Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, would like to commend the department for being recognized as the top 100 employers, here in the Northwest Territories. That is quite the achievement.

I understand that staff or human resources is just one part of a system of the organization of the GNWT that we operate. I think staff and the workforce play a key role in the sole machine that operates here in the North.

I have a couple of comments. I would like to focus on a few specific questions. For the most part, in my mind, in terms of decentralization, in terms of seeing some of the shift from headquarters to regions and then down to communities. I am very interested in at least trying to understand, on behalf of my constituents, in terms of ensuring that it is done fairly timely, and, at the same time, very transparent, so we understand the process and we can have at least some input in those discussions and trying to realize some opportunities at least for some of the small communities.

What I am strongly concerned about is just the ratio of First Nation employees for northern indigenous people that live up here in the Northwest Territories. I understand that there are some policies to try and enhance the recruitment exercise of being able to hire more First Nations employees so that we have the workforce fairly reflective of the population that we have in the NWT. I understand there is the Affirmative Action Policy. I think there are a couple of incentive policies that are in place, including the Bilingual Policy in terms of trying to promote people

to be bilingual in the official languages. I understand that, perhaps, there could be some placement on the importance of cultural need, things of this nature that have been done.

What immediate steps is the department considering to ensure that the workforce of the GNWT is reflective of the population?

In another instance, I am obviously concerned that despite having the bridge completed, operating for the next 50 years, we have an ice bridge work crew plus the ferry crew that have been laid off or they have been shifted. I would like to have an understanding of how the department has played or is playing a role in terms of providing support and counsel to these employees or past employees, whether there has been some discussion of reassignment, whether there’s been discussions with them in terms of severance pay, whether there has been at least some discussions in terms of, perhaps, repositioning or reclassifying some of the positions so that they can continue to work in their home communities and, at the same time, be productive in the workforce. That is my other question.

The other question is has there been some emphasis or initiatives in trying to enhance or at least have employees be more conscious of safety guidelines of trying to curb accidents and mishaps in the workplace. I would like to know whether the department is playing a hand in trying to enhance the fire department’s training. I know that fire departments, for the most part in small communities, are on a volunteer basis, but yet, at the same time, the focus seems to be right now to have them play a defensive role in terms of defensive tactics of working within communities and, at the same time, on building structures. There are some instances where there have been some fires along the highway. Whether HR has played a hand in terms of trying to enhance the training and preparing for the eventual reality that we come across an instance like that and they will be better prepared.

My last question is in terms of the effort towards decentralization eventually. What is most important is I understand that we are trying to enhance the workforce to be more reflective of the population of the NWT. This is really a critical question in terms of trying to prepare small communities. What is the department doing to make working in small communities attractive for existing local candidates but, at the same time, potential candidates that might want to move to small communities? What is HR doing to basically help the small communities to keep a workforce but, at the same time, make it attractive for people that perhaps might want to move from Toronto or Montreal to take up a position in the North, especially for small communities? I understand that there is no housing

incentive and that housing is a high cost factor in small communities. Those are my questions that I had. Mahsi.