We are going to be able to have that discussion with the senior management at the department. We’re also dealing with the local authority, and between ourselves and the authority, we recognize that we do fund each of these non-government organizations and this particular organization does receive some funding from the department, but the majority of their funding does come from outside of the government. So I will make sure that the department understands that these guys could use some support when they’re leveraging this kind of funding in the community.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

As a result of the things that I’ve shared here today, and my colleagues have shared here today, I would like to see this government come out with a statement saying that they recognize and appreciate the valued work of NGOs in our territory, and that those NGOs go towards making this territory and the lives of many people better than they would be, and that this government cannot do everything alone, and that we support, encourage and thank those NGOs who do this work for us. Can this government send a message like that out? Thank you.

The government is moving more and more into multi-year funding with the organization. We continuously have discussions with these organizations, trying to develop some wage parity with these organizations. So the government is recognizing that these organizations are valuable and we’re trying to step up to the plate. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, my questions will be directed to the Premier. During the last Assembly, $5 million was allocated over two years specifically to meet crucial needs of small communities. Why is that not continued under this government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the last Assembly we were operating under a very severe fiscal situation and at that time the government of the day foresaw that there was going to be a very severe economic downturn. So when the Assembly started, the government of the day decided that we would cut programs, so that we could take that money that we obtained by cutting programs. I think we had a target of about $132 million and that money, in turn, was used to make funding available to a number of different committees. I think we were about to cut about $65 million in programs and that’s where the $5 million came from to make available to the community and sustainable and rural communities.

This government, the 17th Assembly, decided that

we were not going to cut programs, that we were going to maintain programs, although we had a very tight fiscal situation. We managed our way through the fiscal situation, and I should point out that we have a number of committees and none of the committees have any funding allocated to them to dispense. The committee that you reference is there to provide advice to the government and Cabinet on very unique conditions that small and rural communities face.

The public probably does not understand how spending recommendations made by the Rural and Remote Communities would be handled by the government. Will the Premier describe the process for us?

We have a committee made up of a combination of Cabinet Ministers and MLAs. We have three Cabinet Ministers and five MLAs on the Committee on Sustainability of Rural and Remote Communities. The terms of reference provide that it would provide advice to Cabinet.

The way I would see it is that this committee, we would have to work it so that it can tie into the budget process so that their recommendations can be provided on a timely basis, in time that they could be considered when we do capital planning and our main estimates.

What are the government’s key priorities for improving services and infrastructure in rural and remote communities?

Obviously, we want communities in the rural and small communities to have a similar quality of life to other communities in the Northwest Territories. I’ve always said that one shouldn’t be penalized because of where they live, so we would endeavour to try to work in that regard.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard the Premier when he first began saying the past government was facing a little financial difficulty, like most of the country. In the small communities, not much has changed since then.

When will the communities see more programs being offered, and will this government continue that $5 million in this government?

We would have to work with all Members of this Assembly to try to address that decision. At this point in time, we are just starting our main estimates process, and there are tremendous demands for fiscal resources, and if the Legislative Assembly feels that that’s the direction we should go in, obviously we look at all of these parameters when we do our main estimates.

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

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT is committed to developing a competent public service representative of the population it serves. There are a number of things that we are doing. We do have the Affirmative Action Policy that we apply to all staffing actions. But we’ve also put in things like the Associate Director/Superintendent Program and a few other programs. We also have the Aboriginal Employees Advisory Committee, which has been put together to provide some guidance and direction to myself and Cabinet on how to improve representation of Aboriginal peoples within our public service.

In the Member’s statement, he mentioned how difficult it is, or some of the frustrations that individuals who are going through the competition process have identified. One of the things we are doing to help address that is we put together How to Apply on a Government Job, which is a workshop, and there are some materials for reading as well. It is going to be made available throughout the Northwest Territories. I have shared the brochure with my colleagues.

I have indicated that we will be going out to all the regional centres and hopefully communities, as well, to provide this workshop to help individuals better understand the competition process in the Northwest Territories and what they can do to help strengthen their opportunities or chances of obtaining employment in those communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister is right; people are really frustrated about their chance of trying to get employment. As I detailed, a lot of them get screened out and don’t know why.

Can the Minister undertake a process to review the human resource hiring process to ensure Aboriginal candidates are continually engaged and involved and encouraged if they are not the successful candidate? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that is already being done. That is one of the things that the Aboriginal Employees Advisory Committee is looking at. They are looking at all of the processes that exist out there today and are trying to identify what some of the gaps might be, what some of the things that are occurring that might limit some of these candidates from actually taking the next step.

As I have indicated, we are doing the How to Apply on a Government Job, which we hope will help individuals understand the process better and what things they can do with their resumes and during interviews that will help strengthen their application and their bid for positions within the Government of the Northwest Territories. By way of review, that is one of the things that we are hoping to get advice and recommendations on from the advisory committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister truly understands the situation. I would like to know if this practice is currently being done right now. I have constituents that are screened out. They are hiding the test results from them, not showing them, not encouraging about how to better themselves for the next applications if they continue that.

I would like to know if this current practice that the Minister is talking about is being used by our front-line human resource and the departments that people are applying on. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say yes. It is something that I have made clear to the deputy minister that I would like in the regional centres and Yellowknife, everywhere there is staff in action, for our staff to take that additional step in helping individuals understand why they are screened out. It doesn’t happen in every case, I can’t say that, but I will continue to encourage the deputy and his staff within the department to provide that extra step to help individuals understand why they may have been screened out and what they can do better.

I would encourage all the Members to encourage their residents and their constituents to please take the How to Apply on Government Jobs. It will help people understand some of the intricacies of our process and will hopefully help them make it through to the next step and get the jobs that they are qualified to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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