Thank you. Directorate. Mr. Steen.
Debates of Feb. 12th, 1997
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 583
The Chair John Ningark
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 583
Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr Chairman, my second question is, is the department working towards a policy for transferring buildings and equipment to the communities?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 583
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Mr. Chairman, the issue of the transfer of ownership of assets, such as buildings, is a pretty broad-based initiative. It involves several departments led by Department of MACA. We are working closely with them providing our input in putting together a policy.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 583
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Directorate. Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 583
Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I presume then that some time in the future the committees would be approached for input on this policy?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. On the process, Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Mr. Chairman, I am informed that the group co-ordinating this work would be prepared to give a proposal to the Ministers in several weeks time and, there again, MLAs would be consulted and asked to give input at the time.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 583
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Directorate. Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
I have a question Mr. Chairman, in regards to transfer of the buildings and equipment, I am just wondering how, after the buildings are transferred or the equipment is
transferred, how do the communities receive O and M funding for the building?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 584
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Mr. Chairman, as I indicated earlier, we are still working on the final guidelines on how this would be done. At the present time we are moving towards block funding the communities to make sure they have the adequate levels of funding for maintenance, along with the maintenance schedule, et cetera that the government had in place.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. For final on the directorate. Final question, Mr. Steen.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Vince Steen Nunakput
My final question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, if the buildings or the block funding in the block funding process, that is the O & M funding for the buildings. I also have a question in regards to if we transfer the buildings to them, what happens? How do I get them back if the maintenance crashes?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 584
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Mr. Chairman. Obviously our first goal and preference would be that the hamlet is well prepared and has the resources to do the maintenance properly and that in most cases that is what would happen. There is a contingency, there has always been I believe, for the government to be able to step in and take over as administrator if the job was not being done properly. I would think that probably will continue.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Directorate. We have Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. Ootes, Mr. Henry. I am trying to allow Members to ask five questions and move on to a Member that has not asked a question. That is not to exclude Members to ask again, at which time when Members who have not spoken or have not asked a question, have asked it already. Mr. Miltenberger. Directorate.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask a question in regards to position cuts. It is fairly specific to Fort Smith. Just if the Minister could clarify? The purchasing officers, there was two positions slated to be combined into one. My understanding or the concerns that have been voiced to me is that, in fact, if the one position that resulted from the combination of the two, is in fact, itself possibly slated to be cut. Could I ask the Minister if he can enlighten me on that particular situation?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. On the management of human resources. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Mr. Chairman, on individual and specific cases, especially when it is in regards to layoffs, I am a bit more comfortable in asking the deputy minister to respond. If I could just make an overall general comment on especially what the Member had said earlier in opening remarks about getting some certainty on layoffs and some stability, I would say that we have pretty much completed our rounds of layoffs and barring a disaster as the Finance Minister likes to say, that after 12 more layoffs planned, that should be it for us. If I could ask the deputy minister, if it is okay with you, Mr. Chairman, to comment on the Fort Smith situation.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Lovely.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Lovely
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The position that is being referred to is slated to be eliminated under the user say initiative for purchasing. The money that the Department of Public Works and Services has would be transferred to client departments. At this point it has been determined that there is not sufficient purchasing volume in Fort Smith, in the Fort Smith region to justify a buyer. The individual in that position will likely be laid off somewhere around mid-March. We are finding that that is the case in other locations as well though. We anticipate that eight or nine buyers will actually be laid off across the Northwest Territories at around the same time. These are part of the 12 layoffs that Mr. Arlooktoo referred to. The 12 remaining from our 97/98 budget process. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. On the list we have Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. Ootes, Mr. Henry and Mr. Ng on the Ordinary Members side. Mr. Miltenberger.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Then, if I could just get the Minister to confirm a while back there were combined lists done in consultation with FMBS and all the departments in terms of PY reductions. They were sent out to all the Members. The list that I have for the constituency that I represent had a number of Public Work and Services reductions and some new positions. One that was designated as a new position has now been cut. I would just like the Minister to assure me as specifically as he can that this list is itself accurate. I am concerned about the quiet piecemeal erosion and further cuts to the community which is highly sensitized as the Minister is aware at this point to any kind of further job loss.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 584
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.