Caroline Wawzonek

Mr. Speaker, today's mineral resource industry in the NWT is innovative, collaborative, environmentally conscious, and has the highest standards of safety. It collaborates with the GNWT and with Indigenous communities to enhance resources for capacity building and supports Indigenous participation in, and benefits received from, the mining industry.

The resource sector directly employs over 3,000 people in the Northwest Territories and contributes over $800 million in spending each year. It accounts for nearly a third of the Northwest Territories' gross domestic product. A healthy and vibrant...

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to try to be helpful and not repeat my answers but the simple fact is I'm back to the same response I gave at the beginning, that there are wonderful public servants and good people in human resources doing their very best to make sure that their processes are fair and that they are modern and that they are in keeping with the best practices of human resources processes anywhere else in Canada or the world.

Now, when I say about accessibility, I certainly have heard from individual employees direct to me. I have certainly heard from my own constituents direct to me. And...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, this is not  there is not a blanket practice as what is described by the Member. Mr. Speaker, I  this is a human system of 5,000 people strong. It is populated by wonderful people who work across the public service, great people in human resources. Does that mean that every single process and every single time at every single hiring is  produces the end result that every person wants it to? Well, the end result is that some people don't get jobs. What we want is to have a process that is clear, transparent, accessible, and that is the purpose of human...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in hearing the Member's statement, I have been trying to go back to just see if, in fact, something has happened. Obviously, I have not been here for a particularly long time. To my best knowledge, I don't know that there's been a recent complete overall or complete review of the process of human resources. Certainly, part of the work that's happening right now with respect to the Indigenous recruitment retention framework as a significant framework that's meant to apply to all departments and be a major part of human resources work, that that doesn't...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think I've heard what percentage of people who apply. Mr. Speaker, I can say any employees of the GNWT who apply would certainly be eligible to file an appeal. So there's a hundred percent of someone who's already an employee. Obviously not everyone would necessarily selfdisclosed as being an employee at the time that they make an appeal or make an application. Similarly, Mr. Speaker, anyone who has staffing priority under the Affirmative Action Policy also has a right of appeal. And, again, it's not necessarily obvious that everyone would selfidentify as...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Bill 35, Supplementary Appropriations Act (Operations Expenditures), Number 1, 20212022, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the items that were redacted were redacted in keeping with the ATIPP process, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Many of those redactions were in fact mandatory. They are not discretionary. If it is information that pertains to another individual, and there's been a name a person that is named alongside other information, such as their place of employment, then that is I believe  and I'm not the ATIPP coordinator here, Mr. Speaker, but I believe that that would then be mandatory. So other elements may be discretionary. Had I known...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for the Sahtu, that Bill 35, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 20212022 be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would gladly defer the question to another Minister, Mr. Speaker.

Laughter

Minister, thank you, and thank you for that question. Mr. Speaker, I know the Member mentioned the idea of context, and challenge of having minutes to work off of, and I acknowledge the Member is working off of minutes that have been redacted, is that, in fact, you don't necessarily have the full context. I have gone back to the department and specifically ask about this.

I would agree that I certainly was concerned to read that there might be inappropriate assistance happening. I was reassured, and I'm happy to be...

Well, so, again, Mr. Speaker, this is an the area of the arts, it's an area with joint responsibility between ECE and ITI. So it's not a simple question that I have the opportunity to say yes or no to. It's a question to which there needs to be discussion between us, between the two departments, as well as with the various councils and commissions that already exist. The arts program, the film commission for example. You know, and determining what it is that the community would benefit most from. I can say I've had inquiries to my office under ITI from members of the arts community in this...