This is page numbers 1163 - 1212 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 3rd 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 report.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I love Yellowknife and up until a few minutes ago I loved Hay River, but I’ll click the like button for now.

---Laughter

We just survived a very long budgetary process and it was very well debated and it shows a strong respect for consensus government in action, but yet we can improve. As the Premier said today, we have to find that right balance; and he’s very right in that assumption.

Our success in this budget is due to the public service working behind the scenes tirelessly and providing us all the information that we require to do our jobs properly. To the machinery of the Legislative Assembly, to our clerks, support staff, it was tireless and we are thankful to our Pages. We apologize for the long nights; we have to apologize to the parents as well. To our translators behind the glass here working tirelessly to translate our every word. To our on-site media hosts, which scrutinize every word and report back to the taxpayer what is important. And it could be debated, but this budget may go down in history as the one where most concessions were agreed to by both Cabinet and Regular Members. We’ll let the historians debate that over the summer.

As this House breaks for the summer months, I’d like to wish the best of luck to all of our students writing their final exams, to the students graduating and leaving for the first time and maybe leaving for a repeated semester. To those families, the new families joining us in all our communities, and as we heard today, a special message of support for those families affected by flooding in Nahanni Butte.

Just to let you know, Mr. Speaker, all Members are working during the summer. We’re here to help, and help our constituents. Many of us will have the opportunity to meet you in many of your communities. I myself will have the pleasure of going to Hay River, Enterprise, Behchoko and eventually Fort Simpson.

Walking around Range Lake the other day, I noticed many boats and trailers and recreational vehicles in our yards. So if you find yourself this summer on the land, on our water or on our highways, especially Highway No. 7, please be safe, look out for one another and have a great summer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Inuvik, Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Justice made a Minister’s statement early in this Assembly regarding the Aboriginal Policing Program. Today I’m very happy to say that we have a young fellow in Inuvik who is participating in that Cadet Program and I look forward to seeing the fruits of his hard work, as he’s been a young guy trying to get into the program for quite a number of years. Although it is a Cadet Program, it’s going to teach him all the skills that he needs to further his career.

The fellow that I’m talking about is Gerald Pascal. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him in the past. He’s a volunteer. He’s a youth ambassador. He’s an Inuit games demonstrator. He also volunteers for the local fire department. He’s very involved and I’m very happy to see him in this program. I’m really excited for all the cadets that are in this program as they move forward.

At this time I would like to wish Gerald and all the other cadet recruits the best of luck and success on the start of their journeys into a great community career that’s going to have a positive impact on our local people and be a role model for our future generations as we move forward here.

It’s a great program. I’m really glad to see it’s going through. I’m really glad to see that our local Aboriginal youth are taking advantage of that.

Just to wrap up here, sometimes we get so wrapped up in our jobs, especially during budget session, we sometimes don’t have time to look at some of the real impacts on our communities and people.

At this time, as we’re closing up the budget session, that we can start to focus on what is a very devastating issue in the Northwest Territories, and that is the Nahanni Butte situation. The residents, leaders, and people that are putting in endless hours to help out these residents. I look forward to putting some focus on that and helping out my colleague from the Deh Cho.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m asking students in the Deh Cho riding to apply for summer jobs with the territorial government. It is a great opportunity for all students who continue their

studies after graduating from high school. The pay is generally very good, but it does vary depending on the job.

I would also like to remind the students that every department, board and agency does their own hiring, so you need to make the rounds when you’re job hunting. It is a good idea to do that even if you have already applied on-line.

The GNWT summer jobs provide valuable hands-on experience for our students and help them save money for their school terms. The students are also a valuable resource for the government. As the Minister of Human Resources said yesterday, these students are our public servants of the future.

As of last week, 240 students have been hired. About half are Aboriginal Northerners and the other half are non-Aboriginal Northerners. Unfortunately, this government has not hired as many students this year. In 2011 our government hired 286 students and 58 percent of them were Aboriginal Northerners.

I want to highlight this next statistic, so I hope the Minister and all my colleagues are ready for it. In my riding, this government has only hired one summer student so far this year. I’m pretty sure we can do better.

