Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when many people think of excluded or non-unionized employees they think of senior managers and higher ups in government, when in fact there are many who serve in regular positions such as secretaries, administrative assistants, and analysts. My question for the Minister of Finance is: How will this pay freeze affect non-management employees in the public service? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I started my career in the public service as an excluded employee, working as an administrative assistant. I can confirm to this House that I was not in a position that earned a high salary, and given the high cost of living and working in the NWT, my family often struggled to save for our future. In challenging times it is important that our government show decisive leadership. I fully support a pay freeze for myself as an MLA and for public servants in management positions. However, I find it difficult to support a pay freeze that may unduly burden public servants at lesser...

[English translation not provided] I'm very proud to have a francophone background in my own heritage and to have attended immersion French language schooling in the Northwest Territories. I think we have a lot of work to do on this issue. Members have spoken about this already in the short life of this Assembly and it's something we have to continue to support and to push forward on. The francophone community call themselves “les tenois,” which is a wonderful way to say who we are as people from the Northwest Territories, much better than the cumbersome Northwest Terronian that exists in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think we must be cautious in moving forward with these decisions and I would encourage the Minister to carefully evaluate whether non-management employees should be considered under this wage freeze. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I actually was referring to members outside of collective bargaining who are excluded from the union and who have had their salaries frozen by the announcement we heard a couple of days ago, so if the Minister could clarify those employees.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize my constituency assistant, Garett Cochrane. He’s one of the hardest working individuals I know. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think that to start off I'd like to thank all the colleagues and all the MLAs for their hard work on this document and for collaborating effectively to bring something complete to the table. That being said, there are several issues with this process that I think need to be improved upon. The mandate ought not to be a business plan. We have business plans for those. It ought not to be a budget document. We have a budget process for those. What it ought to be is a set of political commitments that are gathered together to form a concise plan that gives certainty to Members of this House and...

Given the imminent concerns of our fiscal situation in the Northwest Territories, will there be costsaving efficiencies as a result of standardizing care in the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the importance of the health care system and that any major changes to it are significant concern for our residents, will the Minister of Health and Social Services provide an explanation for the delay of the transformation of health care in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, one of the highest priorities of any government must be the health and well-being of its citizens. The delivery of quality and affordable healthcare is a cornerstone of good government in Canada and it's something that Northerners have come to expect. Yet the standards of the Northwest Territories' healthcare system vary wildly across regions and not all of our residents have the same standard of care. The 17th Assembly recognized the need to take action on improving healthcare and began the process of health system transformation in an effort to provide the best possible care to...