Great Spirit God, we pray that as the Members begin the work of this day and the work of this session, that your Spirit will guide them in the way they speak with each other, in the way they go about the tasks and responsibilities that have been placed before them and that you will continually remind them of why they are here and who they serve in the responsibilities with which they have been entrusted.
May all of us keep in mind respect for the people of this land, and respect for the land itself, that peace, justice, dignity, hope and freedom may guide the conversations and decisions that occur.
Keep us in your loving care and keep before us the challenge to serve with integrity and humility. Amen.
Monsieur le president, messieurs et mesdames les deputes, mesdames et messieurs, et amis.
Mr. Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, as you all know, I enjoy visiting the people in our communities. I will use every opportunity to visit your constituencies and to accept as many invitations as possible that may be extended by the honourable Members of this House.
Recently I was invited to Inuvik to help present Long Service Awards to staff and teachers at the Beaufort-Delta Education Council. It was an honour to help recognize and show appreciation for the dedicated service of 29 staff members who work so hard on behalf of their students and communities across the Beaufort-Delta.
While I was in the Delta, I drove the ice road to Tuk and paid a visit to Mangilaluk School where I was welcomed into two classrooms to read a story to the children, a story that I had written, by the way.
The Grade 9 students in another class were eager for me to watch their impromptu display of drum dancing, which was led by their teacher. This was an unexpected pleasure.
I also had time to drive to Aklavik where I took part in a very special luncheon with the elders and staff at the Joe Greenland Centre.
I felt very privileged to help two residents celebrate their birthdays: Isaac Kunnizzi turned 87 on February 21st and Mary Kendi will turn 95 on March 4th.
The warmth and hospitality shown to me by Principal Reardon, his staff and the students at Mangilaluk School, by the staff and residents at the Joe Greenland Centre and by the Beaufort-Delta Education Council reminds me again of how much I enjoy visiting our communities and meeting the people.
Later this week I will travel to Grande Prairie to attend the start of the Arctic Winter Games. I will be very proud to join others in representing the Northwest Territories and cheering on our athletes.
Then I will be in Vancouver to participate in the annual conference of Lieutenant Governors and Commissioners with the Her Excellency, the Governor General.
Members, as you know, my current term as Commissioner is scheduled to end before this House meets again in the spring. This could very well be the last time I will appear in this Chamber as your Commissioner. I want to tell you and all of the people of the Northwest Territories, what a great honour and a great pleasure it has been to serve in this capacity. I will leave it to others to assess my performance as this great Territory’s 15th Commissioner. I take the greatest satisfaction in reporting to you, however, and that I have met my goals in visiting each of our 33 wonderful communities as Commissioner. Some I have visited many times. While there are still many things I would like to accomplish as Commissioner, I am singularly proud of having fulfilled that goal. Our communities are the heartbeat of this land that we call home. It is where the real impact of the real decisions that you make here are felt there. We must never lose sight of them as we do our work.
I want to wish each of you, every one of you the wisdom, the foresight and the modesty you need to fulfill your important duties during this upcoming session and the remainder of your term in office. You are the custodians of this made-in-the-North system of consensus government. I know you will do everything in your power to leave it as strong as you found it.
Now, as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, I declare open the Fifth Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Merci beaucoup, mahsi cho.
---Applause
Before I leave, as I like to say, mahsi cho.
---Laughter
Speaker’s Opening Remarks
Good afternoon, colleagues. I would like to extend my thanks, on behalf of all Members, to the Honourable Anthony W.J. Whitford, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, for opening this Fifth Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly, and to Mr. Shad Turner and Reverend Peter Chynoweth, of the Yellowknife United Church, for assisting us today. The appreciation of the House is also extended to our guests and visitors who have joined us in the gallery.
We are continuing the year with much work to do and very busy schedules. I wish to commend all Members for their long hours and hard work in everything we have accomplished to date. I know that there is much work yet to be done and I am confident that all Members are up to the challenges that lie ahead.
