Deputy Premier
Statements in Debates
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act .
The Northern Employee Benefits Pension Services Pension Plan Act, or NEBS, is a defined benefit pension plan that operates in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. NEBS provides pension services for municipal, local housing authority, and nonprofit sectors in both jurisdictions. In 2015, each jurisdiction adopted mirror legislation to formally establish the pension plan.
The NEBS pension plan has been in existence, in one form or another, for over 40 years...
Thanks, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I think the Member's listed certainly some of those factors. It's all the same factors as what drives -- when we bring a carryover forward in the spring. It can be a case where a project may not have had its approvals in place, a project might not have been able to find contracting, there may have been delays perhaps in design. There's certainly, in the last couple years, have been projects that have been delayed and, you know, due to COVID. You know, for example, the Tulita Health Care Centre was delayed when people weren't able to literally get into the...
Thank you Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I asked very similar questions when this first came to me. I don't have all the details here. I do know due diligence was conducted. Perhaps I might turn to the deputy minister. He can speak just briefly to the work that was done by the department and by those responsible for our insurance portfolio. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me just be clear first at the outset that it is, indeed everyone that has to be, at this point, providing a proof of vaccination or else they will be asked to comply with enhanced personal protective equipment and ultimately a testing regime.
In doing so, in asking our employees to comply with that policy, privacy absolutely was a top consideration, Mr. Speaker. The information that we are requesting, the records we are requesting, they are, indeed, going to be held on a needtoknow only basis at the Department of Human Department of Finance and Human...
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the I have the background here. Let me turn this to Mr. Courtoreille. He may have the most recent detail on what what's done other the current year, or in the last construction season. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So because of the fact that the road was able to well, again, the end date hasn't changed, but in terms of the timing of when some of the portions of it were complete, my understanding is that as a result of that, payments had to be made, and it was underestimated how quickly some stages of that project would go. When some of them go more quickly, the expenses incurred, the debt is then booked to the books, and that's what in doing that final reconciling at the time of doing year end, it was noticed that, in fact, they had exceeded the debt limit as appropriated...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it certainly is disheartening to think that after all that work, the hides would be sold at a deflated price. They are in high demand. I've certainly heard that is a barrier to some of our artisans as well.
At present, Mr. Speaker, in conjunction with my colleague from ECE, there is a review taking place, this fiscal into next, around all of the arts funding programs, certainly wanting to ensure that we are understanding where our money is going and understanding if there are gaps that we should be filling. Of course, alongside that there is the much bigger...
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to improving Indigenous representation in the public service, and ensuring Indigenous employees are genuinely included, celebrated, and given opportunities to succeed. We are committed to creating a public service that is welcoming, culturally competent, and free of discrimination; one that serves in a way that respects and includes the Indigenous peoples and communities of this territory.
Today, I am pleased to announce that the Department of Finance is launching the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework and Action...
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: The GNWT's Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Action Plan; The GNWT's Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework; and, The Interim Public Accounts for the GNWT for the year ended March 31st, 2021. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that's a big question, and I'm trying to be brief, but it's an important one and I'm happy to have a chance to speak to it very, very briefly. But there needs to be a balance between being flexible and responsive and providing certainty to the business community. The business community needs to know what they're dealing with when they're making a bid. At the same time, things do change. COVID has showed us that things do change.
So it's certainly been my view in this role that we can have certainty and have clear processes, transparent processes, but also...