Debates of October 18, 2006 (day 10)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the honourable Minister of DPW with respect to the apprenticeship programs within the government department, particularly Public Works and Services. We do have tradespeople and journeymen people there. At one time, we did have an Apprenticeship Program where all our staff members would have apprentices. Is that program still in existence for our government, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at one point, Public Works and Services was the largest, within government, producer of tradespeople through the Apprenticeship Program. For many years, the government, past governments, have taken a different direction and the staffing levels within the trades side of our department was privatized and that initiative wasn’t used as much. What we have done within the Government of the Northwest Territories, though, recently was to look at the Apprenticeship Program, the involvement that we have. Each department already has, through a number of programs, apprentices in place through the Housing Corporation, as well as the Department of Transportation and Education, Culture and Employment, which holds the Apprenticeship Program right now. We were directed through new initiatives to look at the Apprenticeship Program, so the Department of Public Works and Services, the Housing Corporation, Transportation, Education, Culture and Employment and Municipal and Community Affairs did a review of our levels of apprentices and looked at what we could try to do. That’s one of the areas. Unfortunately, right now, it would be categorized as a new initiative besides existing programs within Education, Culture and Employment and existing departments’ staffing levels that we have apprentices in. However, right now we are looking at it on a government-wide basis to see where we can try to improve in that area of apprenticeships. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely, there is a gap there when we want to address our front-line workers. We spent many months talking on the management side of things, the succession planning for our managers, the MAP program, et cetera. We have spent very little or no time at all how we are going to replace the front-line workers and that’s one of them. There is no one to replace the front-line workers. So if the Minister could tell me again if that policy is gone, is that what he’s talking about when he says it’s a new initiative, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Apprenticeship Program still exists and is operated through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. However, as a new initiative, we are looking back at trying to step up the Government of the Northwest Territories in the area of apprenticeships and training. We’ve looked at that through all those departments, came up with a number and put it forward to FMB. Unfortunately, it falls under new initiatives. It would be future year requirements and would require some new funding in that area. However, the existing programs are still operated through the Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Time for oral questions has expired. However, I will allow the Member a supplementary question. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know if…May I seek unanimous consent to extend item 5, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Menicoche, you can finish your line of supplementary questioning. Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to know further from the Minister, I think the Department of Public Works is taking on more and more of a workload because it’s getting very expensive out in the marketplace and their workers are being pressed to be out in the communities more and more servicing equipment. So will the Minister look at extending this program to his department and look at extending it throughout the government to train our northern workers in this gap, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now within the Government of the Northwest Territories, the existing program we have, through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, wage subsidies and so on for a private sector, as well as departments, to help fund if they are going to go into the area of hiring more apprentices. Within the Department of Public Works and Services, as I stated earlier, we have struggled in that area. At one time, we provided all of the maintenance, O and M in communities. Since then with hamlets and community governments taking on more and more of that responsibility, Public Works and Services has stepped out of there. Some of our staff have gone on and been hired by communities and what we would have in a number of our communities now, for example, would be some of our Public Works and Services staff who would be there to overlook maintenance and contracts and things in communities to ensure that our schools and health centres are functioning properly.

We have looked at getting back into that area. Unfortunately, it would require more funds to step up to that program level that we feel is necessary and we don’t have that at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make note that out of the 300 apprentices registered in the North each year, I don’t believe very many of them work for the government and I think our government should take the initiative and make spaces and time available to continue to train apprentices. Will the Minister commit to that, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 121-15(5): Apprenticeship Programs Under The Department Of Public Works And Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated earlier, we have, jointly through a number of departments, looked at the Apprenticeship Program and the training side to try to step up to the plate in that area and we are continuing the work on that initiative to try to see if we can bring something forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Time for oral questions has expired. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 6, oral questions?

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to return to item 6, oral questions. Are there any nays? There are no nays. We will return to item 6, oral questions. However, the Chair is going to call a short break before we go into oral questions.

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Before we go back to orders of the day and question period, I would just like to once again remind Members your rules around question period and the answers to oral questions. In the hour that we spent in oral questions previous to right now, we had nine Members who were allowed to ask questions and we had to extend the time to get the answers to those nine questions. I would ask Members to keep your preambles a bit shorter and the answers as well.