Thank you, Madam Chairperson. For the interest of the rest of the Members of the committee or committee of the whole, the Members on the social committee are Mr. Morin, Mr. Erasmus, and yourself, Mrs. Groenewegen. I would be pleased to continue reading the remainder of the report.
Culture and heritage policies. The preservation and protection of culture and heritage is important to the people of the Northwest Territories. During the review of the business plans, the committee noted that there are government policies relating to culture and heritage that date back to the late 1980s and the early 1990s. These policies may be outdated or no longer relevant. The committee recommends that there be a review of government policies relating to culture and heritage to make the policies current. The department committed to undertaking this review in 1999-2000.
Human resources and affirmative action. The committee expressed concerns regarding the low number of aboriginal employees in managerial positions in the department in the business plan review. The committee recommended that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment study the affirmative action plan utilized by the Housing Corporation and try to implement a similar one for management positions within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The response of the department was the department has been developing an overall human resource development plan. A copy of the NWT Housing Corporation's plan will be obtained for use in developing the plan for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
The committee also recommended that the NWTTA, that is the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association, professional development training include an affirmative action priority for educational leave. The department will ask the central Professional Improvement Committee to address this recommendation. In the review of the 1999-2000 Main Estimates, the committee also noted the absence of the application of affirmative action policies in granting professional development opportunities for staff who fall under the Aurora College bargaining unit. The Minister has agreed to raise this issue when the next collective agreement is negotiated.