Mr. Speaker, effective human resource management of the NWT public service relies on partnerships between the Department of Human Resources and other government departments, boards and agencies.

I am pleased to announce, Mr. Speaker, that the Department of Human Resources and its partners

in the Department of Health and Social Services and the health and social services authorities recently launched a Service Partnership Agreement pilot project. Service partnership agreements are a common tool for defining the relationship between a shared services provider and its clients. Partnership agreements outline the responsibilities of both parties, set service standards and identify the unique needs of each partner. These agreements are often used in HR, IT, financial and procurement settings to establish system-wide performance indicators that help create effective reporting and public accountability.

This work addresses recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General and the Standing Committee on Government Operations.

The health and social services system is an ideal segment of the public service to pilot a service partnership agreement. It provides a good mix of headquarters and regional operations in remote, small, and large communities, each with a variety of human resource needs. We have set performance measurements for the next year and reporting needs have been discussed and agreed upon. Working with our health partners through ongoing evaluation of service levels throughout the pilot year will allow us to continue to develop the agreement and will help us implement service partnership agreements with other departments and agencies.

Mr. Speaker, developing service partnership agreements is part of our work to implement 20/20: A Brilliant North, the Public Service Strategic Plan. Our efforts towards fixing and maintaining the foundation of human resource management through system upgrades, expanded recruitment tools and streamlined business processes has guided our work on developing service partnership agreements. Our focus now is on effective performance measures and reporting so that we can identify what is working and what needs to be improved.

Mr. Speaker, the staff at the Department of Human Resources and I are committed to partnership and collaboration to ensure the public service meets the needs and aspirations of all residents and supports this Assembly’s vision of Believing in People and Building on the Strengths of Northerners. I look forward to updating Members as the pilot progresses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.