Last fall, our government established Maximizing Northern Employment as one of its priorities. Simply put, it is our belief that all Northerners should be able to compete for and obtain all jobs offered by the public and private sector throughout the Northwest Territories. We believe, based on the concerns we have heard in this House, that Members share this goal.

Maximizing Northern Employment is a long-term commitment. We must plan our actions carefully in close cooperation with Members of this Assembly and with employers and workers across the Northwest Territories. While our plans in this area will be shared with this House over the next few months, to indicate our commitment, this government is committed to invest up to $5 million per year in support of this priority. We will be returning to this House with the detailed plans and proposed allocations as part of supplementary estimates later in the year.

In terms of action, our first priorities are as follows:

First, students at the high school level will have more opportunities to prepare for northern careers in the trades, technologies and professions. We continue to stress the importance of completing high school. However, we also recognize the importance of providing "hands on" experience to those students who want to begin building their careers as early as possible. We intend to expand the School North Apprenticeship Program and develop opportunities that combine work and schooling. We expect to implement this initiative in the next school year.

Second, we want to be sure that Northerners are matched with available jobs. In cooperation with industry, and building upon our recent experience supporting employment in Fort Liard and the Beaufort Delta, we plan to increase the availability of information on employment in all communities. To do this, we will post information on available jobs, and in close cooperation with community and regional organizations, actively match and refer work candidates to available positions. Our plans in this area will be fully developed by March 31 of this year.

Third, we must place a renewed emphasis on bringing post-secondary graduates into our northern public service. Our Premier announced this government's commitments in January. In support of these commitments we will:

• • Provide job opportunities for all northern graduates of recognized teacher education, nursing and social work programs. Discussions with education councils and health and social service boards are already underway and the policies to guide this action will be in place by the end of this fiscal year;
• • Hire post-secondary graduates, particularly those in priority occupations, such as engineering and other applied sciences, accounting, computer sciences and management, into the public service following their graduation. We are developing a program that will establish "intern positions" of one year in length, which will provide recent graduates with valuable job experience in a Government of the Northwest Territories department. During his or her year of service, an intern will be expected to carry out assigned tasks, but will also receive selected skill development in areas such as financial management, managerial skills and basic labour relations. Detailed plans for this new program are being developed at this time and will be finalized by the end of March; and
• • Further, we want to ensure that summer work placements and cooperative work opportunities for students are meaningful and support the development of future public servants. To assist students in obtaining positions with the Government of the Northwest Territories this year, all departments are now preparing listings of the positions that will be available for the summer months. This listing will be made available to students so that they can identify potential jobs that match their skills and interests. We are launching a website where students can post their resumes for the consideration of any employer.

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that we have a dedicated and hard working public service -- a public service that has had to deal with extensive challenges over the past several years from downsizing to division. Our staff have met those challenges while continuing to provide a high level of service to the public.

We need to support our public servants in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. Part of this support must be fair compensation. I was very pleased with the strong support for the recent collective agreement with most of our unionized workers. This budget includes over $13 million related to the implementation of that agreement and extension of similar increases to non-unionized groups.

In addition to fair compensation, our staff need to know that they are respected. To this end, together with the Union of Northern Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association, we jointly developed and implemented a new Conflict Resolution Policy. We must also ensure that the public respects and has confidence in the public service. To address this need we have, after extensive consultation with employees and the union, developed a Code of Conduct. This code will help ensure the public is aware of the high standards of conduct and integrity that public servants bring to their job.

Finally, it is important to recognize that the Government of the Northwest Territories is only one of many partners in the effort to increase northern employment. Business and industry have a major role to play as do educational institutions and aboriginal governments. We will be examining our policies to ensure that they support increasing employment. We will be actively promoting, and will be asking our partners to join us in promoting, the importance of northern employment.