Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly have heard from a number of businesses about the concerns with regard to recruitment of employees in certain sectors. I guess the first thing I would do is identify the department and program where the problem is and consult with my colleague, the Minister responsible for employment. I guess then I would have follow-up with the federal department responsible. Failing that, we would approach the federal Minister.
It’s a sad statistic that the Northwest Territories is the only jurisdiction in Canada that saw their population decrease in the last census. We have no control over the ability to bring people to work in the Northwest Territories who come from foreign countries, because that is a federal jurisdiction that we’d have no control over whatsoever. I appreciate the fact that the Minister would use his influence at the FBT or with the federal government to make sure that we, as the NWT employers in the private and public sector, are not going to be detrimentally affected by this situation. This situation has existed for quite some time now. I have colleagues in this Legislature who can also share stories of their constituents who have had this same experience. How long is this going to be allowed to carry on? We can have all the expensive campaigns to promote coming to live in the Northwest Territories that you want, but when you have one person sitting in a position that’s responsible for all immigration applications to the Northwest Territories who’s anti-immigration what’s the Minister going to do about it and when is he going to do it?
I’ve already started investigating where the bottlenecks are and we will be contacting the management in that department that the Member is referring to. We’ll work from there. Certainly it’s a very big concern for our government about the fact that the population of the Northwest Territories has been dropping for about two or three years now. Mind you, not significant, but enough to cause us concern. We will be examining all the different avenues that we can to attract people to the North. We will be launching a number of campaigns.
Like I said, without a single exception, this is the report that I hear back from people who try to work with either advocating or assisting people with immigration issues in the Northwest Territories. This is all handled through a Yellowknife office. Would it be appropriate for me today to say to those people who’ve had those experiences, to take the effort to communicate with the Minister and share with him their experiences so that he has some solid evidence with which to go to the federal Minister?
It always helps to have information as to the nature and size of the problem. So any information that I have from the Member or any other businesses that are running into problems may help resolve the problem.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last thing that I will ask the Minister is when he does communicate with federal counterparts or folks in the federal government who are responsible for immigration, would he be kind enough to share that communication and those efforts that he will take on behalf of his department with the Regular Members of this House?
I’d be pleased to do that.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the lead Minister on energy issues. I would like to follow up on my colleague Ms. Bisaro’s questions. I often wonder what this coordinating committee is up to. One of the things that I know we’re trying to do is get community energy plans from every community. Is the Minister ensuring that those plans have energy reduction targets, energy efficiency targets, conservation targets, and renewable energy targets or is it just community energy plans that can say yeah, we’re going to do our best to do what we can to reduce our energy needs?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The lead Minister of the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee is chaired by myself and it’s made up of a number of Ministers that have responsibilities with regard to energy in a number of areas. The committee includes Premier Roland, Minister of ENR, and the Minister of DOT. The issues that we deal with refer to the whole of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Individual Ministers still have the responsibilities that have been assigned to them. As we go along we deal with a myriad of issues and make sure the government is coordinated so that everybody knows what’s going on, and then we can facilitate and advance the different initiatives and projects that this government undertakes.
I assume, from that response, that the Minister doesn’t know and so everybody is not in fact in the know about what’s happening on energy issues. Perhaps again the Climate Change Committee within the first year of our Assembly looked up the Green Procurement Plan for the government and found that it was a couple of paragraphs that said nothing. We agreed there was a real need for a tune-up. Is the lead Minister on energy aware of what’s happening on that front and what role is he playing to ensure that’s done?
I should have realized I was talking to the expert on all matters related to energy. Certainly we have a deputy minister group that is coordinating and leading the charge on dealing with greening the government. Certainly with HR we do have a section that’s focusing on greening the government. With regard to procurement, this is something that the deputies will be working on.
I’m always concerned when things get to deputy ministers committee. They often are never heard from again or it’s years before we get a response. I’m hoping there’s some follow-up on that. The Minister mentioned the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy and I’m wondering if he’s intending to ensure that that strategy will finally adhere to the science-based targets, if he’s aware of those, and whether or not he will ensure that those are part of that strategy as we develop it.
I’ll be working closely with my colleague the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to ensure that we have a balanced approach when we develop and upgrade our Greenhouse Gas Strategy. I think whatever we do, we want to make sure that we can make real progress in this area, because we all recognize that we are feeling the effects and are having to deal with the effects of climate change.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The time for question period has expired; however, I will allow the Member a supplementary question. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s comments there. I think we’re all with him on that. Finally, I guess just the concern that we want to be sure this energy coordinating committee is doing its work and providing us good value. What would the Minister say the best value has been that that committee has brought? The committee didn’t exist before. We’ve now had it for two and a half years or so. What would you say the biggest gains would be?
I appreciate the Member giving me the opportunity to blow our own horn. I think I feel that the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee has been very successful and allowed us to make progress on a number of fronts where it would otherwise have been difficult to achieve. I think I can probably list three or four items. The most visible has been the $60 million Alternative Energy Initiative. I think the coordination and facilitation of the electricity reviews, I think that the outcome, I guess the proof will be in the pudding whatever the outcome will be I think would be part of that. I think the facilitation of the Taltson Hydro Project and certainly I think that we have been able to keep the Arctic Energy Alliance going and have programs whereby we’re providing initiatives for energy efficiencies. Of course, who can forget the retrofit program for the government?
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
I seek unanimous consent to go back to orders of the day item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to welcome the Assembly of First Nations legal counsel, Ken Young, to the House, and also our national vice-chief of the Assembly of First Nations and national chief of the Dene Nation, Bill Erasmus.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the chief from Inuvik, Herb Blake, and also the president of the Gwich’in Development Corporation. Welcome, Herb.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Bill Erasmus, resident and constituent of Weledeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled NWT Hospital Satisfaction Report and Community Health Services Satisfaction Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the Order-in-Council which was passed in 1960 by, I think, Prime Minister Diefenbaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 10, Exemption Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Bill 10, Exemptions Act, has had first reading.
---Carried
Item 20, second reading of bills. Item 21, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 2, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2009-2010; Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act; Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Summary Conviction Procedures Act; Tabled Document 62-16(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2010-2011; and Minister’ Statement 47-16(4), Transfer of the Public Housing Rental Subsidy, with Mr. Bromley in the chair.
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. We have before us for consideration today: Bill 2, Bill 4, Bill 7, Tabled Document 62-16(4) and Minister’s Statement 47-16(4). What is the wish of committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee would like to continue on with the detail of the Department of Health and Social Services for the operations main estimates and, time permitting, we could go on to Education opening comments. But I think that we would like to probably have a fairly short day today, so that would give us less than two hours to finish Health. So we’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to get Education officials over here for nothing. So for now, Health. Let’s just say Health. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. That was that we continue with the Department of Health, likely just Health and Social Services today. Before we do that, we’ll take a break.
---SHORT RECESS
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order and ask if the Minister will be bringing in witnesses.
Yes, please, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Minister. I’ll ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the witnesses in. Committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, colleagues. We are continuing, obviously, with the Department of Health and Social Services. I’d like to call on the Minister to introduce her witnesses. Minister Lee.
