Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure. Every time the office of the DMV changes their hours, it makes news. First they allowed walkins. Then they only went by appointment. And just recently they added two more hours to allow walkins. I'm pretty excited that maybe the DMV will one day get back to regular appointments.
My question, though, is looking forward at the operations of the Yellowknife DMV, is the Minister of Infrastructure willing to have the office be open evenings or weekends, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And here we go again. So, you know, we did look at our operations and did extend it. I'm kind of hoping the Member would be a little bit more happier, but wanting more, that's okay.
We are not currently considering the adjustment of hours or days in operation at the Yellowknife motor vehicle issuing office due to the significant financial costs it would require. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
No further questions on that.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Oral Question 839-19(2):
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Finance and the Minister responsible for Human Resources.
Further to my statement today, I'm wondering if the Department of Finance has a clear policy of who can apply and cannot apply for education leave and supports from the GNWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, employees need to have three years of service in order to be eligible for education leave and then beyond that, the more specific conditions are within the collective agreement. So it is done at a departmental level, and anyone who is considering applying should be speaking directly to their supervisor just to confirm that they're eligible and to go through that process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if there is an appeals process for those that are denied education leave by their direct supervisors. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's not an appeals process specific to this benefit for employees. Certainly, given that it is certainly part of the collective agreement, if an employee is concerned that it's not being abided by they are encouraged to go and speak to their union representative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sometimes going to the union can cause a little bit more friction than people are looking for right off the bat. And so I'm hoping that together we can find an alternate solution for staff who want questions and further clarifications. But often the current process means that frontline staff receive far less opportunity for professional development from their colleagues that work in headquarters departments. This is required for nurses who want to gain the experience and the certifications required to work in small remote nursing stations and potentially return to their home communities.
So how does the Department of Finance ensure that outlying factors like nursing shortages in other units or nursing levels in remote health centres are considered within an allofgovernment approach to education supports? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly was listening when the Member spoke earlier and gave her Member's statement. I have had my own constituents come to me wanting to do more, wanting to improve their education level, and continue to contribute as public servants. So while it is departments that have to be the ones defining their own needs and defining where they expect to see growth within their own departments and divisions, certainly the Department of Finance can take a role in terms of coordinating what is needed across the government.
So I'll certainly commit to going back to the department and seeing what more we can do to make sure that we are actually doing that to the best of our possible ability.
It comes at a good time, Mr. Speaker. I'm just going to give an extremely brief plug.
The Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework is an opportunity for us to ensure that we are succession planning and succession planning in a way that is made for the North and in the North to ensure that we are having a representative work force. So I actually see some of these questions as dovetailing back into the work that's happening on that front. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Yeah, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that commitment from the Minister. I think there are multiple opportunities here for the government to look at this as a whole rather than silos of divisions within departments within the government so that, really, we can look at how we can work together to accomplish the priorities of not only the 19th Assembly but every Assembly afterwards as a unit. And so I'm wondering if part of that work will be not solely on the Indigenous recruitment framework but also just on GNWT policies as a whole looking at more of a departmentwide or even GNWTwide education leave and funding policy to support all hardtofill positions across the entire GNWT. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I certainly am sympathetic to what the Member is saying. I do run up against the fact that anything that's an entitlement specific or in this nature, a benefit, does come within the collective agreement. So always mindful of the role of the Department of Finance and myself as Minister to abide by the collective agreement, not never to be seen to be bargaining outside of the collective agreement process, but then wanting to ensure that we are applying access to those benefits equitably and consistently and with that wholeofgovernment approach. So I do see room for us to improve here, and I see room for this to be a tool within the toolbox of Human Resources that will help all employees. So where that's going to get to, Mr. Speaker, I am sure I will continue to get questions from the Member to see that I am achieving those goals. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
