Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to pick up where some of our Members have been going today. Grave concern about WSCC claims costs. We have talked about penalties. These are pretty large numbers here that I think most people need to get some clarity on.
I want to hone in on what was said earlier today or bring up a part of the response here from the Minister of Human Resources where he had a concern about the WSCC Safe Advantage program. Did he have a concern with the fairness for the GNWT? Was there a concern with the framework of the plan? What is the Minister’s concern?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Glen Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the program is to encourage safe workplaces, which we stand by completely and support wholeheartedly. Our concern is about the actual administration of the program.
As I indicated before, based on the Q1 performance update 2012 balanced scorecard on WSCC’s website the 2012 target for time loss claims per 100 workers is 2.42. The GNWT currently rates at 1.8. We already exceed what their targets are, yet we continue to get some significant claims.
Our other concern is the fact that we are assessed as one GNWT as a whole, our whole payroll, and it wasn’t until recently that we were able to get them to provide it to us with breakdown. The breakdown is incredibly important to us, having the information by department, because then we can provide it to the different departments so they can assess where their challenges are and address those challenges specifically.
If we were assessed by individual departments, the claim on, the fine on the GNWT would be very, very small by comparison, because most of our departments don’t have claims records that are high enough to justify or warrant a fine. We have brought these concerns to the WSCC about the Safe Advantage program, once again, fully standing behind the intent of the program.
Our concerns are about administration. We have shared those concerns with the WSCC. When the program came forward, the WSCC indicated that they would be reviewing this program after five years. That five years is now. They have indicated that they are going to be doing an analysis of the WSCC Safe Advantage program to make sure that it still meets its mandate, that the administration is fair and reasonable, and we’ve asked for an opportunity to provide our input and provide our concerns to them so that they can be addressed, and they’ve said that they would.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
