I’m not in a position to answer such a broad question where there are no specifics. I don’t know what the issue was. I don’t know where it was. I don’t know the background information. I can only assume that everything was done according to policy and procedure, but I’m not in a position to answer that type of question without some considerable more detail.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Human Resources. I want to ask about the hiring of summer students this year. In the Sahtu the last three years we have graduated 50 high school students, not counting the Aurora College students. I want to ask the Minister if the government is on track for hiring summer students this year compared to previous years.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Our government continues to hire summer students. In comparison to previous years we are down approximately 25 percent in the numbers of summer students that we’ve been hiring to date.
If there aren’t enough positions in the Government of the Northwest Territories for our own students, is the government looking at subsidizing local Aboriginal governments, NGOs, and the private sector, to hire students?
The Department of Human Resources is not providing such a program. At the advice of the Small and Rural committee, they recommended to the Department of Education to make such a fund available. I understand the Department of Education is making about $400,000 a year available to the private sector to hire summer students.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has the campaign Make Your Mark Campaign to attract southern workers to the Northwest Territories. This program was designed to bring people up north to live here and make their investment here. I want to ask the Minister if we could look at some of that work and look at some of the money that could maybe be re-profiled to ensure that our own local talents also have job opportunities here in the Northwest Territories.
The Come Make Your Mark program is a coalition of about 95 private businesses working with the government to promote the Northwest Territories. If the Assembly wants the government to hire more summer students, they just have to, when we go through the business planning process, support that and make recommendations to increase all of the departments’ budgets to hire summer students. The departments are the ones that do the actual hiring of summer students.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
I guess we could also carve off some of the slack that’s in government so we can hire some of these summer students to work for us. Will this government support the Aurora College students who are graduating with a career profession, such as education, teachers and such? I say this because we have an Aboriginal nurse graduating from the Nursing Program who couldn’t even find a job in this government. This student here had to work at a gift shop. There are students out there that cannot find work within our own force who are graduating from our institutions. I’m asking if this government can make a commitment to hire our own students who finish in our own schools in the Northwest Territories.
Our government already has a commitment to hire all of the graduates from the teachers program, the nurses program, and the Social Work Program. The caveat is that not everybody is going to get a job in Yellowknife or the larger centres. Some of these jobs are offered throughout the Northwest Territories. If you’re not prepared to be mobile, then it’s considered that once you’re made a job offer and you turn it down, then that’s considered as the government meeting its commitment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Please provide information, other than the MACA website, as to how the department publicly promotes the office of consumer affairs, along with the office’s mandate.
How many complaints or inquiries has this office had over the past two years?
Please provide a summary of these complaints or inquiries for the past two years along with any recommendations and actions taken.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 10, returns to written questions. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 3, Electronics Transactions Act, and that Bill 3 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have two items I’d like to table today. The first is a mock-up for a tourism initiative program that I’d like to talk about tomorrow, so I’d like to officially table the item today so that I can refer to it.
The second item I’d like to table today is the poster for the 2011 Celebrity Auction: Mad Hatter Spring Gala, which will be held on Friday, June 3, 2011, at the Ed Jeske Arena.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 9-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012; Committee Report 2-16(6), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the Auditor General’s Report on NWT Health Programs and Services, 2011; Committee Report 3-16(6), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2009-2010 Human Rights Commission Annual Report; Committee Report 4-16(6), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the NWT Languages Commissioner Annual Report 2009-2010; Bill 3, Electronic Transactions Act; and Bill 4, Miscellaneous Statutes Law Amendment Act, 2011, with Mr. Krutko in the chair.
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 9-16(6), I’d like to ask what the wish of committee is. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee today would like to deal with Tabled Document 9-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012.
Is committee agreed?
Agreed.
---SHORT RECESS
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, prior to going on break we agreed to consider Tabled Document 9-16(6), which is Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012. I would now like to ask the Minister responsible, the Honourable Mr. Miltenberger, to make opening comments on Tabled Document 9-16(6).
I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012. This document outlines an increase of $11.002 million in operations expenditures for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
The major items in the supplementary estimates include:
$4.2 million for the Department of Finance for the costs associated with development phase activities on the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project incurred by the NWT Hydro Corporation.
A total of $2.9 million for the departments of Executive and Justice for funding to support negotiations on the Devolution Agreement.
$763,000 for the costs associated with revised Northern Allowance rates which are adjusted annually as required by the Collective Agreement between the Union of Northern Workers and the Government of the Northwest Territories.
$466,000 for the Department of Health and Social Services to establish child and family services committees in five communities.
I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary appropriation document. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister Miltenberger. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses into the House?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Is committee agreed?
Agreed.
Sergeant-at-Arms, if I can please get you to escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister Miltenberger, can I please get you to introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of finance; Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. I will now open the floor to general comments on Table Document 9-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012. Are there any general comments on the opening remarks? Is the committee agreed that there are no further general comments?
Agreed.
Does committee agree to proceed to the detail on the departments?
Agreed.
Detail begins on page 3. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012, Legislative Assembly, expenditures on behalf of Members, not previously authorized, $4,000.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $4,000.
Agreed.
Move along to page 4, the Executive, operations expenditures. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just on the issue of the funding for the devolution negotiations, I’m wondering if the dollars that have been identified for working with the partners… I believe there’s about $572,000 for working on negotiations related to resource revenue sharing. Does that include potential partners or is that identified for just the government working with the two Aboriginal groups that have signed onto the AIP? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Miltenberger.
