This is page numbers 253 to 272 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was work.

Topics

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

So I take it from the Minister’s answer that there are no formal mechanisms and processes in regard to input for the budget.

I would ask the Minister whether or not there are any mechanisms in place, apart from the informal system that he’s already outlined, for an individual or for staff to provide input into…. Sorry. Should they see that there are efficiencies to be gained in an operation or savings to be gained, is there a mechanism for them to have input into the department’s operation?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

As a government, we have a number of employee recognition programs in which we recognize employees who have provided service above and beyond the call of duty and have made recommendations or suggestions that have resulted in savings or improved efficiencies for the government. We have long service awards, we have Premier’s awards of excellence, we have ministerial awards, and we have deputy minister recognition awards. We used to have a program whereby we would have financial rewards for employees, where they were reimbursed a nominal amount for any suggestions that resulted in real financial savings for the government. But that program is no longer in existence.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Mr. Speaker, having heard the Minister’s answer, I’m sensing that there is not a strong formal program at the moment for input from staff.

Two questions, I guess. Maybe I’ll ask them one at a time. The first one is whether or not the Minister can advise if there’s any real input from staff, any real savings, any real efficiencies that come from the various recognition programs that he outlined.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

I guess the best recognition is the performance pay that employees receive. If they perform well, they receive performance pay. I think the Member is looking for “dollars for ideas” type of programs. We don’t have that, but we do have formal employee recognition programs that are provided on a regular basis.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Yes, I am looking for a formal program with monetary recognition. I think it’s important. The Minister mentioned that there was a program earlier with nominal recognition. To my mind, something like 10 per cent of the amount of savings which are garnered would be an incentive. If somebody saves $200,000 for this government, that certainly is going to give them incentive to do it. So I would ask the Minister if he would consider reinstating such a program.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, as a government we’re always looking to find new ways of improving the morale of our employees and new ways to improve our performance. So it’s certainly something that we would look into as part of our Employee Recognition Program.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Human Resources and are related to the Arctic Winter Games and the volunteers, G.N.W.T. staff in particular.

The question is very specific to a two-hour block — two hours maximum per day — where individuals would be allowed to volunteer without penalty against their lieu time or annual leave. So where operational requirements permit and where a G.N.W.T. staff is registered as a volunteer and is either scheduled from a 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift or a 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. shift, the government has said no. Basically, if you need that two hours at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day, you have to use lieu or annual.

It seems a bit short-sighted to me. It seems like we actually are creating a lot more work through entry

into PeopleSoft — through entry or verification and approval in PeopleSoft. It would be better if the people who met those conditions, if we were just to say, “Yeah, you can take that time where operational requirements permit.” Unfortunately the answer was no.

Is there any way I can get the Minister to review and reverse that decision in order to reduce the paperwork, support our staff and support the Arctic Winter Games?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

I too am looking forward to the Arctic Winter Games. We’re looking forward to having the most successful games on record. I understand that the Arctic Winter Games Host Society have reached their quota for volunteers and have shut off their requests for assistance.

I think I should point out that we have followed the policies of the government, and any employees who require time off have not been denied. We haven’t denied any reasonable requests. I think that as a government…. And we also have a commitment from our senior managers that we want to make the Arctic Winter Games a success.

We have provided time off, annual leave — or Arctic Winter Games leave, I guess I should call it — for athletes and coaches and also for chairs that have been identified by the host society. Senior managers are prepared to make flexible arrangements, or flex arrangements, with staff that require time off to go to the different venues and work out the arrangements so that our government operations can continue.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I happily acknowledge that the government is doing a lot for the Arctic Winter Games and that the commitments they’ve made are good commitments, but I come back to that two-hour block. You’re asking people to take lieu and you’re asking people to take annual. This volunteering is good for the community; it’s good for the public service. In fact, it can almost be viewed as a public service.

You talked about the fact that they’ve already got the 2,500 volunteers. Yes, but now they’re trying to schedule them. It’s proving to be quite difficult as people don’t want to work certain blocks because they can’t afford to take lieu and they can’t afford to take annual.

By allowing people up to two hours, which is, say, the equivalent that you’ve given casual time if they had a doctor’s appointment, you would be supporting the Games to a greater extent. You’d be showing the government’s commitment.

