This is page numbers 61 - 78 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 units.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is not what I asked, but okay. Today, I would like to say in my riding I have 30-year-old Webber units. You see people taking pictures in their units of snow coming in in the doors and the windows and stuff like that and just outdated. We need new funding to repair those units, to local LHOs. I think that next time she is meeting with the housing Minister, I guess, Mr. Speaker, she needs to bring up local communities that are affected up North. If they are so quick to give money, the federal government, they should be giving us more money to fix our units in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Member, for your comments. I am mindful that there are drastic housing scenarios within your region, and I am committed to going into your region in the summer. I do want to look at these units. However, going forward, there are housing programs that we have to offer to the clients who are living in these conditions. I am willing to work with them going forward and also contacting our local housing authorities, working with our district offices to make sure that they outreach to the clients who are in need of home repair. Thank you, Member, and thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to follow up on the question from the Kam Lake Member. Mr. Speaker, it is troubling that the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment played no role in the recent Aurora College president dismissal and that, in fact, he was not consulted. The Minister admitted publicly. There is a lot of confusion on this side of the House and from the public, and the public wants answers.

Mr. Speaker, this raises concerns regarding the legal propriety of the president's termination. I would like to refer back to the Aurora College Act, which has authority over the hiring and firing of the president exclusively with the Minister responsible for the college and not the Premier, section 19 of the act. Mr. Speaker, the first question I have is: we have so many acts here in the Northwest Territories passed in this House by Members of the Legislative Assembly. One of them happens to be the Aurora College Act. Mr. Speaker, once these acts are passed in the House, doesn't it become law that we follow as the Government of the Northwest Territories?

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to offer to maybe sit with the Member after and look at the interpretation because my interpretation of the Aurora College Act does not say that the Minister is responsible for hiring and firing. My interpretation of the Aurora College Act says that the Minister is responsible for "appointing" a president, different terminology. It does not say "firing," at all, or "terminating."

As I stated earlier, there are many positions. The employment contract of an associate deputy minister or a deputy minister remain with the Premier. There are many departments across that actually will appoint statutory appointments that are not responsible for the employment contract. No Minister that I know of, except for hiring their secretaries or their special advisors, they do not hire employees into the public service. However, once people are hired into the public service, that Minister may appoint people that are in the public service to statutory positions. Again, that Minister is not responsible for the employment contract. The employment contract is under the department's perusal within that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

In my eyes, this is a law that we follow in this House and also out of this House, as government. Section 19.1 of the Aurora College Act: "The Minister shall, in consultation with the board, appoint a president of Aurora College." So, when a former Minister appointed the president, there was no call to the board. Was that legit? But that is another discussion, another topic of the day because we are beyond that. With this act, it clearly states that the Minister responsible shall appoint with consultation for the board. I just want to make the process clear. Why did the Premier overstep her authority by dismissing the president of Aurora College when it is, in fact, the law it is Minister's job, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, to do so?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Again, I think it might be a communications issue. At no time have I broken the law. In fact, we have had more legal opinions on this than not. The Premier is responsible for hiring and terminating associate deputy ministers and deputy ministers. Appointments to positions are not contingent on the Minister having to hire or terminate. There are many statutory positions that the Minister is not responsible for hiring. In fact, very few positions can a Minister hire for. We are blending in two things that should not be blended.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Just going forward with the process itself, if the Premier of the day can overstep the decision of the education Minister, what is stopping her from doing so with other departments, other statutes that are before us? Again, I have to remind this House that we are dealing with the law that we passed in this House with sitting Legislative Assembly Members. This is a very critical issue that we have to be clear for the public. I am still confused with the process because there is a Minister here, and the Premier makes a decision over top of the Minister responsible for Aurora College to deliver those under her act.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Again, I have not broken the law. There is a clear separation between employment contracts and statutory appointments. The Minister did say in this House and publicly, that there were discussions, and there were discussions. The decision of how that came about, the Minister was not part of; that was mine, but there were discussions. Nothing was done in isolation.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. There might have been a discussion, but the decision to overrule the Minister's authority is in question in this House. Section 19.1, "Minister shall, in consultation with the board, appoint the president of Aurora College." Clearly, it lays out, Mr. Speaker, and here, we have a Premier that came down to say, "I don't like this. We are going to change this." There are other statutes, other committees, other organizations, departments that are in a similar boat. Are we going to go to allow the Premier to call the shots at the end of the day to say if she likes it or not? The Ministers are given authority to appoint or dismiss.

Mr. Speaker, I am still confused with the whole process, and I am not happy with what happened, the process itself, if I were given authority to the Ministers, six Ministers, to operate their department according to the act that we have in place. That doesn't seem to be the case. I am kind of worried and concerned in that area. With that, Mr. Speaker, I just want to lay it out because the public needs to know the process itself. Masi.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, discussions were had. This wasn't made on my own. It was a decision that I made. I hire. I terminate. That is done on my authority, but there is consultation that happened within that. I must also point out when people are appointed into positions such as boards, presidents, et cetera, that the Minister doesn't hire for but appoints, the Minister also has a time after that. There is usually a 60-day period that you can actually revoke those board appointments or presidents, et cetera. The termination of an employee or board member, et cetera, does not necessarily mean that you have to wait until they are revoked from their position as a board member. If that was the case, we would have board members throughout the Northwest Territories that would actually be having to get honorariums, paycheques, after their termination. The termination is separate than the appointment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. Currently, the NWT Housing Corporation has $43 million sitting in investment earning 1.5 to 2.5 percent. This is from their audit last year. They show a surplus of $26 million. I am going to ask the Minister, and I know she will say "yes" to this. Will the Minister commit to providing the Soaring Eagles Friendship Centre with financial support to develop a comprehensive proposal to establish a men's shelter in Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Member for your question. The $26 million that is in our Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is actually for the 47 units, RCMP units that we will be constructing this year. We will be putting those out for tender in the next couple of months. Looking at the Soaring Eagles Friendship Centre, I would like to see a business plan going forward and seeing how we can assist them, and what we can do to support them. Thank you, Member. Thank you, Speaker.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Is that a yes?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Member. Please encourage them to submit their business plan, and we will work with them going forward. Thank you, Member.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South. Oral questions. A lot of interest here today. We have four more to go. Member for Kam Lake.

Question 43-19(2): Modernization of the Public Service Act
Oral Questions

February 10th, 2020

Page 68

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During our December sitting, I was pleased when the Minister of Finance affirmed her commitment to the modernization of a Public Service Act. I am wondering if the Minister could please provide us with an update. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Finance.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, one of the most important parts for the Department of Finance in this regard is to ensure the relationship that we have with the unions, the UNW, and the NWT Teachers' Association. That, certainly, has been part and parcel of going forward with those plans to ensure that we are engaged with them, and that they are also aware of any steps that are being taken with respect to the Public Service Act.

In addition to which, this certainly is something that has been worked on extensively in the department over the last couple of months and is continuing through that process. It has already come through to Cabinet, and that is a decision now that Cabinet has an opportunity to look at. I am hopeful that it will continue through the various processes of this House and that the Member will get a more fulsome update in fairly short order but still in due course and keeping in mind the way that things have to make their way through this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

In appreciating the processes that have to happen, can the Minister provide us with an expected timeline of when we might see that?