Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Hawkins brought up earlier about the department of motor vehicles and I particularly like the Food Network and it makes the wait feel less long. The people at DMV are great, once you get to work with them.
I have a constituent concern that came forward to me about a son of a constituent who was told that there was a three-month waiting list to get their road test. This was confirmed by the office of the Department of Transportation. The unfortunate thing is that not everyone passes their first road test. So in this situation here, we may have people in Yellowknife here and the surrounding area that use our services here for motor vehicles, that it could be up to a six-month waiting list to get a driver’s licence. I think this is something that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
My question for the Minister of Transportation is: Why is this happening in Yellowknife motor vehicles office?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there are wait times. The department has been looking at a way to address this.
About 60 percent of all drivers’ examinations in the Northwest Territories are done in Yellowknife and that was by one driver examiner. Recently, the department has centralized the management structure of the transport compliance section and moved the driver examination program to that area. This has given the department some additional flexibility to deal with the significant demand that we’ve seen in that area.
Staff are working on a plan right now to reduce the waiting times in Yellowknife by training and utilizing highway transport officers to enhance that program, especially during vacations and other issues that may arise. I thank the Member for bringing up that concern.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. I’d like to remind our visitors in the gallery to shut the ringers off on your cell phones. Mr. Dolynny, oral questions.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for replying. It sounds like there are some measures that are going to be coming forward to decrease these wait times in Yellowknife.
How are these measures going to be monitored so that we know, as Members, that constituents’ needs are being addressed here for Yellowknife?
We’ve recognized that; the department’s recognized that. As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’re taking steps to address that.
In terms of monitoring, I’m an MLA, I’ve got constituents, as well, and the Member’s got constituents and we hear from our constituents whether or not the level of services is up to par. If it’s taking longer than three months to receive a driver’s licence, we’re going to hear about it.
Certainly, we’re paying attention to the issue and we’re taking steps so that the wait times aren’t what they’ve been in the past and they will improve.
I do appreciate the Minister’s response, I just don’t like using constituents as a means for a testing ground for inadequacies in our programs. I’m hoping the department has their own measures placed inside. Which leads me to another question.
We don’t talk about employment. Sometimes driver’s licences are required for employment. Employers who desperately need drivers sometimes are now in the same boat, where they’ve got to wait three months, potentially, for drivers to come on board for employment.
What is the department doing to address the employment component of employees and employers having to wait now for these three months? Will these measures address this sector?
Certainly, the department’s heard the concerns and we are going to address those concerns. Especially when it’s a time sensitive thing and it deals with employment, I mean, that’s why we need to ensure that the wait times aren’t what they’ve been.
We are, again, certainly taking the steps to ensure that we are going to improve the wait times when it comes to receiving a driver’s licence and getting the driver examination here in Yellowknife.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we are talking today about issues in the Yellowknife DMV office and there could be potential issues throughout the territory.
Would the Minister come forward to the House and maybe provide a comprehensive review of our services in comparison to what you would expect across Canada? Would the Minister provide that for Regular Members as an overall review?
I could commit to providing Members with that information. In some of the other communities in the Northwest Territories, the wait times aren’t what we see here, in Yellowknife. Some of the statistics that I have and have provided to the Member, would indicate that they’re not near what they are in Yellowknife. Once we get the information and compile it, we’ll share it with the Members.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
