Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight conducted its public review of Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, on March 7, 2005. The committee would like to thank the Union of Northern Workers for their presentation and the Minister and his staff for introducing the bill.
The committee is generally supportive of Bill 21, which will result in long overdue improvements to the staffing appeals process for public service jobs. The committee noted that many of the proposed changes to the process are not included in this bill and will instead be reflected in the regulations. The committee would, therefore, appreciate an opportunity to discuss the regulations with the Minister before they are approved.
The Union of Northern Workers also expressed an interest in having input into the regulations. In particular, they would like to ensure that union members are allowed union representation at appeal hearings, Mr. Chairman, that the union is informed when appeals are filed, and that they will have access to the review officers' reports and recommendations.
They also would like to see measures put in place to ensure consistent application of the rules by all staffing review officers across the NWT. The committee would encourage the government to work with the union in drafting the regulations and to accommodate their request where practicable.
Mr. Chairman, currently, staffing appeals are heard by a committee made up of a GNWT representative, the Union of Northern Workers representative and a third person agreed upon by the other two. With the new process, all the staffing review officers will be appointed by the Minister. Members asked the Minister if this raises any concerns about their independence. The Minister indicated that his role will be limited to intervening where there have been procedural irregularities and, for the most part, he will be following the recommendations of the review officers.
Members also asked the Minister, Mr. Chairman, about the qualifications of the staffing review officers. The Minister and his staff advised that they intend to recruit people with experience in investigative work and will also provide a rigorous training program on the GNWT staffing process and policies.
The union requested that they be given an opportunity to have input into the selection of the staffing review officers. The committee appreciates the Minister's agreement to consult with the union before making the appointments. The committee was advised that while the intent was to initially recruit one officer for the northern NWT, one for the southern NWT and one for headquarters, the Minister will reconsider this should the number of appeals in any of these locations result in too high a workload for one officer.
The officers will be contracted on an as-and-when basis.
Mr. Chairman, the committee looks forward to the coming into force of this bill and the regulations later this year and believes it will bring a substantial improvement in terms of both fairness and transparency over the current staffing appeals process.
Following the committee's review, a motion was carried to report Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the Whole. This concludes the committee's opening remarks on Bill 21. Mr. Chairman, individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you.