Debates of March 7, 2005 (day 50)

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 552-15(3): Federal University And College Entrance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The college offers upgrading programs in almost every community in the Northwest Territories. It is largely through their work that we are able to have our residents upgraded and ready to get into college. So the government does still provide a lot of assistance to that. Also in the Northwest Territories right now, we do have for residents, particularly along the Mackenzie River, access to funding through the ASEP program which will help NWT residents get training to be able to take on jobs in the oil and gas industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 552-15(3): Federal University And College Entrance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what is the Minister doing in terms of getting the University and College Entrance Program funding that would include the Métis to fit in these criteria in terms of applying for that funding? What are the conditions that we need to hear on this side to get people to be eligible for this funding, especially the Métis who are looking for some type of support for that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 552-15(3): Federal University And College Entrance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will continue to pressure the federal government to recognize what they themselves say. They say that aboriginal people include Métis people, and yet they are discriminating in this program by not allowing Métis people to apply. So I will continue to pressure the federal government and work to try and have them recognize that they must change the rules to allow Métis people to also access this money, and that they should put more money in so that all of the status people who are applying to it can be served. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 552-15(3): Federal University And College Entrance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is correct. I support it 100 percent in terms of going after the federal government to set the record straight that Métis are included as aboriginal people. Can the Minister commit to a time frame to finally let them know that Métis people can apply and are eligible for this University and College Entrance Program? Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 552-15(3): Federal University And College Entrance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t commit because it is a federal program. It is not one that we offer. We deliver the program in order to make it easier for people to access it in the Northwest Territories. But I will commit to advising the standing committee, by the time we get into business plans, the results of the latest communication that I have with the federal government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address my questions today to Floyd Roland as either the Deputy Premier or as the Minister of Finance, because this question could go to either of those. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about the fairness with which we consider reduction initiatives in our government and how we spread the wealth when it comes to program services and employment opportunities in the Northwest Territories. Information has come to our attention, Mr. Speaker, indicating that there has been quite a significant growth in the public service in the Northwest Territories in the past five years, from 1999 to 2004. I had a chance to review that in light of tax-based municipalities, because that would be what Hay River would be comparable to. Hay River is the second-largest community in the Northwest Territories. If I could just say, Mr. Speaker, it would appear that, if I could just use Yellowknife as an example, I could choose other communities as well, it looks like between corporate headquarters and operations regional, there has been almost a 50 percent increase growth in the public service in Yellowknife in those two areas. In Hay River, there has actually been a decrease in the public service. This is not taking into account the projected reductions for the 2005-06 fiscal year. I would like to ask, Mr. Speaker, if the Deputy Premier could let us know, in terms of the reduction initiatives this government undertook, what were the total reduction initiatives? What was the total number of jobs that were eliminated? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the numbers that Mrs. Groenewegen has used do not include, in some cases, health boards in the calculation of those. For the overall reduction scenarios that we are facing and positions that we are moving from the public service through the reduction exercise are approximately 70.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, 70 reductions planned. I have recited in this House numerous times and I don’t need to do it again today. Prior to the reinstatement of the court registry, Hay River was scheduled for 43.5 positions reduced in one community. Out of the 70 government-wide, Hay River was going to have 43.5, until we pulled seven back from the brink. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Finance Minister what kind of reasoning, with regard to fairness and not causing hardship in our community, is applied when these kinds of things are considered. Was it something even discussed in the Cabinet? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of the 70 positions, 45 are not identified as Hay River. Mrs. Groenewegen is obviously including the casual positions into that equation. What we have counted as 70 positions are full-time positions. Either they have persons working there or vacant positions. In our numbers it is approximately 27 that Hay River is losing out of this scenario.

While I won’t go into what discussions Ministers had around the table, the scenarios that were brought forward by each Minister and the department were discussed. Concerns were raised either requesting the Minister to come back with more information or more detail for further consideration. There was no direction given to pinpoint or select one community for taking the majority of reductions.

Unfortunately, in the Department of Justice’s case, the facilities that are under that department hit a number of communities, the larger ones, and those reduction scenarios brought forward unfortunately impact the community of Hay River the most. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker it is just a little more than unfortunate, I must say, given the already relatively low number of public service jobs in Hay River; I believe there are only 281, excluding the health board positions. If you look at it on a percentage, in fact, the government was looking at almost 20 percent of the government jobs in Hay River in one fell swoop, in one year.

To keep my supplementary question brief, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Finance Minister, when he laid out the reductions that were going to be attempted to be achieved over the next three years, is it not true in fact that after the first year, given the new fiscal picture, there will not be the depth of cuts anticipated for the next two years, after this first year’s exercise because of new fiscal factors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the scenario we entered into as Members of the 15th Assembly, with the fiscal forecast as it was, we laid out our fiscal strategy which included three years of reductions. The first budget we brought in had a $10 million capping of government expenditures plus own source revenues of $10 million.

This is our second piece of that. There is a $20 million reduction scenario that we are looking at and year three of the plan would bring another $20 million in reduction. With our fiscal picture changing as it is, we may not need to see any large-scale reductions coming in the third year. This is the second year of our budget, following through with the capping growth of government at about $26 million.