We can also improve the information we collect from the students. Human Resources does not track them by gender, age, or where they are going to school. Our programs to support students are good, but this information could help us do even better.

I want to conclude my final statements of this session with a few words to our students. By all means, continue your studies after high school, take advantage of all the support our government offers, especially Student Financial Assistance, and go hard to get a summer job with the government. They’re looking to hire more students, especially in the Deh Cho riding.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today because I wanted to talk about a conflict. Whether it’s perceived or real shouldn’t be so much the issue. It’s the matter that it’s thought there might be a problem. A constituent has brought to me a complaint where they believe, quite strongly, that there is a perceived bias within the WSCC process. In this case my constituent has informed me that, when they were working through the process, they used to approach this person when they were the claims advisor. But in the way process changes

here, this person has now become the adjudicator. When their file went from we’re here to support you, now they’re ruling against them.

I know good people are at the helm here and it’s not a question of was the right type of decision done ethically, and I don’t view that being the problem. I think it’s more a situation where we’ve allowed ourselves to overlook the possibility of bias, in the context of conflict only, whether again it’s perceived or real.

The act is clear when it comes to staff or workers of the WSCC, and members of the staff and the Appeals Tribunal, are not eligible to be a worker’s advisor. It doesn’t apply the other way around when you work up through the system, because it appears to be silent whether this particular case could be seen in that regard. This is, again, about a perceived conflict and bias and the importance of a fresh, clear and fair type of decision.

We may have ended up with the same result if someone else had heard the case but, quite frankly, we will never know. I’ll tell you why. Because this constituent approached, as I talked to them and the advice I gave them, they had approached the Governance Council for some strategic advice on how to deal with this perceived or real conflict. The Governance Council replied that they felt the decision by the Appeals Tribunal did not improperly or unreasonably apply because of policy or legislation. What’s funny about this situation and how I characterize it is simply because there is no policy on this particular problem.

I will be asking the Minister of WSCC how we will be dealing with this perceived or real type of conflict. All people are asking for is a fair hearing to ensure there was no bias or challenge based on the fact that one time they were in favour of it but now they’re in a deciding role and are now against it. People are only asking for fairness and I think that’s the least we could offer them.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Beaufort-Delta region is facing a real downturn in the economy over the last couple of years. Residents are very concerned about employment. We have many people in Inuvik who are selling their homes and moving away. Running low on natural gas is only one reason a lot of people are moving.

The residents of the Beaufort-Delta need the support of the 17th Legislative Assembly to

implement our key priority, which is the Inuvik to

Tuktoyaktuk highway. We have begun the process and I am hopeful that we can begin construction within the year.

Some Members have been quick to criticize the building of the Inuvik-Tuk highway. It’s easy for a Yellowknife MLA to be critical. Yellowknife is home to thousands of government jobs and services, and access to government officials is available. There is a life outside of Yellowknife. There is life in my riding of the Mackenzie Delta and in the Beaufort-Delta. We deserve every opportunity to economic development and prosperity that some people in this House take for granted.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Office of the Northwest Territories Languages Commissioner Annual Report 2010-2011 and commends it to the House.

Introduction

The Standing Committee on Government Operations met on May 24, 2012, to review the Northwest Territories Language Commissioner’s Annual Report for 2010-2011. The committee thanks the Languages Commissioner, Ms. Sarah Jerome, and the former Languages Commissioner, Ms. Shannon Gullberg, for their attendance at the public hearing.

2010-2011 Annual Report

Complaints and Inquiries

In 2010-2011 the Languages Commissioner received approximately 100 inquiries and dealt with three complaints under the Northwest Territories Official Languages Act. The standing committee was concerned that the continuing low number of formal complaints may be due to residents’ lack of awareness of their official languages rights and of the complaints process.

However, the committee notes that the report lists several additional concerns brought to the Commissioner which she either referred as outside her mandate or resolved through mediation. The committee encourages the Commissioner to provide more detailed information on complaints

and concerns dealt with that did not go through the complaints process and inquiries in her next report, including information for past years so that trends can be tracked over time.

