I appreciate the Minister’s response to that. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment supports the development, maintenance and delivery of designated trades, occupational training programs and the development of our skilled northern workforce.

Can the Minister describe, in the event of an apprentice having employer difficulties, what are the options of this apprentice to seek help or assistance?

Mr. Speaker, part of the process is, of course, we have our ECE staff that deal with apprentices, and just to make them aware of their obligations within the program itself, being an apprentice. My staff is, of course, available any time if there is a challenge or a barrier in the way that the Member has alluded to earlier. Those are areas that my departmental staff are available to meet with certain individuals, especially those apprentices. We also have a regional representative, as well, that deals with the service centres in the regions. They are available to help and support these, whether it be the trainees or apprentices.

Those are just some of the key highlights of resource support staff we have at the headquarter level, regional level and community level.

Earlier today I spoke of the barriers of the targeted wage subsidies being in the hands of the employers wherein, I think, a perfect

scenario, would be more suited in the stewardship of the apprentice.

Could the Minister indicate by what process in today’s landscape could the apprentice play a more active role in the control of directing such targeted wage subsides to would-be employers? Is this possible?

Part of, again, the process is apprentice training on the jobs that we have. We currently have a wage subsidy, and that’s provided to the small employers so they can be competitive with the larger employers as well.

Most of the programs, as you know, there are limited financial resources with a high demand exceeding supply. With the feedback from my colleague, the Minister of ITI, on the Economic Development Panel, part of the role, I guess, is apprenticeship is something that we will review in light of supply and demand, and as you’ve heard from the panelists, there’s a high demand for northern apprentices, northern journeymen. We are fully reviewing that, as well, working side by side with the ITI Minister.

Part of the NWT is our GNWT has a remarkable subsidy program that we provide assistance to apprentices, assistance to small employers so they can hire and train those individuals. On average, there are 90 to 100 apprentices on an annual basis, journeymen that successfully completed their program. We’re very proud of them. Again, reiterating that developing northern jobs, northern training for northern people.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s response. Knowing that this Minister seeks the highest standards in forming industry partnerships, as we’ve heard, and the quality of the skilled workforce, would the Minister commit to investigating the current barriers of the Targeted Wage Subsidy Program delivery, work within our Canada-Northwest Territories Labour Market Development Agreement, and report back to this House a strategy and an action plan to improve such a barrier?

The uptake and successful completion of the Apprenticeship Program continues to increase every year, as highlighted earlier. The Labour Agreement is under review this year. That is a program that has been very successful. It is a federal legislative program and it’s coming to an end in 2014. We are focusing and monitoring that program and the overall review. Of course, the suggestions and ideas that are being generated in this House will be captured and will be considered as part of the review process. I will continue to work with the federal Minister responsible, Skills Development.

Also, I would like to commit today that we’re dealing with the partners in the industries, as we’ve done in the past, having them in the room, providing a true partnership. Those are the areas that we are continuing to discuss, my department discussing with the regional representatives. Industries are part of the representatives, as well, so they will be part of the process when we are dealing with the wage subsidy to the employers. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today will be to the Minister of Human Resources. What currently does the GNWT do to link students with job opportunities throughout the GNWT?

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of different things that we do. One of the things that we do is the Graduate Internship Program. Since 2001, over 300 northern graduates have been supported through this Graduate Internship Program. We do market this program to students through a number of different ways. The GNWT Messenger, posters displayed in Yellowknife, through the Human Resources, direct e-mail blast from Student Financial Assistance, newspaper advertisement and Bear Facts. We have a budget of $1.3 million. We can support about 33 internships a year at $40,000 an internship. We also have summer student employment for returning students.

To date, this fiscal year, we have hired 197 students with 17 more job offers in the queue. Last year we supported 308 students. We expect to support around the same number again. I have had conversations with my ministerial colleagues, encouraging them to have their departments hire as many students as we can reasonably.

Through the Department of Health and Social Services and Maximizing Northern Employment, we have the Graduate Placement Program for nurses and social workers, and through Education, Culture and Employment, graduate placement for teachers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister for those answers. What priorities are given to those NWT students returning for employment in the Northwest Territories and the GNWT?

Mr. Speaker, for the Internship Program, the northern students are given priority as outlined in the Affirmative Action Policy, because the internship programs are just for returning students so it is offered to them only. Summer Student Employment, the program is in place to help summer students get jobs for the summer months. Once again, the Affirmative Action Policy applies. For graduate placement for nurses and social workers as well as teachers, once again affirmative action applies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what is the GNWT doing to link these students that are starting out in their first or second year and they talk about what they want to be, whether they want to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, businesspeople? What are they doing linking those students in the potential employment that we know that aging population is affecting the GNWT as well as many industries? What are we doing to link those students as early as possible to those positions in the NWT?

Mr. Speaker, for things like nurses and social workers and teachers, it is a little easier because we have programs designed specifically for those. We do know the students that are in the northern program here in Yellowknife for social work and for nursing, for education as well. That one is a little easier to link to.

For students in the South who are interested in coming to the North to work in a variety of professions – the Member mentioned things like a lawyer or these other trades – it is a little bit more difficult. Through Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, we do have some limitations in our ability to go through Education, Culture and Employment and directly link to those students. It is a challenge. It is something we are in discussions with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, finding a way so that we can direct contact those students based on the area of profession that they are interested in, but we are not, and more work is required on that.

For the Summer Student Program for the students who are going to be going back to school, we do have a Related Experience Program, so those individuals who have identified what profession they are pursuing, we can bring them in as casuals in areas where they need to or if they are interested in working in the future, and by that way we do develop a relationship with those students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, along the lines, we talked about decentralizing and devolution. Obviously, this is an important factor for students coming in as well. How does the human resource development work to develop not only the big city of Yellowknife – you mentioned Yellowknife, obviously

– but throughout the regions and throughout the smaller communities?

The Member, in his opening statement, made reference to the training program that he went through, and the government used to have a number of training programs from entry-level and officer-level positions. We don’t have that per se today, but it is one of the things we’re looking at through the Regional Recruitment Plan. The Regional Recruitment Plan will be put in front of committee in short order here. One of the things that we’re talking about in that particular plan is on-the-job training programs that will help individuals obtain employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

---Interjection

Okay. I was going to give you a fifth one but, Mr. Bouchard, I’m sorry. My fault. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The decision on medical travel is a clinical decision, so it would be a physician. It could be a doctor; it could be a nurse practitioner or possibly even a registered nurse, when the person is in recovery and going back home. Thank you.

How does the Health Minister justify not paying for meals and accommodations when a patient has to come to Yellowknife for medical reasons? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that it’s an issue in the medical travel. Right now the budget for individuals to come and travel to a community is very, very minimal, and we are

examining that and recognizing the fact that the amount of money allocated on a daily basis, the per diem for meals, is insufficient to cover the amount needed to be able to eat three meals when you’re on travel. Thank you.