Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Leon Nason, a resident of Hay River, and Lorraine Hewlett from a long time ago when she used to live in Hay River. I’d also like to welcome all the children from the schools as well.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. I’d like to welcome all our visitors in the public gallery here today, especially all our youth. Watching you earlier this morning, you guys did an awesome job. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’d also like to thank all the public for taking an interest in our proceedings here today.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. I mentioned in my statement about workplace bullying. I’d like to ask the Minister what we in the GNWT have to deal with workplace bullying. My first question to the Minister is whether or not the GNWT has a policy that addresses bullying in our workplace.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Glen Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT is committed to providing a workplace where all individuals are treated with fairness, dignity and respect. We do have a

Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy, which replaced our old Workplace Conflict Resolution Policy, which came into effect in 2011. One of the reasons we modified the program and went with the new Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy was to reflect the current emerging jurisprudence in the area of personal harassment, which is, basically, bullying, and to reflect current GNWT structures and practices in applying the policy. Short answer, yes, we have a policy in place.

I’m really glad to hear that. I’d like to know from the Minister what encompasses the policy, what is in the policy. What things will it prohibit our employees from doing in terms of harassing or bullying their fellow employees?

There are a number of categories of harassing behaviour covered under this policy and they include harassment, personal harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority. The policy also has an accompanying guide to apply to the policy which reflects current practices and processes for informal and formal complaint resolutions, demonstrates management, encouragement of prevention and resolution of conflict through frank communication, speaks to management and employees about roles and responsibilities in creating and maintaining respectful workplaces, and helps identify the manager’s role with respect to resolving issues before formal complaints are required.

Thanks to the Minister. One of the concerns that I have with workplace bullying is overt bullying is readily seen. It’s recognized, and it’s probably relatively easy to deal with, but there’s something which I was thinking about in the last few days that could be considered soft workplace bullying, and it tends to be more sort of the implied threat or suggestion that if you do such, this is going to happen to you or have such and such implications.

I’d like to know from the Minister, if I, as an employee, feel that I have been “soft bullied,” does the system that we have in place allow for me to lay a complaint, and to feel safe in laying that complaint and know that something is going to be done about it?

I feel that it does. It addresses harassment in the workplace as well as abuse of authority, whether it’s overt, implied or suggested. The program is available, staff are aware of it, we continue to provide training to departments as they request it so that they can be prepared to assist employees when these types of situations arise.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I guess I would like to know – since he mentioned training, that’s where I was going with my last question – what does the training encompass. I know he said departments request it. I would hope he would consider making it mandatory for all employees, but does it tell the employees what bullying is and help them to recognize it, help them to understand their rights under bullying or harassment? If he could answer that question. Thank you.

The training is more focused on the program itself and what the program can cover and can’t cover. It’s not necessarily an awareness campaign about bullying. I think that’s what the Member is referring to, but it’s more specific to the program itself, how it applies, who can utilize it, how to access it, and the steps the individuals would have to go through to utilize the process.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my statement, I have dredged up some more issues in Hay River, as normal. I just have a question for the Minister of Transportation. Has the Department of Transportation begun to solve the department this year through their budget of dredging?

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue with dredging the port of Hay River is certainly a big issue. The port hasn’t been dredged in close to 20 years. The Member is correct; there is a lot of silt being built up there and the navigation channel is being blocked. We do have to find some substantial capital dollars, however, to have a dredging program there, that’s why it’s important that we continue the dialogue with the federal government in hopes that they will rekindle the dredging program that they ran prior to 1994.

My next question is: Does the department have any money in this year’s budget to assess the needs of Hay River’s dredging and what exactly is it going to entail and do, maybe, some cost estimates to bring to the federal government so we have something to bring to the table other than our hands out looking for money?

All we have allotted in this year’s budget would be $60,000. It would cost $3 million or $4 million to take a good run at a program to start with in the port of Hay River. It’s something that currently is the responsibility of the federal

government. Again, we need to continue that dialogue. I know we’ve met in the past with Minister Lebel, and more recently with the parliamentary secretary, Mr. Steven Fletcher. We have to continue to impress upon the federal government the importance of dredging here in the Northwest Territories and, specifically for the Member’s point today, the port of Hay River.

I’m wondering if the Minister can use that money to assess Hay River’s needs and make some sort of plan so that we have a plan to bring to the federal government. We know in the past when they’ve had infrastructure dollars come forward, often it comes quickly, and we need to have some sort of plan in place. Will the Minister commit to doing that type of assessment and having that type of plan in place?

I think, working with the folks in Hay River, we could come up with a plan. I will commit to the Member today that I’ll go back to the department and discuss this option with them and, hopefully, we can formulate a plan on next steps when it comes to a dredging program for the port of Hay River.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay, Final supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

My last question is: Will the Minister ensure that this plan gets completed this year so that I can stop raising this issue in this House, hat we have a plan in place and we just need to go to the federal government? I’m willing to go with the Minister to discuss this issue if that’s what we need, or if we need to do lobbying to get the federal government to do this. But we need a plan in place. Can I get commitment from the Minister that this will be completed this year?

We have invited Minister Lebel north. Hopefully, he has some time this summer to journey to the Northwest Territories. Failing that, we’re trying to line up some more meetings in Ottawa with Minister Lebel and other Ministers. Certainly, if we can make a plan here before next fall and the timing is right, if the Member would like to accompany me to a meeting to talk about dredging and a program to dredge the port of Hay River with Minister Lebel, we can certainly look at that. We do need millions and millions of dollars to accomplish this. It’s not something that’s in the financial means of this government today, or the responsibility of this government, but we have to continue that dialogue with the federal government and we will do just that.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.