When we first laid out the plan, our fiscal picture was much more difficult than it is now. As we have it now, it is getting somewhat better, but we still have to be prudent in how we manage our programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given that the first year was the hard year, and that was the year that Hay River got hit so desperately, and now it looks like the future is a little better; wouldn’t it be prudent as a government, to go back and revisit some of those reductions to try to mitigate some of that harm that has been brought to my community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 553-15(3): GNWT Position Reductions

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in this second year, or second budget as Members of the 15th Assembly, even though the fiscal picture is somewhat turning around, we still have to manage the government in a way that would see us operating more efficiently with what resources we do have. We are not out of the woods yet, as they say; there is no guarantee that things won’t change as quick as they have changed in the last six months.

When we put this plan together, our fiscal picture was still the same, even after the fall meeting with Members. The picture didn’t change until late in that process and things can shift quite quickly. We are still going to have to be prudent with what we do and how we expend the dollars. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for Mr. Roland, as the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, the workforce of the Government of the Northwest Territories and, further, the affirmative action policy and our human rights policy, Mr. Speaker.

A constituent of mine has brought forward a scenario, whereby her age and her place of birth are apparent barriers to her getting an equal opportunity for a job in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I took this situation to the government some time ago and I am wondering if the Minister could advise at this time whether we have a discriminatory conflict between the Human Rights Act of the Northwest Territories and our affirmative action policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the affirmative action policy has been looked at by our government. Mr. Braden has brought his concerns forward and we have looked at them from within FMBS and reviewed that, and we are committed to going forward and hopefully bringing an equal employment equity paper to this Assembly that would see some changes with the way we deal with affirmative action categories. There are some problems with what we have in place now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. I would just like to remind Members not to ask questions that require a legal opinion or legal definition. Mr. Braden, supplementary.

Supplementary To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to the review then, can the Minister advise whether steps will be taken to address any new or revised affirmative action or employment equity policies in the review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intention is to go through the whole affirmative action policy and address all the categories that we have, as well as the policy overall which we, as government, deal with. It has been one, ever since its inception, that has been tagged with some problems. The goal again is to try to have a representative workforce within the Northwest Territories and as we have moved forward, we have begun to review it. There have been a number of reviews, but we feel at this time that we should be able to bring something before the Members of this Assembly, through committees, hopefully by this fall. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my colleague Mr. Villeneuve, the aspect of age and residency is not the only area of concern. There are aspects here…In fact, I have a recent example from a constituent arguing that she was consistently denied opportunities because she was overqualified for so many jobs. We have many areas of the policy that cause us difficulty. The Minister said a paper by this fall. I am wondering if he could outline any more detail about the process of this and how other committees or employees can take part in and have input into this review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are hoping that we can bring something to Members by early fall, so that they could review the work that has been done. As I stated, in the past, there have been a number of reviews done on the affirmative action policy, so our intention is to work with what we have initially, put something together, bring it forward to Members for their input and then move forward on that basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The specific area of age and place of birth for someone who is living half their life in the NWT will continue to stay high on the radar screen. Can the Minister advise whether this is something that may demand a priority or a quicker response than waiting for this overall review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 554-15(3): Affirmative Action Barriers To Employment

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the category of P2 is one of concern to us as a government in reviewing the information. We know we are going to have to look at that. It will be one of the areas within the report. We would like to go through this whole process and bring it together as a package. As a government, we also have to be cognizant of the issues that are out there. We will be reviewing this situation. If we decide to make one piece of it and make a number of changes...We will be reviewing the full impact of taking one piece of it on the government staffing situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Last year, when Regular Members were here, we approved a supplementary appropriation in the amount of $850,000 for the start-up of the new Mackenzie Valley pipeline office, which was to be located in Hay River. Here we are, mid-March, and the Mackenzie Valley pipeline office is still not open. I wonder if the Minister can give us a breakdown on exactly what that $850,000, which at the time was supposed to go to salaries, was spent on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 555-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Office

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, let me say that Mr. Ramsay asked a very similar question about a week ago in budget deliberations. Certainly I owe Members on that side of the House a full accounting of the supplementary appropriation and where it was proposed to be spent. I will get that detailed accounting to Members as quickly as I can.

Generally, I would say we have about a $2 million a year budget proposed. I know that in 2004-05, the year in question when the supplementary appropriations were approved, we were looking at $925,000 in contributions. That’s roughly half the budget. I think that holds as a general rule of thumb. I will get the exact detail on the $850,000. I believe about half of it was for contributions and was laid out that way and the other half was for staffing. We have used some of that staffing money, as the Member knows. We temporarily had some resources in Yellowknife, a few positions filled, that remain here until we can open the office in Hay River, at which point those positions are transferred there. We are currently embarking on a full hiring process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 555-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Office

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for the response. I wonder when Regular Members will know how many positions government-wide are dedicated to working with the pipeline project. That’s something, as Regular Members, we still haven’t any idea of. I have got a best guess it’s over 20, but from a political level when we came here last year, we put together a joint committee of Regular Members and Cabinet Ministers on the pipeline. The coordination was easily attained from a political level. From a bureaucratic level, where is the coordination and how is the Mackenzie Valley pipeline office going to work with the various departments who are working independently? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 555-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Office

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member mentioned the Joint Cabinet/AOC Pipeline Planning Committee. Underneath that, obviously, is the Deputy Ministers’ Planning Committee and that committee will oversee the work of the MVPO, which will coordinate the work of the various departments. I agree with the Member, we are probably talking over 20 positions. I don’t have that information handy. I think one of the difficulties is that there may not be dedicated positions in all the departments, but there are portions of positions that are used for this aspect of Mackenzie Valley development, probably development more broadly. So it’s not something as easy as it might seem to get that information and provide that reconciliation, but we will do it for the Member and for Members on that side of the House. I think it’s important to understand what our entire governmental response to this project is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.