Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe this government recognizes the value and importance of the continued health and wellbeing of their employees. However, these past two years have been difficult ones for the public service. Positions are being eliminated as a result of departmental amalgamations, people are being laid off, and unionized employees have been working without a signed contract for almost a year. As a result, our employees are not feeling good about their relationship with their employer. This needs to be fixed.
Mr. Speaker, wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and learning to make healthy choices. When you focus on keeping your mind, body, and soul in good condition, you can become a more efficient and effective person. We can achieve true wellness only when we proactively recognize that we have mental, physical, and social needs to look after.
A wellness program would help increase productivity, boost morale, and reduce stress. Because a lot of government jobs are sedentary, we need to come up with stretching and walking programs that can be implemented throughout the day. This will help stimulate the brain, help employees refocus, and help provide natural energy. As well, government could look at bringing in a relaxation coach or using videos to help employees learn about deep breathing techniques, tips for loosening up, and secrets for maintaining a relaxed state of mind, even when under pressure.
To truly achieve a healthy and sustainable work-life balance for its employees, the government needs to consider the creation of employee wellness days as part of the overall wellness strategy. These paid wellness days would be spread out across the year to allow employees to spend more time with their families, hobbies, or self.
I am proposing that wellness days be scheduled to fall on the Friday of the third week in February and the Fridays before the following statutory holidays: Victoria Day, August Civic Day, Labour Day, and Thanksgiving. This will give GNWT employees extra-long long weekends to recharge their batteries and return to work rested and enthusiastic about the work they do for the GNWT.
Mr. Speaker, wellness programs would help employees make smart, and healthy choices that can reduce healthcare costs, increase vitality, and diminish workplace absenteeism. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleagues. I have shared these ideas with a number of GNWT employees, including the president of the Union of Northern Workers. I have heard positive support for this approach. I hope the government will give some serious consideration to this proposal. Mr. Speaker, later today I will have questions for the Minister of Finance. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.
