Thank you. Total department, $1.980 million.

Page 12, Executive, capital investment expenditures, Human Resources, not previously authorized, employee relations, $523,000, total Human Resources, $523,000. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to follow up where I left off asking questions under general comments of the Minister. I don't have Hansard in front of me, but the Minister, to summarize where we left off, was talking about a report that was all-encompassing of the chronology and the history of the implementation of this software. However, he made reference to a report and the exact two words he used were “specific incident.” So what I would like to ask the Minister is what specific incident is he referring to? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to clarify this position, there are a number of different reports. There is the 2005 implementation one; the 2005 Hackett review of the situation and the issue that was raised in the Assembly about the information being let out about our employees through our system. That incident or the situation that we reviewed was to do with information being let go and if it was a breach of any of our protocols or policies. That is the one I am speaking of. There is an additional report coming that will be a more encompassing one and that is still in the works. So the one I am speaking of is the one that was looking at the issue of information being let go because of part of a failure in our system. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe that the Minister said that that had not been shared with the Minister of Human Resources. He had not received a copy of that report. I would like to ask if that's true, am I correct in that? Also, what's the date of that particular report dealing with that efficiency? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would have to go back and look at the actual date of the correspondence that I received. I do not believe it was shared with the Minister at that point. It came to my desk because it was an issue looked at through FMBS. I would have to look at the actual correspondence when I received it in my office, but I haven't forwarded it to anyone else. I thought initially that it may have gone to committee, but I believe that is not accurate. If it is, it is still within my domain and department or within my office as Minister responsible for FMBS. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to make sure that the Minister understands why I have a concern with this. I have a concern with this because I specifically asked the Minister of Human Resources in this House if there had been any breach of any confidential information regarding GNWT employees as a result of this new software upgrade going live on the system. Of course, we know at the time, the Minister said absolutely not. I pursued it and subsequently found out that, in fact, there had been. That was conceded or agreed that it happened. Now you are telling me that there is a report that came out subsequently on that particular matter and it was not shared with the Minister of Human Resources. At the time, I questioned. People monitor this in the public service, but there are people who monitor Hansard and what we are saying here in this House. Why wouldn't the deputy minister have picked up the telephone and called the Minister of HR right away and said we do know there has been a breach of the system? I asked that question at the time. I never really did get a satisfactory answer because it was the end of session and people left. But people knew I asked the question. They knew he denied it and nobody set out on their own initiative to set the record straight. Now, here we are. There is a report that has come out about this and I believe it also includes a few other things. It talks about the implementation of this not following a GNWT model or any other software model in terms of the rollout of some of these changes. I think the same report talks about that as well. Why would that report not have been shared with the Minister of Human Resources? This looks like two incidents where something has happened under something that was within the Minister's purview and he wasn't even told about it. Now a report has come to you. It hasn't come to us. I would like to know about it. Why are we not being kept informed of these things? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the report does not go to the issue of the Minister and his deputy minister. It goes to the policies that we have in place, the programs and it is very specific to that situation. I would be prepared to sit down with committee to go over it. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would have to tell you, I certainly have some questions still linger in my mind with respect to the integrity and the quality of the information that we get when we stand here and ask questions like this in the House. I understand that the incident report you are talking about does not go to why the deputy didn't inform the Minister and things like that. But it does go to the issue of the breach. To me, again, why wouldn't the Minister of HR be aware of a report that would speak to that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, again, just for the record, the correspondence I saw come across my desk was on the issue of our processes, policies and if there was a breach on information being leaked, and I am prepared to sit down with Members to go over that. I believe you will see that information, though there was a problem with our system at that point, it does not go to a breach. I would be prepared to sit down with Members and go over that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. I will just say this again. I have said it before in this House that we have an obligation as a government to ensure that the most basic things such as confidential information, timely paying of employees for the work that they do for us. HR is a very important function in this government. I think it needs to be done right. At the end of the day, when you look at the issues and the incidents, as you call it, that have occurred in the HR department, somebody is responsible. Maybe some of it is software. Maybe some things are a sequence of events that have transpired which nobody is trying to turn back the clock. But I will tell you, it makes more doubting of the system and wondering what is going on when we can't get straight answers or straight information. I do appreciate the Minister's offer to talk to us about this, but it is too bad that we have to find out about it through this process. As MLAs and as a Minister, I think we just need to be shown the respect to be kept apprised of these things. We are trying to serve our constituents. Our constituents are raising these issues with us. We don't have the answers. If we have to go these lengths to get those kinds of answers, I just think it doesn't speak well for this government and this department and certainly some people in the HR department are responsible for this mess on our hands. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I believe the Minister, in further response in the House, talked about the processes of implementing the latest version and some of the modules in the work and the transfer from the old system to the new version and some of the problems that occurred in that. He has corresponded with Members in a letter regarding the latest in that area. Beyond that, I am unable to comment on the information. As I stated, and probably oversight on my part, is when I saw that initial correspondence come to my desk, looking at that and seeing the results of that didn't tie the issue there. I have to look at my correspondence to see how far it had gone, but I am prepared to sit down with Members on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Mrs. Groenewegen.