On behalf of all Members, I want to congratulate all of the Canadian athletes for everything they have accomplished at the recently concluded Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C.
---Applause
They have made us all proud to be Canadian.
As we begin this Fifth Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly, I wish to remind all Members of your rules governing question period and encourage you to keep your questions short and to the point, and the same goes for the answers. Thank you, colleagues.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canadians and NWT residents will catch our breath this week before renewing our nationwide Olympic celebration with the opening of the Paralympic Games on March 12th.
These games are not just Vancouver’s games, but Canada’s games. They are, and have been, a celebration of the Olympic ideals and a showcase of Canada’s diversity and cultural richness in front of a global audience.
As a proud contributing partner to these games, I would like to take the opportunity today to reflect on the NWT’s presence and participation at these games and, in doing so, to recognize in our success the many individuals who have come together to tell our story to the world.
Mr. Speaker, our government had a vision to use the unique Olympic opportunity to teach visitors to the games about Canada’s North and our great Territory. We wanted all Canadians and the world to know that the Northwest Territories is a vast and dynamic region with immense economic potential, diverse cultures, world-class art and fine crafts, unique tourism opportunities, and that the NWT is also a great place to live.
We wanted to encourage healthy choices among our people and provide the opportunity for our youth to learn and grow from being a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event.
It has been said that the Vancouver 2010 Games are Canada’s time to shine. The Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker, has shone brighter than most.
We sent dozens of representative NWT residents to the games as traditional games athletes, as performing artists, as visual artists, and as youth ambassadors. These NWT delegates not only represented our Territory to the world, they also broadened their own horizons.
Our Youth Ambassadors were provided an invaluable opportunity for leadership development. Our visual and performing artists and our traditional games athletes performed in front of larger audiences than most have ever seen before. All were truly great ambassadors for the NWT.
NWT Day was a culmination of our participation and investment in the 2010 Winter Games. That night the Victory Celebration at B.C. Place featured a showcase of the best of NWT culture, artistry, talent, and performance, all woven together in a performance that blended both the traditional and contemporary talents of our Territory.
The Right to Dream program, with its focus on healthy choices and lifestyles here within the NWT, was also an important part of our celebration and participation in the 2010 Winter Games. Events across the NWT have been taking place, from a hockey tournament in Fort Smith to the mini-Olympics held at the Deh Gah School in Fort Providence.
And it isn’t over yet. The NWT will also be present at the Paralympic Games that are set to start later this month. Our Youth Ambassadors and our traditional games athletes will be there to continue to promote the Northwest Territories. Canada’s Northern House will remain open into April.
I encourage all of us who have witnessed Canada’s and the NWT’s success at these Olympic and Paralympic Games, to use that energy and spirit to continue to grow personally and to make a difference in their communities and Territory.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games gave us an unparalleled chance to demonstrate to the world why the NWT is a great place to live, invest in, and work. I believe we have capitalized on this opportunity and want to thank all those who have made this such a success.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment, as the government lead on the work to revitalize, enhance, and support the Northwest Territories official languages, continues to actively engage with language communities in the preparation of the Official Languages Strategy to be tabled this fall.
We are in the midst of planning a major Aboriginal Languages Symposium March 30th to April 1st in Yellowknife to bring together government, aboriginal language communities and other stakeholders to discuss the overarching principles of an Aboriginal Languages Strategy, how aboriginal language should be promoted, and how aboriginal language communities can be supported to increase the day-to-day use of our official languages.
To assist us in planning the symposium we have assembled a volunteer working group made up of the members from the language communities. This group is directing our work by offering advice and guidance on program content and logistical details. I would like to thank the working group for their invaluable assistance in planning the symposium, including: William Firth, Andy Norwegian, Berna Landry, Lucy Lafferty, Mary Rose Sundberg, Jane Modeste, Cathy Cockney, Emily Kudlak, Annie Boucher, Vance Sanderson and Sabet Biscaye.
