Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to spend some time today talking about decentralization. I’ve been pretty much silent on the subject to date, but I can no longer be silent. I have grave misgivings about this policy and its implementation.
We have only to look eastward to Nunavut where they are reversing their previous actions and bringing positions back to Iqaluit. Why? Because decentralization is not working. I appreciate the intent of the policy, but, and it’s a very large but, I cannot condone the current mindset around the implementation of the Decentralization Policy.
The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment proudly announced last week that three more positions had been decentralized. Two of those three positions have incumbents. Premier McLeod stated yesterday in relation to this policy that, and I quote from Hansard from yesterday, “It’s a program decision.” He went on to say, and I quote again from page 63 of unedited Hansard, “It’s what’s in the best interests of fulfilling this decentralization priority of this government.”
That tells me that decentralization is nothing more than a numbers game for the government and that it is decentralization at any cost. But there are costs associated, both financial and personal.
It seems to be quite acceptable to make a position more expensive through decentralization. Yet, in the same breath the government states that our financial situation is not sustainable. There’s more than a bit of controversy in that. The Minister of Finance has said that our fiscal situation demands action, that we must leave no stone unturned. Well, this is a stone we must turn over and look beneath.
There’s also a personal cost, one which apparently is not a factor, considering the Premier’s comments yesterday. How many families have been uprooted since we started this initiative? How many are still in the public service? How many have left the NWT? Does the government know? Does the government care?
For the sake of adhering to a policy, we are willing to lose experienced, competent, long-term employees, willing to lose their corporate knowledge, willing to throw away the investment and training that we have in them. The government’s population strategy looks to increase our population. The current callous application of the Decentralization Policy will see people leaving the North.
We say we value our employees, but recent actions completely refute that.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
It’s a completely different situation if the position being moved is vacant or a new position. In that case, there are no people to be uprooted, no families thrown into turmoil. That should be the government’s thinking. It can be like reducing staff costs through attrition. The only positions that should be considered for decentralization should be those which are vacant or new positions.
I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As much as I’d like to do a rebuttal to the Member’s statement, and the importance… Actually, I will.
This government is focused on increasing the health and the wellness of people across the Northwest Territories. As a fact, increasing our economy, increasing our skill force, increasing our education and our health care systems in the regions through the Northwest Territories, and I believe this government’s been doing a great job in decentralizing the jobs in the communities, bringing families to communities. In Inuvik alone I know that the opening of a couple offices has helped the small businesses, the local businesses, helped the daycares, which I was going to talk about today actually, but under this statement I know that the importance of decentralizing, looking at places throughout the Northwest Territories whether it’s the Beaufort-Delta with the Inuvik-Tuk highway, the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link, up and down the valley corridor in terms of investing in our people and investing in the projects, the road and other issues along those lines, looking at our schools, looking at our health centres that people in the small communities speak up so much about, our health care system, our nurses that we don’t have in eight of our communities.
So I think what the government is doing in trying to create a Decentralization Policy, that is not only going to help people across the Northwest Territories, it’s going to help people here in Yellowknife as well. It’s going to open up better communications in how things are working in the small communities and in the regions.
So, like I said, I was going to speak on licenced daycares today, but I honestly couldn’t bite my tongue on this one and I do have to speak up for the people in the regions, speak up for the people in the small communities and speak up for people that need the programs, need the services, need the jobs so that they too can have a lifestyle. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