In view of her experience with complaints and concerns the Languages Commissioner recommended that the government should ensure that members of the public service understand, honour and respect provisions of the Official Languages Act. The committee concurs.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories report to this House on measures taken in 2011-2012 and plan actions for 2012-2013 to ensure that the public service understands, respects and honours the provisions of the Official Languages Act.

The committee further encourages the government to use the services of the Languages Commissioner to make presentations and promote her office within the public service.

At the public hearing, Members asked the Commissioner to expand on a statement in her previous report that many of our Dene people are not comfortable in dealing with the complaints. The Commissioner suggested that this attitude might be the result of silencing the Aboriginal people during the residential school era, especially where Dene and Inuvialuit children were forbidden to speak their languages.

The committee recognizes that a legislative complaints process may be intimidating, and encourages the Commissioner to make the process as user friendly and culturally sensitive as possible. Members agree with a further recommendation from the Commissioner, regarding sensitivity to terminology such as the word regime that may have negative connotations for residential school survivors.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends:

• that the Government of the Northwest

Territories refrain from the use of the word regime in documents concerning official languages;

• that the Government of the Northwest

Territories consult with residential school survivors and Aboriginal language communities on other terminology that may act as a barrier for Aboriginal people in asserting their rights under the Official Languages Act; and

• that the Government of the Northwest

Territories ensure that public servants are

aware of sensitive terminology in speaking and writing in the area of official languages.

Now I will pass the floor to my colleague, the deputy chair of the committee and Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Ms. Bisaro.

Budget

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 2010-2011 budget for the office of the Languages Commissioner was $220,000, up by $77,000 over the previous year. Approximately $35,000 remained unspent because an administrative assistant position was not filled until close to the end of the fiscal year.

At the public hearing, the Commissioner noted that additional funds were received to create and publish a directory of interpreters and translators for all official languages. While some funds again remained unspent, Ms. Jerome said that all of the outstanding surplus would be taken up in the first quarter of 2012-13, with the costs of publishing and distribution of this directory.

Promotion of the Office

Since 2004, the promotion of official languages has been the responsibility of the Minister for Official Languages. However, it is Ms. Jerome’s role to promote the office of the Languages Commissioner, the rights, status and privileges of official languages speakers pursuant to the Official Languages Act, and her availability to answer questions or to investigate complaints.

The office of the Languages Commissioner is accessible through its website, a toll-free phone line, and an office in Inuvik. The office is also promoted through radio advertisements in all official languages, the distribution of promotional items, media interviews and by Ms. Jerome’s attendance at public functions and summer assemblies.

The committee considers the website a critical communications tool and urges the Commissioner to make every effort to keep it lively, current and informative, in all official languages. Members also noted that the toll-free phone line is presently answered in English and suggested that the Commissioner investigate technology that would allow a caller to access the office in all official languages.

A major theme of the Languages Commissioner’s report, stemming from her travels to communities, is concern with the decreasing availability of trained and certified interpreter-translators for Aboriginal official languages in the Northwest Territories. The older generation of well-trained and experienced interpreter-translators is beginning to retire and they are not being replaced.

It is effectively impossible for the Official Languages Commissioner to promote her office without these services. This concern is what motivated the Commissioner to undertake the interpreter-translator directory project.

The Future

Under the Official Languages Act, the Languages Commissioner is empowered to make recommendations for necessary or desirable changes to the act as part of her annual report. In her latest report, the Languages Commissioner commented extensively on the recommendations of the 2008-2009 Review of the Official Languages Act by the 16th Assembly Standing Committee on

Government Operations. That review recommended the creation of designated areas for service provision in Aboriginal official languages, where the languages are indigenous.

The Commissioner recommended that the government move forward with the committee’s recommendations, but consider that not all speakers of Aboriginal official languages reside in their traditional territories. She also noted that residents must often travel outside their home areas to receive services.