We would also like to thank the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, Mr. Kevin Menicoche, for agreeing to co-chair the Aboriginal Languages Symposium. It is clear that the work on official languages is as vital to standing committee members as it is to this government. We would like the Official Languages Strategy to be the work reflective of the commitment and passion of this entire Assembly, so Mr. Menicoche’s participation is both important and welcomed.
The information we learn from the Aboriginal Languages Symposium will form the foundation of work with each individual language community over the coming months. It is our plan to offer as much assistance as the committee requires on the formation of their draft plans and actions. This work will take some time. Languages do not improve overnight but require consistent and committed effort on everyone’s part: the language community, the GNWT and the federal government.
The theme of the Aboriginal Languages Symposium decided by the working group is: Languages - A Shared Responsibility. This is entirely consistent with our government’s language regime approach and we are very encouraged by the way our chosen approach has been enthusiastically embraced by our partners.
In terms of our work on the French language, Mr. Speaker, we are currently in the process of gaining clarification of our funding responsibilities prior to moving forward towards a strategy and an implementation plan. We are seeking this through the courts as clarification of the past decisions. We are hopeful to have this clarification in the near future and to continue our work with the French language community in a cooperative and committed way.
Mr. Speaker, many Members sitting here today speak their language well and others are still learning. I challenge those Members who are not fluent in their language to learn a few words and phrases every day and use them as much as possible. If everyone, not just Members of this House, commits to doing this, we look forward to hearing more and more of our people and their language on a day-to-day basis. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, today I’d like to provide Members with an update on initiatives that have been launched under 20/20: A Brilliant North that focus on diversity in the public service of the Government of the Northwest Territories.
The government is committed to increasing the representation of people with disabilities in the public service and creating an inclusive workplace open to all Northerners. Human Resources staff met with the director of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities in January to share our work plan on employability and to seek advice on our proposed direction and planned activities.
The Government of the Northwest Territories Advisory Committee on Employability is currently being established and will be up and running later this month. The committee will include the participation of non-government organizations that focus on disabilities. The committee will advise on methods to promote, support and increase representation of persons with disabilities, while fostering a spirit of inclusion and awareness among Government of the Northwest Territories’ employees.
As we move this important work forward, the Department of Human Resources will continue to work collaboratively with the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities and other non-government organizations.
In October 2009, focus group sessions with employees and participants from non-government organizations were held in Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik. These sessions helped identify potential barriers to increasing representation of persons with disabilities to assist in the development of a plan that will be used to attract and retain disabled employees.
Information encouraging resident disabled candidates to identify any accommodations they may require during the hiring process will be added to the government’s employment opportunities web page in the next couple of days. Reducing or eliminating barriers in the hiring process is one of many ways to create diversity.
Mr. Speaker, sensitivity training sessions for Government of the Northwest Territories’ staff is being piloted next month. If the program is a success, we will aim to provide future sessions for Government of the Northwest Territories’ employees across the Northwest Territories.
Sensitivity training gives participants a greater understanding of the workforce that is represented by persons with disabilities and an understanding of bias, beliefs and assumptions about persons with disabilities and their employability.
Finally, another exciting initiative is the development of an overall Government of the Northwest Territories Recruitment Strategy that, in keeping with our commitment to diversity, will include the recruitment of persons with disabilities. As with other diversity initiatives, working with non-government organizations is key in the development of this strategy.
Mr. Speaker, 2010 is an exciting year as we reinvest in the public service and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners in achieving diversity in the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about a respected elder who passed away on February 26, 2010. Billy Enzoe is a good friend to all the residents of Lutselk’e. Billy was born on January 10, 1930, and lived off the land. He hunted and trapped throughout his years, but his greatest passion was fishing. Billy was well known for his fishing skills and it was not uncommon for Billy to put all his children in his boat and go to his fish camp.
