Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Finance Minister explain why finance is providing recruitment bonuses to brand new eligible health staff but is not providing any retention bonuses to longterm healthcare staff in similar positions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the labour market supplement is something that we worked on, both Department of Finance as well is with the authorities, and just to be clear, it's not being paid out differently if you're brand new or otherwise. The issue is around the eligibility of the position. There are specific positions that were negotiated and discussed with the union. Those positions are all going to be receiving the labour market supplement. There are some challenges in terms of the length of time that someone might be employed. So, for instance, if someone's on a term position for one year, then they'd be getting a payment that is in line with the amount of time that they are employed and there would be some differences, for example, if somebody's on paid leave at the moment, there may be differences in terms of when they get their payment processed. But there's certainly not a line that's been drawn as between shortterm or longterm staff, again, other than ensuring that they are paid in accordance with the policy and how that adapts depending on how long someone may be in the role. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if she considers the recruitment and retention bonuses to be fairly distributed among healthcare staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly do consider this to be one tool in the toolbox of recruitment and retention efforts that are underway within the health authorities and supported by the Department of Finance. The intention again is to ensure that we are finding those positions that have been hard to recruit here in the Northwest Territories and, again, to then pay according to the positions that were discussed between ourselves and the union and looking at the data available about what those positions are. It doesn't mean that every single person employed within the Department of Health and Social Services, or within one of the authorities, gets a labour market supplement. It was positions that were determined to be difficult particularly difficult to recruit for and that is in line with the labour market supplement policy. That policy applies not only to the healthcare field but to the entire public service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what type of feedback Finance has received from healthcare staff about these retention and recruitment bonuses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would say probably the single thing that I have heard the most, that I have had to correct, has been the concept or the notion that these are thankyous or that these are COVID bonuses. Every single public servant deserves a thank you and is valued. The bonus in the labour market supplement isn't the thank you, and it's not a COVID bonus. It really is a reflection of the challenging situation we are in right now all across Canada recruiting healthcare staff and wanting to ensure that our recruitment and retention personnel had every tool available to them, and that's where the labour market supplement came in. And so we have certainly been trying to ensure that folks are aware of exactly what it was for and what it was not for and certainly trying to ensure that we don't undermine people's sense of value and worth. These are all every public servant is valued, Mr. Speaker. But the labour market supplement is hopefully going to bring more folks in to those difficult positions to make it easier for everyone to do their job there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if the Union of Northern Workers considers the parameters of these recruitment and retention bonuses to be fair for their NTHSSA members? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while I do hope to have a positive relationship with the union and hope to continue that, I'm certainly not in a position to speak on their behalf. I can say that there were this was an opportunity where, while not always a smooth path along the way, I do believe this was a reflection of a good collaborative effort between the GNWT and the UNW in terms of trying to identify ways to bring more healthcare staff in. With more staff there, it helps lessen the burden on each individual staff and it helps retain the staff that we have. And, again, without losing anybody, that helps maintain the overall staffing contingent that we have. So, you know, discussion around the labour market supplement continues. I expect it will continue given the labour market situation we're in in Canada, and we'll certainly look forward to participating in those discussions with the union. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
