we addressing the emergency services on our highway systems, especially with communities without ambulances.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to work with the communities. We had the ground ambulance and highway rescue money that some communities had taken us up on. As I stated the other day, once they realized that there was a liability because they weren’t qualified as first responders, then many of them quit taking us up on the money. We’ve kind of re-profiled and are hoping to use that money for more training for people in the communities. That way they would be qualified as first responders and then the community would be able to probably get some emergency vehicles and do these types of rescues.
The first thing to do is we need to get them training so they will be qualified first responders. I think the rest of it will work in place pretty well.
I know that in past Assemblies we were working on, I think it was the ambulance committee. Maybe the Minister can clarify exactly what committee that was. I thought we had some discussions about actually reactivating that committee. I think it was Health and Social Services, MACA and one other department. Anyway, can the Minister identify that committee again, and see if it will be activated for this Assembly, because we really have to address those gaps in our highway systems and saving people’s lives.
We have an internal deputy ministers committee. Ourselves along with I believe it’s Transportation, Justice and Health and Social Services are looking at this particular issue. They’re looking at cost and many other things that might come into play on this. The last we heard, I think, to implement a territorial-wide highway and ground ambulance rescue would be in the neighbourhood of $6 million. They’re continuing to do their work and we’re looking forward to some of the recommendations that they might bring forward to the Ministers and we will share that with committee.
For example, I spoke of the community of Fort Liard that has no ambulance service. In fact, they don’t even have an ambulance. They’re willing to invest into that capital of buying an ambulance; however, they don’t have the financial support, they can’t cover the O and M costs and training is very expensive. Are those the issues that this committee is looking at?
It would be some of the issues. I mean, they’d cover all the bases as far as trying to help the communities implement this. We do know some communities have expressed an interest in purchasing some highway and ground ambulance type vehicles. We had one community that had purchased it, realized that they didn’t have trained people for it, and I believe they sold the equipment. We’re looking at, through the School of Community Government and MACA, offering some type of training to all residents or all communities across the Northwest Territories so we’d have qualified first responders in the communities. That would be the first step.
Then the second step, once they’re qualified then the communities have the option of looking at purchasing ambulance-type equipment. Once they do that, we’re always looking at the overall O and M budget of our department and how we fund the communities, and this may be another factor that comes into play.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just one final, short question. Given the tragedy and the accident on Highway No. 1 last week, the Member for Deh Cho actually said it was a Health and Social Services van that went out there and took the injured person back to Fort Providence.
Does this kind of incident highlight the importance of a ground ambulance support system throughout the Northwest Territories with the Minister and this government? Thank you.
