Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The duty to accommodate, a guide to employers, actually extends beyond accommodating that employee who may have a condition or a disability. People cannot be discriminated against on the basis of family status and if the employee of the GNWT has an obligation to provide care to a family member that might preclude them, for example, from working a night shift in an institution or in a workplace, then by extension that duty to accommodate goes to that employee in their obligation to their family member. That is what I'd like to determine, if this government adheres to that concept and that belief. Thank you.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our policy refers only to the employees themselves. So according to our policy, the duty to accommodate wouldn't automatically extend to another family member. However, the government does have in its human resource policies the opportunity for flex time and, depending on operational requirements, the supervisors are able to work with employees and, if their operation will allow it, can...We can see employees are given different shifts or different hours in order to accommodate. So that is something that is already accommodated in our policies, but it has to depend on the operation and the operational needs of each unit. It's something that can be negotiated between the supervisor and the employee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that the policy of the Human Resources department of the GNWT has to go far enough so that it does accommodate the member of the family that that employee has an obligation to care for. It sounds like there is a lot of discretionary latitude in that policy that the Minister is referring to. That can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. I would like to ask the Minister if he feels that supervisors and managers are adequately orientated to this particular policy and that they are equipped with the tools that they need to make a decision to accommodate an employee who must care for a family member who has a disability. Thank you.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, our policy speaks only to the duty to accommodate the employee and not the employee's family. Certainly we do have the opportunity, with the flexibility in the policies, for supervisors to recognize employee needs where they are able to accommodate. I'd be quite happy to ensure that the Department of Human Resources offers training sessions throughout the course of the next year to supervisors to make sure that they're aware of the requirements in the duty to accommodate and to also ensure that there's some discussion with supervisors around applicability of flex time. Thank you.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Calvin Pokiak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, I'll give it one last kick at the cat with regard to source 177. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of dialogue between the Premier, discussions with the former Minister of Indian Affairs, Mr. Jim Prentice, and also a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Calgary, and also the Tuk Community Corporation chair, the chair of IRC, and CEO, and also with the Minister of Transportation and his department. I'd like to ask the Minister of Transportation, can he give an update on how the application process is going with regard to their submissions to the ILA? Thank you.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation has ongoing discussions with ILA to discuss permitting and fees associated with an application to access lands in ILA. Mahsi.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Menicoche.