Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to direct my line of questioning today to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. When applications are made for exploration rights within the Northwest Territories, I’d like to ask the Minister if he’s aware of any environmental plans that have to go along with these applications.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re involved with the processes directly on the land. Yes, there are comprehensive plans. There’s a very rigorous regulatory process that has to be followed.
I’d like to ask the Minister if the Department of ENR monitors environmental plans and the work that goes on with the exploration companies.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we do.
I’d like to ask the Minister if we have the capabilities to monitor environmental concerns without outside interference.
Clearly, we’ve evolved and matured as a jurisdiction over the years. We’ve built up our capability in the North. We work closely with industry, but we also work closely with Indian Affairs and the federal government, as well as the aboriginal governments. I believe — all the complaints about timeliness aside — that we have that ability.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.
I’d like to ask the Minister who would have the final approval on environmental plans that go along with the exploration rights. Is it the Government of the Northwest Territories or the Government of Canada?
It generally goes forward with the responsible Ministers — the appropriate Minister from the Northwest Territories as well as from the federal government. In this case it would be myself as the Minister and then generally the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is to the Premier. Currently virtually every senior manager and deputy head of the GNWT gets a bonus. I’m curious if bonuses have been awarded to deputy heads and senior managers for services provided during the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Hon. Premier, Minister Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of bonuses or performance pay is under review right now. We are looking at it. I don’t believe any departments have paid any out, and there hasn’t been any paid out at this point to deputies.
By “under review” does the Premier mean that he’s developing a process that will actually award or reward senior managers for outstanding performance as opposed to the typical or standard “everybody gets a bonus”?
We are looking at the process of how it happens. We know, for example, that there are some staff that work for departments that fall out of the UNW side, and they’re excluded. But within departments they’re treated differently than deputy minister levels, so we’re having a look at trying to come up with a process that would make sense. It would look at performance for work done.
I’m hoping what that means is yes, performance pay will be based on merit rather than the standard.
I’d like to encourage the Premier to review what the federal government is doing with respect to bonuses to their senior managers. They put in a real comprehensive plan that ensures that not everybody gets one because they are a senior manager but for outstanding performance and doing more than is required or above and beyond. So I’d like to encourage the Premier to check out what the feds are doing.
I’d be more than prepared to have a look at their work and what it entails. Just for the record, I don’t believe every manager gets performance pay in the Northwest Territories. I understand there’s a process, and it’s limited. We’re undertaking that review to have a look at how it’s been done in the past, and we’ll be prepared to take a look at what the federal government is doing going forward as well.
Thank you, Minister Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy? The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll have questions to the Minister of Housing. My questions are about the subject of the Sambaa K’e Healing Lodge.
Mr. Speaker, I’ve been informed recently that a deal has been reached with another organization to turn this into a training centre. I’m just trying to get some sense as to what’s actually happening, who will be responsible for the cost of that and who will be the benefactors.
Can the Minister of the NWT Housing Corp tell me exactly who is in control of this now? Are they paying for the full cost of running this facility? Who owns the facility?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Three questions there. The Minister can answer one or all. The honourable Minister Responsible for Housing, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s been an arrangement made with the Mine Training Society. After the first three months, part of the getting-started agreement is going to be covered by us. But after three months they will be covering all the O&M and mortgage costs. We’ve been paying the mortgage to CMHC.
My questions shouldn’t be perceived in any way that I’m against the building actually being dusted off and used. I think it’s a real shame that it’s been empty for so long and probably heated forever at an exorbitant rate.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know: will we retain ownership of this building, or has that been given away in this agreement? If it has been given away, what financial gains has the territorial government made?
Mr. Speaker, this is a lease arrangement. We haven’t reached a point where there’s any proposal before us to actually buy the unit outright.
Has the Department of Housing considered giving it to Aurora College as an asset for them so they can include it in their programming as opposed to just giving it away to an organization?
That facility has been through the government process a number of times, to see if there was any interest within government.
This is the first real deal we’ve been able to sign, and it’s a lease arrangement that has a three-year life which could possibly be extended or evolved into ownership at some point. But we’re very glad to be able to report that we’ve finally got a paying tenant.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Well, again, I state that I’m pleased that it’s going to a training group. I didn’t realize we had so many treatment centres that we had to get rid of one, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I want to know what the total cost has been for the number of years since we had it on the books. What was the total cost to maintain that facility while it’s been empty?
The facility, I believe, has been unoccupied since about 2003 or thereabouts. The O&M costs, I understand, currently are about $70,000 a year, and that doesn’t include the mortgage.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Oral questions, the honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Justice. This gets back to my Member’s statement, where I was speaking of the collapsing of the deputy warden position at North Slave Correctional Centre, which happens to be in my riding of Kam Lake, and the fact that that position was collapsed. Now it’s going to be the responsibility of the sentencing administrator. There’s been much talk about the program delivery officers at that facility as well being let go.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice: what are the department’s plans going forward for program delivery at North Slave Correctional Centre?
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are proposed changes to the North Slave Correctional Centre and also the young offenders that we’re faced with. At the same time, there are no changes to the program delivery. We will continue to deliver those programs with the staff that we have at the centre.
Mr. Speaker, if you get rid of the program delivery officers and the deputy warden of programs, I’m wondering what expertise there is in the sentence administrator position and the managers. What experience do these folks have in delivering programs that are going to rehabilitate inmates so that our communities and our families can be safe?
We do have the expertise from within. We have one continuing staff member who has taken on the role of delivery officer. Also, the two current members whose positions are proposed for reduction do have the opportunity to become the case officers, or case managers. So they will continue to deliver the programs at the centre.
Mr. Speaker, our communities being safe should be of paramount importance to the government. I’ve heard from folks who work at North Slave Correctional Centre, and a couple of the words they use are “directionless,” “leaderless.” There’s no direction there when it comes to programming. If you’re going to carry out the removal of the deputy warden of programs and the two program delivery officers, it’s absolutely going to be directionless.
I’d like to ask the Minister: can he produce evidence that the expertise is in-house to deliver the programs on a frequent basis and on a professional basis?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member’s discussing this particular area of concern for his riding. We will do our part as the Department of Justice to monitor the programs that are being delivered at the centre. Wherever there needs to be improvement, we’ll highlight that as well. Certainly we will continue to monitor the progress of the centre.
Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to reiterate: I think community safety is of paramount importance. I want the Minister to tell me where the experience and the education and the professional credentials are at North Slave Correctional Centre so that people can deliver these programs effectively. I want to have some faith in those folks that are delivering these programs. If it’s a psychologist…. Like I said in my Member’s statement, it took three years to recruit a psychologist for that centre, and I don’t want this left to just anybody.
Interruption.
Now that we have the power back, we will continue. We were at Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Safety is one of our top priorities as a department — safety of the inmates, also safety of the correctional officers and, as the Member alluded to, safety of the public. We’ll certainly do what we can. We do have a psychologist on hand to assist us with program delivery at this facility, and also the two individuals that are in there currently and also the third individual that does deliver the program. So we will continue to deliver the programs that have been delivered for a number of years, and we’ll certainly monitor that as well on a continuing basis. Mahsi.
The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier. I would like to ask the Premier if he provides any guidance or direction with respect to Ministers’ conduct in this House.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
Mr. Speaker, as we conduct ourselves in this Assembly, we would review any particular incidents that occur. We know, for example, there’s a process of being ready and available for Members during question period as well as Committee of the Whole, and overall conduct of Ministers. Yes, if there were an issue that came up, we would sit down and have a discussion and see where we could correct things, if that were the case.