Billy lost both his parents at a very young age. This contributed greatly to the Billy Enzoe many people in Lutselk’e knew, loved and respected. He loved his family very much and did what he could to instil strong values, education, family and spirituality within them. However, the most important value he believed in was respecting the land, living off the land and using the land.
As a young man, Billy travelled all over working in many fishing camps throughout the East Arm. Billy was predeceased by his wife Elizabeth Liza Enzoe, his parents, Leon Enzoe and Coraline Wedzin, his brothers and sisters, Liza Casaway, Helen Marlowe, Marie Casaway, Elizabeth and Joseph. He is survived by his children Terri, Pete, Rosie, Dora, Jerry, Annette, Patrick, Gabe, Gloria, Delphine and Jessica, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mr. Speaker, the last time I spoke with Billy was at Maurice Lockhart’s 99th birthday party. I sat down with him and Billy told me he wasn’t well. He said he had no fear of dying. He said he raised his children to the best of his abilities and prepared them for life ahead. He said he had comfort in knowing that all his children were ready to make their lives without him. He said he always spoke to his children about the importance of family.
Mr. Speaker, Billy will be sorely missed by his family and by all the residents of Lutselk’e, but his family should take comfort in knowing that he looked forward to joining his wife, Eliza. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to discuss an issue I have raised previously in this House, and that’s how the Department of Justice, specifically corrections, is short-changing the rehabilitation and services provided to inmates at North Slave Correctional Centre.
Mr. Speaker, two years ago there were two clinical psychologists employed at North Slave Correctional Centre. Today, to my knowledge, there is none. Mr. Speaker, the fact is, we are failing to get assessments done and work with inmates to ensure proper rehabilitation is done so inmates can transition back into society.
I’m deeply concerned that recently a convicted sex offender waited 11 months for a psychiatric assessment. How is this even possible, Mr. Speaker? Corrections, the Department of Justice and the Minister should be embarrassed for themselves. When the individual’s lawyer is quoted in an article in last week’s newspaper saying it will take some time, especially because it seems there is no system in place, and not only are lawyers picking up on the lack of proper and timely psychiatric assessments, the Crown is also very concerned about the situation causing an individual to be, as they call it, “institutionalized” because they can’t get access to the required assessments.
Mr. Speaker, this is completely unacceptable. I am very aware of what happened in the removal of one of the former psychologists at North Slave Correctional Centre and I want to know why we have not made any progress in bringing in a clinical psychologist to that centre. How many more inmates sit in remand and are awaiting psychiatric assessments? Mr. Speaker, to me, this appears to be a gaping hole in the services that our largest corrections facility, North Slave Correctional Centre, has to offer inmates.
After the way we treated the former psychologist at the centre, maybe it’s little wonder why the Department of Justice hasn’t got a full-time psychologist at the North Slave Correctional Centre and no -- I repeat, no, Mr. Speaker -- day-to-day services of a clinical psychologist at the facility, which, Mr. Speaker, I think is completely absurd. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, this weekend, I was reminded by a constituent of a situation which exists in the Northwest Territories and I am going to attempt to describe that today, Mr. Speaker.
When a family member observes a child that is in some form of risk or potentially in harm’s way, it is a natural affection of a family member that would cause that person, that parent, that adult to reach out to that child to remove them from that situation or at least provide some kind of respite from that home to care for that child. This happens with aunties, grandparents, cousins. All kinds of people in the North see a child, they know there’s a situation in the home that is unhealthy or puts the child at risk. The parent may only need temporary relief from a situation. It may only need some family help.
Here is the problem with the policies of our government the way they are set up: if a family member moves in to intervene to help a situation, there is no support for them. I have heard this story told to me over and over again. Because they are a relative, because it did not go through the courts, because it was not a formal home study and a foster placement for that child, then there is no support for that child. It’s not fair to the caregiver and it’s not fair to the child, because even if this family were to give this child a very stable, nurturing, safe home environment, the fact is that it still costs money to care for another child that is not a member of your family. This takes financial resources, particularly sometimes as the child grows older and wants to begin to participate in sporting activities and a myriad of other things.