At the public hearing, the Commissioner suggested using non-traditional means, such as audio or video conferencing, to provide services in official languages for residents who reside in or travel to the Northwest Territories locations outside their indigenous language area. The Languages Commissioner also believes the government and the Legislative Assembly should have a positive obligation, in legislation, to protect as well as promote official languages. A number of these recommendations were made in the Commissioner’s previous report.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations very much appreciates the Commissioner’s input. As required under the Official Languages Act, the committee will begin its five-year review of the act in February of 2013. Members intend to review and update the previous recommendations for legislative change. Pending this review, the committee wishes to obtain the government’s response to the legislative recommendations of the Commissioner.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and respond to the Languages Commissioner’s recommendation’s for legislative change, namely recommendations three and four on page 20 of the 2010-2011 Annual Report.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to return the reading of the report to the chair of the committee, Mr. Nadli, Member for Deh Cho. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro.

Conclusion

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is grateful for Ms. Jerome’s deep commitment to official languages in the Northwest Territories. Members look forward to working together with the Languages Commissioner in the coming year to ensure that NWT residents’ official language rights are respected and honoured.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

That concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Review of the Office of the Northwest Territories Languages Commissioner, 2010-2011 Annual Report.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Therefore, I move, seconded by the Member for Frame Lake, that Committee Report 3-17(3) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The motion is in order. To the motion.

An Hon. Member

Question.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Nadli.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4), and move Committee Report 3-17(3) into Committee of the Whole for today. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. Nadli.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Status

Report of the Auditor General of Canada on the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly and commends it to the House.

Introduction

The Standing Committee on Government Operations held its public review on the Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada on March 26 and 27, 2012.

The standing committee thanks the Auditor General of Canada, Mr. Michael Ferguson, and his staff for their work in preparing the report and assisting the committee with its review. The committee also thanks the vice-president of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, the president of the NWT Housing Corporation, the NWT comptroller general, the deputy ministers of Finance, Transportation, Public Works and Services, and Education, Culture and Employment and their staff for their attendance and participation.

Role of the Auditor General of Canada in the NWT

The office of the Auditor General of Canada is a vital source of independent and authoritative advice for the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly.

The Auditor General conducts two main kinds of audits in the Northwest Territories: financial audits and performance audits. Financial audits answer the question: Is the government keeping proper accounts and records and presenting its financial information fairly? Performance audits answer broader questions: Are programs being run with due regard for economy, efficiency and environmental impact? Does the government have the means to measure their effectiveness?

Since 2006, the Auditor General has conducted six performance audits in the Northwest Territories. Completed audits include:

• workers’ compensation, June 2006;

• public housing and home ownership programs,

February 2008;

• contracting for goods and services, June 2009;

• education in the Northwest Territories, May

2010;

• health programs and services, March 2011;

• management of the Deh Cho Bridge Project,

March 2011.

A performance audit of income security programs is currently underway. The Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Government Operations is mandated to review the reports of the Auditor General of Canada and make recommendations to the Government of the Northwest Territories. The committee’s goal is to help the Legislative Assembly hold the government accountable. Members look for efficiencies, best practices and

gaps, with the intent of improving services to the people of the Northwest Territories. The objective information and advice of the Auditor General are essential tools in Members’ scrutiny of government spending and performance.

The Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada

The status report conveys the results of a follow-up audit which examined the government’s progress in addressing selected recommendations from the first four of six completed performance audits. Audit work was completed on August 31, 2011, and a report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on February 14, 2012.

The audit focussed on the implementation of recommendations concerning:

• administration of the claims process of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission;

• management of public housing and home ownership programs, and the strategic planning process for the NWT Housing Corporation;

• contract

administration with the departments

of Finance, Transportation and Public Works and Services; and

• program monitoring and reporting by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

All the program areas covered in this audit have an impact on the lives of NWT residents, in terms of our economy, society and quality of life.

The standing committee is pleased to report that overall, the Auditor General addressed the GNWT’s progress in acting on the selected recommendations as satisfactory. The committee will review progress in each of the areas audited later in this report.

GNWT-Wide Barriers to Effective Program Management

First, however, Members wished to express concern over the Auditor General’s observation, stated in the preface, that the Government of the Northwest Territories faces serious barriers to effective management across programs.

Effective program management requires that:

• performance indicators and program standards

are established;

• performance is measured and monitored

against standards; and

• issues are identified and action taken to improve

programs.

