Who is it?

The Premier.

Oh, okay. I just wanted to find out from the Premier what the status is with regard to privatization? I haven't heard anything about the privatization of the NWT Power Corporation. Is that still the direction this government is going?

Mr. Chairman, the plan is, there will be a discussion paper on the merits of the privatization of the Power Corporation. The issue and the background will be presented in the report and the report will be presented to the Legislative Assembly for discussion. The Power Corporation budget is up and hopefully I'll have it by that time so the whole issue of privatization will be on the floor of this Assembly.

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed.

---Agreed

Workers' Compensation Board

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present to this Assembly the 1994 operations and maintenance budget for the Workers' Compensation Board.

The Workers' Compensation Board has produced a responsible, balanced budget for 1994, and has done so without increasing rates charged to employers or reducing benefits paid to injured workers. This budget sets out spending of just over $30 million, and projects a small surplus of less than $100,000.

We all know that the board had a financially difficult year in 1992. Throughout 1993, the board members and their staff worked to ensure that the programs being offered were cost-effective.

The board undertook three major financial initiatives in 1993. The first was establishing our own NWT impairment rating schedule to determine the percentage of physical impairment from permanent disability. This change away from the AMA guidelines was made to reduce subjectivity and increase fairness and equity between claimants.

The second was refocusing the rehabilitation program to effectively assist injured workers to return to work. The largest portion of rehabilitation costs are not paid directly to claimants, but to third parties like clinics, therapists and educators. The WCB insists on receiving value for money in these programs, and on programs being appropriate and effective for the worker involved.

The third initiative was adopting a funding strategy that will return the WCB to a fully-funded position by the end of 1994.

These efforts have resulted in a 13.4 per cent reduction in the overall operating budget, from $35.738 million in 1993 to $30.950 million in 1994.

Seven new staff positions were created, several of which replace services previously purchased from outside sources. These new positions increase the WCB's ability to meet stakeholder needs, without increasing overall costs.

Some of the initiatives that will increase costs, or introduce new costs are the WCB's affirmative action and official languages plans, which are in accordance with this government's own initiatives. The WCB's three year corporate plan, tabled during the last session, also indicated a number of cost items, including consideration of an early intervention approach to claims management, the development of a fraud prevention strategy, staff training to improve client services and increased communications with stakeholders.

The board is still considering changes to the classification system, introduction of a merit and surcharge program and enhanced safety education programs. These changes will not impact the budget until 1995.

You will also see an increase in appeals tribunal costs. The appeals tribunal commissioners have temporarily assumed an increased workload to deal with the backlog of appeals. These additional tribunal costs are not expected to continue.

The WCB is funded by assessments paid by employers. It is important that the trust of those employers be maintained, and that injured workers be protected and served cost-effectively. This budget has been prepared to that end.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Finance is generally satisfied with the direction the board has taken recently. Recent initiatives such as an affirmative action plan, consideration of a merit rebate/surcharge policy, and a refocussing of the rehabilitation program show that the board is improving greatly in service to their clients and in their own management.

Committee Members would like to see the board move a little more quickly on some items. While the affirmative action plan seems to have promise, we wonder when it will be implemented. Also, since the adoption of the new physical impairment rates in July 1993, the committee would like to see the board perform a quick evaluation now of the effect of those rates, as well as conducting a complete evaluation after one year.

Approaches such as the early intervention policy, and gearing the rehabilitation program towards getting workers back to work, are to be applauded. Committee Members feel that the quicker a worker is back to work, the better their self-esteem and attitude will be.

The committee is concerned about high accident rates in the mining and construction industries. While more safety inspectors would help lower these rates, as we discussed under Safety and Public Services, we feel the board should provide further incentive for these industries to improve by implementing a merit rebate/surcharge policy. Committee Members believe that the time is past for merely talking about such a policy, and that it should be implemented as soon as possible. I have a motion to present on that at the conclusion of this narrative, Mr. Chairman.

The committee is also concerned that the board's costs are quite high. While we recognize that this board has an important mandate, and that things have improved recently, the committee would still like to see the board continue to work towards minimizing costs. As for the backlog of claims in the appeals process, committee members approve of the plan to clear the backlog, and hope that the board will be able to better control its costs once those cases are dealt with.

Committee Members are encouraged by the board's recent progress. Although there has been some negative publicity towards the board lately, we wonder how true a reflection that publicity is of the attitude of most of the board's clients. The committee encourages the board to act quickly when responding to legitimate complaints, and to continue with the improvements that have been implemented to date.

I have one motion to now propose, Mr. Chairman.

Question.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. On my immediate right is Ms. Dorothy Chattel who is the director of finance, and on my immediate left is Mr. Gilmour who is the chairman of the board. Thank you.