My question today for the Minister of Health and Social Services will be: why does it have to be all or nothing? Why can we not recognize the good intentions of family members who want to help a child?
The Standing Committee on Social Programs will be going on the road very shortly with a review of the Child and Family Services Act. I am not a part of that committee but I wish them well and I encourage people who know of these kinds of situations to come out and speak to these committee members. They most definitely want to hear your stories and hear from you so that our legislation reflects the needs of the people it’s meant to care for.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I joined other MLAs on Yellowknife Bay last night to take in the dazzling display of fireworks kicking off the 15th Annual Snow King Festival. What an experience and what an event! Literally thousands of people turned out under the northern lights and full moon to celebrate life in our great northern home.
Families and volunteers crowded the ice. Constituents from all over Weledeh, tourists, and more, whooped it up and shared in the community spirit that has built the festival into the biggest single winter celebration in the NWT and the longest running snow castle event in the world.
The fireworks display unleashes a month of musical performance, film, sports, children’s theatre, art exhibits and poetry readings. There will probably even be a few more weddings in the King’s castle. All healthy outdoor events for residents and visitors alike.
I visited with Jack Panayi, an excited 10-year-old doing a Grade 4 class project on the Snow King Festival. I talked to a visiting physician from Victoria, who couldn’t stop laughing in amazement at the spectacular display. As I walked home through the dark I glimpsed Japanese tourists checking their digital photos on their cell phones as they slowly made their way through the snow.
Like all the best things in the North, the Snow King Festival is built on one person’s dream, the commitment of volunteers, a huge sense of fun, and a little help from governments, including this government which provided some support funding under the SEED program. Added to this volunteer and funding energy is the huge contribution of the business community. Donations in cash, services, equipment and supplies are given with incredible generosity by businesses from the largest mines to the smallest family enterprises. Their generosity is enormous and has grown year over year.
I want to give special recognition to our local royalty for making it all happen. His Highness Tony Foliot took an idea and made it a crowning success. The royal family and retinue include: Snowbelle, Elsbeth Fielding; Sir Shiverin’ Sam, Scott Mitchell; Joe Snow, Ryan McCord; Mr. Freeze, Stephan Folkers; Dug Sum Snow, Douglas Mitchell; The Avalanche Kid, Joe Maillett; Snow Bank Frank, Regan Fielding; and Virtual Snowman, Shane Keller. They are joined by more than 60 volunteers plus entertainers each doing their part for all of our enjoyment.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
My questions will be very short. I invite you to look at www.snowking.ca for a complete list of all the events over the coming months and I extend an invitation from the king and his intrepid crew to all MLAs, and particularly to the staff of ITI, to drop by for a visit and some fun. It brings a whole new level of appreciation for this event.
Congratulations to the Snow King, the royal family, volunteers, businesses, governments and all participants who make this an event to look forward to every year.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to follow up on my colleague Wendy Bisaro’s Member’s statement from last Friday on the changes to the Supplemental Health Benefits Program. For the record, I completely agree with Ms. Bisaro. I, too, find the document released by the Department of Health and Social Services leading. It’s clear that the Minister has a preferred course of action on the changes to the program and has released information that will ensure that the department gets what the department wants.
I encourage the Minister to remember the motion that was passed in this House. The motion specifically moved that “The department conduct comprehensive consultations with Northerners about ways to improve the Supplementary Health Benefits Program and services offered by the department, including whether or not means testing should determine eligibility; and further, ensure that thorough research into the programs complete cost and full implications is undertaken and presented to Northerners including: the cost to the NWT of families moving south, and increased costs on the health care system resulting from more people accessing services within hospitals.” This seems pretty clear to me and yet it’s crystal clear that this was completely ignored by the Minister.