The Auditor General found three key barriers to sound program management, not just for one

program or department, but for most of the GNWT programs and organizations over the last six years. These barriers are:

• inadequate information to manage programs

and make decisions;

• insufficient monitoring of third-party program

delivery; and

• an absence of detailed action plans clearly

setting out how and when organizations intend to implement recommendations made in the audit reports.

Inadequate information to manage programs and make decisions

The Auditor General found that the GNWT’s ability to manage its programs is hampered by a lack of data and by the poor quality of the data collected. As stated in the report, the Auditor General believes GNWT senior managers realize the importance of gathering high quality information on a regular basis. However, pressures to deliver as many programs as possible to as many clients as possible predictably result in pouring scarce dollars and person years into programming instead of into databases, performance monitoring and program evaluation.

The committee understands the pressure on the government to “do anything, but do something.” Members consider, however, that there is little sense in putting more money into a program without good evidence that the resources will achieve objectives.

The Auditor General concludes and the committee concurs that GNWT organizations must make a sustained effort to improve the quantity and quality of data collected.

Insufficient monitoring of third-party delivery

Almost half of GNWT expenditures are allocated to third parties through grants and contributions. Third parties, including, among others, health, education and housing authorities, deliver most services in regions and communities.

The standing committee supports this highly decentralized model of program delivery. Members believe that local and regional organizations, with local and regional boards, are in the best position to understand and respond to residents’ needs in a geographically vast and culturally varied territory.

The committee agrees, nevertheless, that GNWT organizations that delegate program delivery to third parties should regularly monitor their performance. This is the only way to make sure the third parties are following GNWT policies and program standards, including standards for data collection and reporting.

The committee, therefore, concurs with the Auditor General that the GNWT must consistently monitor third-party program delivery.

An absence of detailed plans to implement agreed recommendations

In spite of GNWT commitments to implement recommendations of previous audits, the Auditor General often did not find detailed plans showing how and when the government would take action. Without consistent action plans, it is difficult for the standing committee to assess the government’s progress in implementing agreed recommendations.

When issues have been identified by the Auditor General and the GNWT has committed to address them, the GNWT organizations must provide detailed plans, with actions and time frames for implementing the agreed recommendations.

Need for a coordinated response to government-wide barriers

The barriers to effective program management identified by the Auditor General are government-wide. They must be addressed if the GNWT is to improve programs and services to residents within the current framework of fiscal restraint. The standing committee is well aware that the government cannot report inefficient, ineffective or inequitable programs and services.

Members point out that the Premier is publically mandated to “increase and improve interdepartmental planning, coordination and communication in support of cross-departmental goals and priorities.” Further, one of the 17th Assembly’s cross-departmental government goals is “effective and efficient government.”

The committee also notes that the audits covered in the status report were not financial audits, typically referred to the Department of Finance, but the performance audits, similar to the program reviews for the program review office within the Department of Executive.

The standing committee, therefore, recommends that the Premier and the Department of Executive review the February 2012 Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada and report back to the committee on how the three GNWT-wide barriers to effective program management identified in the report will be strategically addressed.

The committee wishes to stress, again, that the Premier and the Department of Executive should play a major role in coordinating the response of the GNWT-wide findings to the Auditor General’s performance audits and addressing systemic issues.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Premier and the Department of Executive:

• review the February 2012 Status Report of

the Auditor General of Canada;

• coordinate the government’s response; and

• propose solutions to overcome the three

government-wide barriers to effective program management identified by the Auditor General.

Members recently received confirmation in the House from the Premier that the Department of Executive will coordinate the response to government-wide findings of the Auditor General’s performance audits. The committee understands that the Department of Executive will work with the Department of Finance and the Refocusing Government Committee of Cabinet to review the report and propose solutions to the identified barriers. Members look forward to receiving the results.

Now I will pass the floor to my colleague, the deputy chair of the committee and Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Ms. Bisaro.

Main Findings

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General’s progress assessment took into account how long government organizations had to implement recommendations and how difficult the recommendations were to implement. The Auditor General cautions that a rating of satisfactory does not mean complete implementation. Similarly, a rating of unsatisfactory does not mean there were no improvements.

