Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Premier in relation to a number of the Strategic Initiatives committees. I spoke in my Member’s statement about my concern for the lack of accomplishments of a number of these committees and the lack of reporting from those committees back to Regular Members. So my first question to the Premier is to try to get some information about one of the Strategic Initiatives committees which is near and dear to the Regular Members’ hearts and where we haven’t seen any accomplishments that I’m aware of. So I’d like to ask the Premier if he could outline the accomplishments of the Cost of Living Strategic Initiatives committee and what they’ve done over the last year. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Strategic Initiatives committees have been continuing to do their work. Just the other day the Member asked about the program review office. That’s that office feeding the work, for example, the Refocusing Government Initiative. Some of the work that we had ongoing feeds into that. For example, the electricity rate review one could have an impact on the work within the Cost of Living committee, for example. I can provide the Members an update, a sheet of the work that’s been undertaken and is ready for presentation to committees and the work that is ongoing. So I’ll get that prepared for Members. Thank you.
I guess if there’s that much work that is ongoing and there’s a sheet that’s available, I’m curious why the Premier can’t provide that information to Regular Members on an ongoing basis. I guess I also want to say that if the information that we’re getting is the same information that’s already in the budget and in the business plans, I’m aware of that. I want to know specific actions, specific plans, specific programs that are being undertaken relative to these committees. So I’ll ask the Premier again: are there any specific accomplishments that the Cost of Living Strategic Initiatives committee has managed to complete in this past year? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, much of the work that we do do feeds the system that we operate under and that’s a budget system. So, as the Member stated, she’s aware of the budget process and has that information. Ongoing work in the Strategic Initiatives committees, there’s some of the program review areas that are still needing to be completed and done. So as I stated, I will get that information to the Member.
As well, the Member, in her Member’s statement, talked about it seems like we’ve slowed down, there’s nobody in the offices to do the work. Well, simply, the fact is that not all work gets done behind a desk in Yellowknife; Ministers travel to their constituencies, work out of their offices there, as well as travel with Members to their own constituencies at the request of Members or take part in F/P/T. We have to be careful what we say here and the language we use in the sense of describing what’s happening, because I could talk about the mornings I’ve been here when I go down the hall and who do I have a chance to speak to or bounce ideas off of, but we won’t go there. Thank you.
That’s an interesting challenge. I guess I would like to know from the Premier what time of day he’s coming up and down the halls, because I tend to be there most mornings. I have another question for the Premier. I’d like to know, relative to all this information, or all these accomplishments, all the work that’s going on that the Premier has referenced, how is that our public and our residents can become aware and be informed about the work of our Strategic Initiatives committees? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, there are a number of processes that we would inform the public for a change in direction that we would do. For example, we would incorporate many of our initiatives into the budget process. Members are aware that budget items that are brought forward feed that system. Our energy work that’s been done is fed through that system. The work that we have then approved as an Assembly gets put onto our website, either policy changes, program changes and updated in that manner as well. So we can look at how to expand that. But simply and first, those Strategic Initiatives committees are looking at how we do business and will feed the budget process, the policy process and the program process we have available. As we as an Assembly decide that it is time and there’s enough information to make a decision for further changes, then we would go out either for, as committees take bills out that are changed or, when we need to, an initiative where we take a process out and go with committees or a department goes out with initiatives to get feedback from people across the Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hesitate to… Well, I won’t. The information from the Premier is pretty vague. It’s nice that that information is there. It’s nice that the information is in the budget, but our public does not have access to the business plans as we do. What is in the budget really doesn’t reference the activities of the Strategic Initiatives committees, so there really isn’t any way for our public to become aware. The Premier also didn’t indicate where on the government’s huge number of websites this information is located. So I would ask the Premier if he could be a little more specific. Where is information posted relative to the accomplishments of Strategic Initiatives committees that our general public can access? Thank you.
I’ll get the information for the Member to follow the chart of how we work with Strategic Initiatives committees, how that feeds our existing system, how that works into our planning process, that builds the budget that Members will be taking the months to look at and pass, hopefully, as we get through this. But I will provide that type of information for the Member as we get into our budget process as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