I didn’t hear any sort of reference in your response as to whether you would review the decision, rescind the decision and allow our employees a two-hour maximum. If they want to work longer, I

could see lieu and annual. But I’m talking about a two-hour block at either the beginning of the day or the end of the day where Arctic Winter Games is having trouble filling schedules that G.N.W.T. employees would happily fill if they didn’t have to liquidate their own time.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

We certainly recognize the considerable effort required to host the Arctic Winter Games, and also the significant volunteer efforts required to make the Arctic Winter Games successful. Our senior managers have committed that they will be very flexible. They will make flexible arrangements for those government employees who are volunteers for the Arctic Winter Games, such that if they have to leave for two hours at three o'clock on any given day, they can make arrangements to be available for Arctic Winter Games work.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

In 1998, when the Games were last here, we had similar policies in place and the government’s decision at that time was, “Let the staff have the two hours.” I'm wondering why, several years later, we now look at the same or very similar policies and we're rigidly applying them. We are not seeing the value in having our staff work on the Games. We are not seeing the value in giving them the time they need without taking credit away from them. We're saying, “Yeah, do it, it’s great, but you have to use your own time,” whereas in the past, we've stood up for employees and given them the time they need to support this valuable community and Territorial event.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

I want to point out a couple of

things. First of all, I am familiar with the letter that the Member is referring to. We've reviewed this request on at least two occasions and have expanded the original ruling to make Arctic Winter Games leave available to the chairs of the various committees and to the first-responders.

This is an area where we have had some responses from volunteers who are not G.N.W.T. employees, who don't think it’s a good use of money when somebody working as a volunteer beside them is getting paid and they're volunteering their own time. We have to have a bit of a balance in this regard.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

I'd like to follow up on my Member’s statement and ask the Minister of Public Works and Services — perhaps the Premier would care to answer as well — a question with respect to our arts enhancement policy. I would like to know where this government stands with respect to that policy. As I mentioned in my Member’s statement, the last government passed a motion and it was

accepted by the House. I would like to know where the government stands on this issue today. Mahsi.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

The Public Works and Services standards for building construction usually focus on safety and design efficiencies, and not so much on artwork. It’s something that we still haven't adopted as part of our government to include in our infrastructure. Adding an art component to our infrastructure sometimes doesn't make sense, as in the case of water treatment plants or sewer treatment facilities. It adds to the cost overall, and it really starts to complicate things when we start designing facilities and buildings and try to accommodate the artwork.

This is something we have to have further discussion on. I will commit to having that discussion with my cabinet colleagues.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

The benefits of arts-enhancing policies are many. One of them, of course, is to provide revenues to our people as well as to stimulate our art and culture sector. That’s the reasoning behind that policy. I’m surprised that the government hasn’t done much work on this, and I thought they were.

I’d just like to ask the Minister how much work has been done to date. He said… I wasn’t quite sure of the answer there.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

I have to inform the Member that we haven’t had the opportunity to discuss this policy recommendation to any degree at all. We do, however, incorporate some consideration when we deal with committees in terms of cultural setting and cultural enhancements. I will, however — I said earlier — undertake to have that discussion with my colleagues.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Just in terms of impact upon how much of a building can a program like this work….. We’ve got an $8 million building being built in Fort Simpson and approximate $80,000 in arts and crafts to stimulate the region and the whole North. Yes, there’s a cost, but the benefits outweigh the cost in this instance. I’d like the assurance of the Minister that he’ll analyze that as well — not only the cost aspects but the benefits aspects.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

The Member has pointed out an excellent point that needs to be considered by all planning departments that deal with Public Works and Services. In the case of Fort Simpson, there’s an additional cost of $80,000. That’s $80,000 more than the department that the community would need to come up with.

So, Mr. Speaker, it’s not a decision I can make in isolation. I have made the commitments to have that discussion.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

I’d like to know if the government or the Public Works department is going to look at any art purchases for this new building that’s going up in Fort Simpson.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Public Works doesn’t purchase art or provide for art. I would have to make that request to the planning department, and I’ll do that.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, going back to my Member’s statement on the materials supply tender, the local and regional suppliers proved that they are capable of submitting competitive prices. I’m not here to tell N.W.T. Housing Corporation how to do their job. I am here to tell them that we want a fair and competitive process for all businesses, regardless of what they do.

I’d like to direct my question today to the Minister Responsible for the N.W.T. Housing Corp. I’d like to ask him what the rationale was that the Housing Corp used for coming up with this process.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, the rationale for the Housing Corporation was based on trying to obtain efficiencies, economies of scale, logistical and quality control, returns to maximize transportation corridors. Mainly, in their view, it was better support of Northern suppliers. But the key one was economies of scale.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Better support of Northern economies was a good statement to make, because that’s where I’m coming from. Some of the regional suppliers have basically been left out of the mix, because they’re capable of supplying the regions; wider-scale is a little harder on them because they’re regionally based. I’m sure they could make the effort. But that’s not my point.

I’d like to ask the Minister if the regional suppliers have been proven incapable of supplying this tender.