Bill 9 has had second reading.
---Carried
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 10, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 7, 2010-2011, be read for the second time.
This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
Bill 10 has had second reading
---Carried
Mr. Miltenberger.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 11, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2010-2011, be read for the second time.
This bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
Bill 11 has had second reading.
---Carried
Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 2-17(3), Commissioner’s Opening Address: Creating the Conditions for Success; Committee Report 3-17(3), Official Review of the Office of the Language Commissioner’s Report; Committee Report 4-17(3), Review of the Status of the Auditor General of Canada; Committee Report 5-17(3), Rules and Procedures Report, with Mr. Dolynny in the Chair.
Welcome back committee. I’ll call committee to order here. We’ve got three orders on the Order Paper today. We have Committee Report 3-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the Office of the NWT Languages Commissioner Annual Report 2010-2011; Committee Report 4-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Review of the Status of the Auditor General of Canada; and Committee Report 5-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Rules and Procedures Report. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The committee would like to consider Tabled Document 2-17(3), Committee Report 3-17(3), Committee Report 4-17(3) and Committee Report 5-17(3).
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
With that, we will go to opening comments for Committee Report 3-17(3). Before we do that, Mr. Hawkins.
Oh, no. To that issue.
As I indicated, we will be going to opening comments for Committee Report 3-17(3). Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has submitted its Report on the Review of the Language Commissioner’s 2010-2011 Annual Report. The report, which includes four recommendations, was read into the record by the chair of the committee. With Members’ unanimous consent, the motion was passed that moved the report into Committee of the Whole for discussion today.
There are 11 official languages in the Northwest Territories. The committee appreciates the efforts of the Languages Commissioner, Ms. Sarah Jerome, to receive complaints and inquiries, promote the rights, status and privileges of official languages speakers, and make recommendations for legislative change.
The committee supports the Commissioner’s recommendations for a better understanding of the NWT Official Languages Act within the public service and greater sensitivity to the needs of Aboriginal official language speakers who are affected by the history of silencing and language laws associated with residential schools.
As required under the Official Languages Act, the standing committee will conduct a review of the act in 2013. Members intend to revisit and update previous recommendations for legislative change. Pending this review, the committee wishes to obtain the government’s response to the Languages Commissioner’s legislative recommendations. These recommendations, listed as three and four on page 20 of the Commissioner’s report, include consideration of the needs of official language speakers living or travelling outside designated areas where their languages are indigenous, placing a positive obligation on the government to protect as well as promote official languages and ensuring that Aboriginal language protection measures are contained in legislation and not just in policy.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. We’ll open up the floor to general comments on the committee report. Seeing none, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories report to this House on measures taken in 2011-2012 and planned actions for 2012-2013 to ensure that the public service understands, respects and honours the provisions of the Official Languages Act.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. We’ll just give a second to circulate that motion. A motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Nadli.
I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories refrain from the use of the word “regime” in documents concerning official languages;
And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories consult with residential school survivors and Aboriginal language communities on other terminology that may act as a barrier for Aboriginal people in asserting their rights under the Official Languages Act;
And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories ensure that public servants are aware of the sensitive terminology in speaking and writing in the area of official languages.
A motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Nadli.
I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and respond to the Languages Commissioner’s recommendations for legislative change, which read as follows:
3.
That the Legislative Assembly continue to move forward with the concept of a service-based model as suggested by the development of the proposed Official Languages Services Act. However, in moving forward, consideration must be given to:
(a)
the fact that not all speakers of an official language reside in a designated area;
(b)
that residents in the Northwest Territories travel in order to receive services; and
(c)
the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and the Government of the Northwest Territories have a positive obligation to promote and protect official languages.
4.
That the Aboriginal language protection regime be contained in legislation and not just become part of government policy or protocol.
A motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Nadli.
I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.
A motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Does committee agree that consideration for Committee Report 3-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the Office of the NWT Languages Commissioner Annual Report 2010-2011, be concluded?
Agreed.
