Thanks, Mr. Chair. I was going to ask the same question. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Committee, any further questions on active positions, 123. I see none.
Agreed.
Committee, agree. We have agreed to page 123, Executive, Cabinet support… Sorry, Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I notice that in here there are three positions deleted from last year's budget to this year's budget. With those three positions, are they ineffective employees or were they just reduced with the new government? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. They were not affected. Those three positions were transferred into a separate division, in Executive called priorities and planning and the other one is a board secretariat for PUB.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. Thompson?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. They are in the business plan somewhere else? Is that what it is? I guess if it is, then is it identified in the business plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. McLeod.
It is under directorate, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. Thompson?
No, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, committee. Any further questions to active positions on page 123? I see none. Committee, are we agreed to page 123, Cabinet support, active positions?
Agreed.
Great. Thank you, committee, that brings us to page 125, Executive, directorate, operations expenditure summary, $6,859,000. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My question is in regards to the ombudsman. My understanding is that there is work being done between the Department of Executive and the Department of Justice in terms of trying to move the initiative forward. My question to the Minister is: can he give us an indication in terms of the scope of the work that perhaps his department has outlined to the Department of Justice in terms of, perhaps within the period of two years, a draft legislation and maybe indicate just how it is that the reporting function would be reflected in ensuring that the Regular Members have been informed. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was established during the mandate-setting exercise that we all went through, where the legislation would be developed over two years of time. There are still some outstanding direction that we need to seek. We expect we will do that at Caucus retreat. Essentially, it is what kind of ombudsman does this Legislative Assembly want? Do we want a full-bore one, or do we want one that will assume some of the officers of this Legislative Assembly's responsibilities, such as human rights and associated other responsibilities and roll it into ombudsman? We just need some specific direction in that regard. We are working with Justice who develops all of the legislation for our government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. Nadli?
No, thank you.
Committee, any further questions to page 123, operations expenditure summary? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. One of the pieces of our mandate for the 18th Assembly is to encourage women to get involved in politics, and also to encourage stronger gender equity and balance in boards where GNWT makes appointments to those sorts of bodies. Is there a role for the Executive in helping ensure that that part of our mandate is actually met? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. I believe that as a rule, we keep track. I think 39 per cent of all the board appointments are women. Certainly our Minister responsible for Women is very vigilant about board appointments. I think it is incumbent upon all of us that make recommendations for board appointments to submit names of qualified, capable women to increase their representation if that is the wish of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Anything further Mr. O'Reilly?
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am really glad to hear that there are folks within the Executive that actually track gender on the boards where we make appointments. I guess I am not as happy to hear that only 39 per cent of the people on boards are women. What actions are we taking to try to improve that? Do we actually have any policy on this? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you. I guess I would ask the MLAs to submit more women's names. They are the group we go primarily to for recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Anything further, Mr. O'Reilly?
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Not quite sure what to make of that response. I was hoping for something with a little more teeth perhaps or a little bit more leadership whereby we could actually have a policy in place, much like we have the affirmative action policy for hiring staff, whereby there might be some minimum qualifications set for the duties for the various boards. If people meet the minimum qualifications, and there are not enough women on them, automatically a woman who meets the minimum qualifications gets the appointment. That is the kind of leadership I was expecting to hear. Can I ask the Minister if he is prepared to develop of policy on this to promote appointment of women to boards, so that they can get the experience to get more involved in politics just as our mandate has said that we would do? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We certainly could look at it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. O'Reilly?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am glad to hear that the Minister will consider this. Can the Minister commit to a timeframe to get back to us on how this might be done or whether he is prepared to actually implement something? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We set up a website to track it. It wasn't our intention to take over the responsibility to increase the number of women. Certainly, if we can't get nominations from the MLAs submitting women, certainly we can change the process whereby we will go out and find women to fill these positions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. O'Reilly?
Mr. Chair, I am just not quite sure what to make of that answer. I don't think it was actually an answer. Is the Minister prepared to come back to the Regular MLAs with a policy and when would he be able to do that? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wouldn't want to take away the responsibility that lies rightfully with the Minister responsible for Women. I will work with her to develop something that we can bring back. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. O'Reilly?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just wondering when the Minister might be able to get back to the Regular MLAs about this issue.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. McLeod.
Early next year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. O'Reilly?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do appreciate the Minister putting up with my persistent line of questioning, but it was important to nail that down. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Committee, any further questions to page 125? Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to delve a little bit into the numbers for clarification. I note under the program details corporate communications I see quite a bit of increase. I think that links to the Minister's comments earlier on some investment in a two-part communications effort, so I will respect that there. Under the line item of office of priorities and planning, there is support to the tune of $716,000. In case I missed something, I am wondering if I can get an explanation from the Minister on that amount, please. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Mr. McLeod.