While the standing committee is pleased that enough progress has been made for the Auditor General to give the government an overall rating of satisfactory, there is much room for improvement. The audited organizations were considered to have made satisfactory progress in nine of 14 recommendations and one key issue reviewed for this audit, which amounts to a grade of only 60 percent. The committee considers this a bare pass, especially in light of the cautions mentioned earlier.

The Auditor General’s follow-up audit found that satisfactory progress had been made in the following areas:

• The Workers Safety and Compensation

Commission improved its processing of workers’ claims;

• The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation

improved its management of home ownership programs;

• The Department of Finance strengthened its

contracting policy framework; and

• The Department of Education, Culture and

Employment is improving its monitoring of education councils and adult education programming.

The standing committee commends the organizations for these efforts and encourages them to continue.

The Auditor General found unsatisfactory progress in the following areas:

• The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation

has not improved its monitoring of local housing organizations and it has not developed a strategic plan that identifies priorities and links actions to its mandate;

• The Department of Transportation and the

Department of Public Works and Services have taken steps to improve their contract administration. Nevertheless, preventable errors were found in one-third of the contracts audited; and most seriously

• The Department of Education, Culture and

Employment has made unsatisfactory progress in inspecting daycare facilities.

Members were horrified to learn that some ECE-inspected daycare centres were not following health and safety requirements. Worse, the department has no set procedure for following up when inspections identify problems. In the words of the Auditor General, “Without proper follow-up on instances of noncompliance, children are at risk.”

Matters such as a blocked fire exit, chemicals for cleaning left out, or an uncovered electrical outlet may seem trivial on a day-to-day basis, but they can have tragic consequences. The committee regards the safety of children in government-inspected facilities as a sacred trust. There is no acceptable excuse for safety deficiencies in the protection of our children.

Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission of the NWT and Nunavut ensures compensation and pensions are awarded to injured workers or their dependents under the Workers’ Compensation Act. In 2010, the WSCC registered 2,233 claims for incidences in the Northwest Territories. The Auditor General identified the administration of the claims process as a key issue for review in the follow-up audit.

In the sample reviewed by the Auditor General, the WSCC made timely decisions and payments for approximately 90 percent of claims, and payments were accurate. The commission has improved its claims processing since 2006 with mandatory plain

language training for claims officers, an on-line training program for new employees and an on-line reference system for standards and procedures.

It was a pleasure to hear the commission’s vice-president, Ms. Gloria Badari, say at the public hearing, “Service to our clients is our top priority.” In 2006, the 15th Assembly’s Standing Committee on

Accountability and Oversight identified a bureaucratic, corporate culture as an underlying obstacle to service improvement. The WSCC clearly has worked hard to meet or exceed the Auditor General’s recommendations and the corporate culture has been reoriented to customer service.

The standing committee is also pleased to see that the WSCC is also continuing to work on service improvements. The Auditor General reported that the WSCC is now working to establish a complete quality assurance and control framework with standards and procedures to ensure claimants are treated consistently, fairly and equally. In 2011, WSCC developed and approved an organization-wide service standard and plan to implement them in 2012.

At the time of the follow-up audit, the WSCC did not have an established process for approving and communicating changes to procedures and standards, a mechanism for reporting errors to senior management, or a comprehensive mechanism to measure and monitor performance. The Auditor General recommended improvement in this area and the committee concurs.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission:

• develop and implement a more complete

and consolidated quality assurance and control framework for the processing of claims;

• establish a process for approving and

communicating changes to its claims processing procedures and standards; and

• report in detail on its actions in this area to

the Legislative Assembly by the end of fiscal year 2012-13.

Northwest Territories Housing Corporation

The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is mandated under the Housing Corporation Act to ensure there is a sufficient supply of affordable, adequate and suitable housing to meet the needs of NWT residents. Its operations are highly decentralized. The NWT Housing Corporation delivers home ownership programs through five district offices, while public housing is delivered by 23 independent local housing organizations.

Of all the matters reviewed to date by the Auditor General, the standing committee deems the fair provision of adequate housing to residents in need as a concern second only to the safety of children. The committee finds the number of outstanding deficiencies listed by the Auditor General for this agency to be unacceptable.