During the discussions concerning the motion, Members were very clear that the consultation with stakeholders was critical and that they must be engaged from the beginning of the process so that they could help identify alternative delivery methods, identify alternative areas requiring research and analysis, and identify potential areas of concern and opportunity. Yes, the department did meet with some stakeholders, but based on my discussions with some of them, they weren’t asked to engage to this degree. Rather, they were invited to an information session where the department outlined what they were going to research and what the process would be after that. This is completely inconsistent with the process the Minister committed to time and time again.
For example, on February 9, 2009, the Minister said, according to the unedited Hansard, that “We are taking it back and putting it under full review.” On the same day the Minister went further and stated that “we are going to review it from the top to bottom and we pledge that we have a good financial analysis to bring them back. I’m committed to working with the stakeholders and the Standing Committee on Social Programs on the process and the substance of this review.”
This seems inconsistent with what’s happening here today. As such, I’ll be asking the Minister some questions on this topic later today in hopes of gaining some understanding on how her department has strayed so far from the intent of the motion passed last year.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
[English translation not provided.]
Last week I received an e-mail indicating that a gas station and convenience grocery store in Fort Simpson is closing. This business has been in operation for a long time and is a local landmark. It provides a service to Fort Simpson residents that will be missed.
The business employed eight to 10 people and that is a lot of jobs to lose in a relatively small community. The business is closing because the owners cannot pay off their debts to the NWT Power Corporation. Since September 1st they have paid back $50,000 but still owe more. With the large payments they are making to the NWT Power Corporation, they are not able to purchase inventory to sell in their store or to keep their operation running.
I am concerned about two issues here. First, I wonder how a business operation could get into such a debt with the NWT Power Corporation. The owners appear to have paid back a large chunk of the money. It seems they have made every effort as otherwise their electricity would have been cut off. However, in making the payments, they are not able to keep the business afloat. Why didn’t the NWT Power Corporation work out a strategy and a repayment structure that’s affordable to the owner?
That leads to the second issue I’m concerned about. Perhaps it doesn’t take very long to rack up huge debts for electricity. I have heard of owners in buildings and businesses who spend 30 to 40 percent of their operating costs on electricity. It’s obvious that expensive power is the real reason behind this Fort Simpson business collapse. It is all the more reason to change our rate structure and seek a level playing field for all purchasers of electricity.
It is sad that we had such a business loss in Fort Simpson I am in support of a review of this situation so that we can learn from this to help other businesses stay in business.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue I’m going to raise today is the management of health care dollars in our system. Recently I raised an issue with the way the Department of Health and Social Services is not billing the appropriate customers and that’s the insurance companies. I raise the issue particularly about the fact that insurance companies are getting away with what I would define as a scandal. They are allowing the public health care dollars to pay for services that their clients are already paying for. In other words, we’re subsidizing the insurance companies. This applies to federal employees in many cases. Again, the issue is that people, when they show up at the hospitals or health care system, aren’t asked if they are covered by somebody else, which they’re paying for.
I’ve recently been told by some doctors that they have been told they have to go through their individual files for their patients and put sticky notes on the individual case files to make sure they are carried forward in electronic form when they move to the new health care clinic. They look at me and go, what’s wrong with the management of health care dollars? Once again it seems confusing. Why not just hire a summer student to scan the whole file? In other words, their point to me was why are you getting a doctor to look at a file and putting it into the electronic system when you can hire a summer student at a fraction of the price. Poor management of health dollars.
I’ve had a number of constituents come to me about our health care agreement with Nunavut. Many times our system will offer priority to the Nunavut system over our NWT citizens. We have to discuss the issue of the fact that we don’t bill properly for them. More dollars being left on the table.
How much more does this government have to go in the red ink before we start to realize that management of health dollars needs to be taken very seriously?