Moving on to Committee Report 4-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has presented its report on the Review of the Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. The committee’s report, which includes nine recommendations, was read into the record by the members of the committee. With the Assembly’s unanimous consent, the motion was passed to move the report into Committee of the Whole for discussion today.
The standing committee thanks the Auditor General of Canada and their staff for their work. The status report examines government’s progress in addressing specific recommendations from four previous performance audits. The recommendations concern programs and services of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, and the departments of Finance, Transportation, Public Works and Services, and Education, Culture and Employment.
While the Auditor General rated the government’s overall progress in acting on the recommendations of previous audits as satisfactory, the committee is concerned that this rating is really only a bare pass. Members were struck by the Auditor General’s observation that the NWT government’s ability to effectively manage programs was limited by three serious government-wide barriers:
inadequate information to manage programs and make decisions;
insufficient monitoring of third-party program delivery; and
an absence of detailed action plans clearly setting out how and when organizations intend to implement recommendations made in the audit reports.
The standing committee strongly recommends a coordinated approach led by the Premier to tackle these barriers.
With regard to the Auditor General’s department-specific recommendations the committee was shocked to learn that some government inspected daycare centres were not following health and safety requirements and the Department of Education has not set procedures for following up on the deficiencies. This is unacceptable and must be addressed immediately.
The Auditor General also found that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has not improved its monitoring of local housing organizations, and has not developed a strategic plan that identifies priorities and links actions to its mandate. The committee is confident that the Housing Corporation can, and will, improve in these areas.
Finally, the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works and Services have taken steps to improve their contract administration. Nevertheless, preventable errors were found in one-third of the contracts audited. The committee expects both departments to show further progress within this fiscal year.
The committee commends the government organizations for their efforts to implement the Auditor General’s recommendations and urges them to make greater effort in the areas where the Auditor General found progress to be unsatisfactory or incomplete.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. We’ll open up the floor to general comments. Question? Thank you. We’ll move to Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends that the Premier and Department of Executive review the February 2012 Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada;
And further, that the Premier and Department of Executive coordinate the government’s response;
And further, that the Premier and Department of Executive propose solutions to overcome the three government-wide barriers to effective program management identified by the Auditor General.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Just give a second for that motion to circulate.
A motion is on the floor. To the motion. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to make a couple of comments here. This finding of the Auditor General is quite disturbing, I think. It also is an opportunity for the government to recognize that we have sort of a systemic problem within the government that’s been identified by the Auditor General. The work that the Auditor General does is thorough. I find it fair and I find that they often see things that we don’t see ourselves, and that’s the value of having an outside organization look at our work and look at what we’re doing.
There are three key barriers that have been identified by the Auditor General, and the chair of the committee spoke to those in his opening remarks. They’re pretty fundamental, and they affect not just one department but they affect all departments, they affect the whole government. It was interesting to me that the Auditor General, in the audits that he has done over the last six years, found that these three barriers existed in all the programs of the departments that they had audited.
The committee recommendation here, I think, is important. I’d like to suggest that the Cabinet and Executive need to give it the credit and the importance that it’s due. The Auditor General, in his report, mentioned not once, but twice, that these systemic barriers exist. I think that many of these things, although maybe not couched in the same language, have been mentioned by Members in this Assembly but also many times by Members in the 16th Assembly, and I just want to emphasize again that it’s time that the government listened.
These issues, as identified by the Auditor General, are across government. It’s not just one department that they refer to. It’s referring to almost every activity that we do. I feel that the Auditor General has placed the responsibility in the right place: on the shoulders of the Premier and the Department of the Executive, who are responsible for the government as a whole.
I really don’t have anything else to add. It is important and I would hope that other Members will recognize the importance of this. I hope that the Executive, the Cabinet and the executive branch will recognize the importance of this, and I hope that we will see some action from the Premier and his department that will give us some idea of how the government is going to address these three key barriers. Thank you
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission develop and implement a more complete and consolidated quality assurance and control framework for the processing of claims;
And further, that the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission establish a process for approving and communicating changes to its claims processing procedures and standards;
And further, that the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission report in detail on its actions in this area to the Legislative Assembly by the end of fiscal year 2012-13.