Members are aware that the Housing Corporation has experienced organizational upheaval since the 2008 Audit Report. The corporation had to manage the unexpected $150 million upsurge in construction and repair of homes resulting from Canada’s economic stimulus spending to counter the recession. In the same relatively brief period, the public housing rent scale was transferred to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and then transferred back to the Housing Corporation.

Under the circumstances, it is not surprising, but it is regrettable, that the Housing Corporation was unable to implement many of the Auditor General’s recommendations. The Housing Corporation’s results in this audit provide examples of all three of the government-wide barriers identified by the Auditor General. Now that other major issues are receding and the Housing Corporation has new corporate leadership, the committee expects the Housing Corporation to move quickly to remedy the deficiencies identified by the Auditor General.

Management of the Homeownership Program

On the positive side, the Auditor General rated the Housing Corporation’s progress in the management of the Homeownership Program as satisfactory. The Housing Corporation has evaluated its Housing Choices Program and taken steps to ensure that outstanding mortgage receivables are collected. The corporation has also improved its oversight of home ownership assistance to ensure that policies and procedures are followed.

The committee is glad to hear of these improvements. Members, however, are not entirely satisfied with the Housing Corporation’s progress in collecting its mortgage receivables. In 2007, the Housing Corporation stopped offering mortgages to low-income clients and introduced its Housing Choices Homeownership Program. This left the corporation with a significant number of clients who still owed money on mortgages provided under the older program.

In the earlier 2008 audit, the Auditor General found that 81 percent of Housing Corporation mortgages were in arrears. The follow-up audit found that the Housing Corporation had taken the following steps:

• introducing a repayment options plan;

• engaging legal counsel to issue demand letters;

and

• contacting all clients with repayable mortgages.

By April 2011, 150 of 468 clients chose a repayment option. Committee agrees that the steps taken represent progress, but notes that only one-third of the clients had chosen a repayment option as of last year. The Government of the Northwest Territories and its agencies need every dollar of the amounts owing that they can reasonably receive. The president of the Housing Corporation also considers collection rates lower than acceptable.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the NWT Housing Corporation:

• continue its effort to collect mortgage

receivables; and

• report annually to this House on the number

of clients who have chosen a repayment option, the total dollar amount of repayments and the total amount still outstanding as of April 1st of each year, starting with the data

as of April 2012.

The Auditor General rated the corporation’s progress in two other important areas as unsatisfactory: monitoring of local housing organizations and development of a strategic plan.

Monitoring of Local Housing Organizations

The Housing Corporation’s unsatisfactory progress in monitoring local housing organizations comprises what are, in the committee’s view, several serious deficiencies. Lack of annual assessments of LHOs, insufficient monitoring of public housing application assessments for compliance with policies, and inadequate reporting of public housing condition ratings

Lack of Annual Assessments at LHOs

The Housing Corporation has universal partnership agreements with local housing organizations which represent the LHOs, which require the LHOs to follow Housing Corporation policies and procedures. Under these agreements, the Housing Corporation is responsible for yearly assessments and the LHOs are required to provide annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial and administrative reports.

The standing committee was not pleased to learn that the Housing Corporation has flouted its own agreements with LHOs. The follow-up audit found that the Housing Corporation has not conducted any annual assessments of LHOs for policy compliance, nor does it have a strategy for doing so. The corporation says it does not have the capacity to conduct these assessments.

Instead, since 2008 the Housing Corporation has directed district offices to enhance their monitoring and reporting of LHO activities to ensure compliance with policies. In January 2011 the

Housing Corporation finalized forms to gather activity data, but did not provide guidance to district offices on when and how often forms are to be completed. In the two district offices the Auditor General’s staff visited, forms had been completed for two of 13 LHOs and partially completed for another two.

Annual assessments of operations are a key requirement of the corporation’s universal partnership agreements with LHOs. The Auditor General notes that by not conducting the required annual assessments, the Housing Corporation has lost the opportunity to have a structured and scheduled way to consistently and thoroughly monitor the LHOs.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pass the reading of the report to my committee colleague, the Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Dolynny.

Public housing allocations not monitored for policy compliance