Recently the Minister released her issue and direction on health care benefits, but I’m not convinced that the management of health care is taking their stewardship as seriously as possible. Before we start chipping away at supplementary health benefits, we have to take a serious look at how we’re managing our own books. These few examples that I’ve provided should be telling people we need to go back to the books and start thinking about how we’re managing our health care dollars. I’ll have questions for the Minister later today.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members will know that the NWT recently observed Mental Health Week. There should be no debate because it is well documented and well known that a person out of work is subject to many negative forces. Injured or laid-off workers are without income and often without purpose. They have to deal with financial stress, loss of self-esteem and feelings of aloneness, any and all of which cause a downturn in an individual’s mental health. Such circumstances lead to mental distress for the worker and, at its worst, depression or other mental illness. That’s why it’s imperative that employers have in place systems or policies to provide the help that is so necessary to get injured or ill workers back to their job as soon as possible to ensure that their lost work time is as short as the employer can make it.
For the GNWT and, indeed, all employers, the accommodation and reintegration of workers should be, and must be, foremost in our human resources culture and in our actions as an employer. It is of primary importance. But it’s not enough to have policies and procedures in place. We have to live those policies and the systems must actually work in practice. Both the employer, GNWT HR in our case, and the employees have to understand and implement these policies. Does the GNWT as an employer spend enough time and energy educating our staff in this area? I think not.
Mr. Speaker, our staff need the tools for the job. Training is required for all HR staffing officers to ensure they know the meaning of the phrase “duty to accommodate;” that they know how to action that duty and get people back to work; that they’re aware of appropriate and available resources to properly assess workers who want to return to work; that they adequately accommodate them to return to work in a speedy manner. We need a corporate HR culture that helps employees, not hinders them.
Training is required for workers as well. They have to be educated about the GNWT policies and procedures in regard to lost work time. They need to know what to do when they’ve been off the job; what to ask for and from whom so they can coordinate with the department and expedite their return to work. The quicker we get people back to work, the less stress they will undergo. Reduce stress and we reduce the chances our workers’ health will deteriorate; and better health in our work force means a better, more productive society.
Mr. Speaker, as an employer, we are duty bound to get our injured people back to work in a timely manner. We can only consider ourselves a successful employer if we achieve that objective. I will have questions for the Minister of Human Resources at a later time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today is a beautiful day. Throughout the North many people are busy doing their things, either with family, with their work or in their community. Mr. Speaker, our elders tell us to pray each morning for what we want to accomplish in life or for other people. Mr. Speaker, our elders say without the Creator in our life and not putting God first, things become very hard for us.
Mr. Speaker, these are very important words to us; more importantly, hard to live up to at times every day. However, it is told to us for a reason, Mr. Speaker. I think sometimes it means to slow down for a bit, reflect on some important things in our life, some important people in our life; people like our grandparents, like our uncles, our aunties, our children, our brothers and sisters, our nieces, our teachers, who, Mr. Speaker, at times, are either our father or our mother.
Today I’d like to reflect on our teachers as our mother. Today we think and pray for our mothers for all the hard work they put in our lives, for all the love they give us over the years, and for all the dedication and the support they’ve given to us as children as we are growing up. Truly, Mr. Speaker, in God’s mind and God’s wisdom, God gave us somebody to replace him in our lives to help us. They were considered pillars in our family, Mr. Speaker.
I want to say this because back in my community, my regions, there are mothers there that are being called to go back to heaven and that this government here sometimes needs to look at how we do our programs and services to support mothers in our communities, in our region, and that today we are glad for these special people in our lives.
I want to honour all the mothers in the Northwest Territories, people’s mothers in the Sahtu region, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize the multitalented Shad Turner, who sang O Canada. He is also a senior advisor with the Department of ITI. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize Shad Turner, resident of Weledeh, and express how much I appreciated that beautiful rendition of O Canada, an original version, at least to me. I would also like to recognize Pages Jordan Shortt and Johanna Stewart for the great work they’ve been doing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Al Shortt, one of the YK No. 1 School trustees. He’s in the gallery today.
