My question today is directed towards the Minister Responsible for Transportation.

The other day I talked about customer service and whatnot, and brought up an issue about driver’s licences and how they’re not accepted as ID, even though they are official ID when people want to get additional pieces of ID.

New examples have come to me since I made that statement. In one situation, a lady wanted to change her driver’s licence because she got married. She brought in a certified legal copy of her marriage certificate and was told it was not acceptable, that she needed to have her original marriage certificate. So off she went home. She got her official copy, brought it back, put it on the table. They took a photocopy, handed it back and said, “Thank you very much.” That photocopy is not worth the paper it’s printed on. The certified copy was far more legal and acceptable.

I’d like to ask the Minister Responsible for Transportation to commit to looking at their policies and procedures to ensure they aren’t creating redundancies, they aren’t creating extra barriers for people, and they’re streamlined and efficient, thereby saving money and whatnot.

Regardless of where the games are held, whether they are in Yellowknife or some other community in the Northwest Territories, I’d be standing here saying the same thing.

We’re talking about morale. We’re talking about helping the games be successful. My biggest concern is scheduling. They’ve got lots of volunteers, but the difficulty is scheduling the morning and afternoon 4-to-7 shift and 7-to-10 shift. People in the government aren’t stepping forward for those shifts as readily as they may, if they’re unable to get the times out without affecting their credits.

I would, obviously, like you to go back and review your policy and think about the image you’re sending and think about the image other jurisdictions are sending and rethink your position. So once again, can I get the Minister’s commitment to go back and review that policy and change it?

Clearly the Arctic Winter Games aren’t as large as the Olympic Games, but for a

Territory of 44,000-ish people, this is a very significant event. Yellowknife is going to have thousands of people in the community participating in the games. For a population of 19,000, having thousands of additional people is a pretty big deal, and they need volunteers.

You talk about our position. Our position has changed. As I said before, in 1998 we gave the employees the time off. We allowed them to take up to two hours a day, where operational requirements permitted, without penalty to annual or lieu. We are now rigidly applying policies and procedures that do affect staff and do make them question whether they’ll volunteer or not, or when they will be scheduled.

Once again, will the Minister look at reviewing their direction on this and being fair and equitable with employees?

My questions are to the Minister Responsible for Human Resources and are a follow-up to questions I asked on Tuesday with respect to Arctic Winter Games and the volunteers.

Recently, in an effort to secure enough qualified volunteers for the 2010 Olympic Games, B.C. civil servants have been offered half their salary if they sign up to help out. The government felt that these are the kinds of programs large employers should be doing to create a positive work environment and good employee morale.

When morale is already challenged in the G.N.W.T., requiring employees to take lieu or annual seems a little shortsighted. The games are valuable. They’re going to add a significant amount of value to Yellowknife, a significant amount of value to the Northwest Territories as a whole.

Given the approach of other jurisdictions and our previous direction in 1998 in the last games, I would like the Minister to commit to reviewing their decision once again and modifying it so these employees don’t have to liquidate annual or lieu for volunteer periods of up to two hours a day.

I’d like to recognize two people: John Argue, a resident of the Great Slave riding; as well as Bill Braden, a resident of the Great Slave riding and a former Member of this House.

July 3, 2008, marks the anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. Four hundred years ago this year, Samuel de Champlain sailed from France, landing three months later at

Pointe de Quebec to establish a permanent settlement on the St. Lawrence River.

The trading post he built there became Quebec City — at one time the capital of New France — a territory that extended from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes, as far north as Hudson’s Bay and as far south as Florida. It was an important staging ground for the development of modern-day Canada and continues to be an entry point for thousands of new Canadians.

Quebec City is celebrating the anniversary with a year of wide-ranging cultural events and festivities, including the nationwide commemorative bells project. The Hon.

Josée Verner, Minister of

Canadian Heritage, invites capital cities across Canada to mark this historic event by ringing the bells and chimes at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 3, 2008. This is the date and time that Champlain is thought to have landed in 1608.

It may seem early, but I encourage this Assembly, as well as other communities across the North, to participate as well. This can be done by raising the Quebec flag and ringing the bells on July 3. It’s never too early to begin planning our participation.

This symbolic Canada-wide activity gives us all a chance to express pride in what our nation has become and what we are capable of achieving in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 2, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 3, 2007-2008, and would like to report that Bill 2 is ready for third reading.

I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

The House resumed.

Noting the clock, I will now rise and report progress.