Debates of October 20, 2020 (day 40)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Finance. I understand that we have internship programs within human resources, as well as the Indigenous Career Gateway Program in place. I do understand there are only so many internships available per year. Can the Minister tell me what the funding is annually for the internships, if she has it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Finance is able to support up to 40 internship placements every year. That works out to being roughly $40,000 per year per placement. Thank you.

Can the Minister tell me how many interns there have been in this past year and how many were in health?

This year, there have been 24 interns in total. Of those, one went to the Department of Health and Social Services, in addition to which there were four who went to NTHSSA. They were scheduled to go there, but COVID-19 certainly has interrupted some of the processes that we would normally undertake to have interns recruited and placed.

As I mentioned in my Member's statement, there is a gap in bridging students to the workforce. Will the Minister have her department of human resources look at the way to build a bridging program from the college, or any healthcare program, into our healthcare system?

Recruiting more healthcare professionals is a mandate item for this government. There is already a health recruitment unit well under way, which is a partnership between Health and Social Services and the Department of Finance. In short, yes, I certainly can commit on the part of Finance, on the part of human resources, to taking some steps, to developing some ideas, and to having them ready. Aside from that, this will be something that becomes a multi-departmental response. I am confident that, as I said, human resources will do its part, and I am confident that I will be able to work with my colleagues to see that those ideas from human resources can get looked at and considered by those who are on the front lines in the health department.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things that I know is that there are some other programs that are for GNWT employees to access training dollars, but I don't know if this is widely known of the hiring managers and the staff. Will the Minister commit to looking into all the funding pots that we can so that we can train current staff, so that we can possibly train them, if they choose to, to go out to health centres, into specialty areas like obstetrics, emergency? These are the areas that we keep struggling with, and these are the ones that we keep bringing in people from outside the territory to fill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, yes, I am happy to make the commitment on my part, certainly, that we will make sure and put that information together. I recognize that it's an acute problem, perhaps, for our colleagues in the Health and Social Services field, but even more broadly than that, making sure that, if there are programs being run by human resources, that they are known and accessible to those doing the hiring in communities and in regions, particularly in health. That is critical, otherwise all the great programs that we might have aren't adequately being accessed. That is actually a specific issue and question that human resources is looking at to ensure that we are doing our job and to ensure that the good work that we are doing in human resources gets translated, and so I certainly will commit to doing that and to continuing to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.