YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly

4th SessionDay 3615th Assembly

HANSARD

Friday, February 24, 2006

Pages 1329 - 1368

The Honourable Paul Delorey, Speaker

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Speaker

Hon. Paul Delorey

(Hay River North)

Hon. Brendan Bell

(Yellowknife South)

Minister of Justice

Minister of Industry, Tourism

and Investment

Mr. Bill Braden

(Great Slave)

Hon. Charles Dent

(Frame Lake)

Government House Leader

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment

Minister responsible for the

Status of Women

Minister responsible for the

Workers' Compensation Board

Mrs. Jane Groenewegen

(Hay River South)

Hon. Joe Handley

(Weledeh)

Premier

Minister of the Executive

Minister of Aboriginal Affairs

Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs

Minister responsible for the

Intergovernmental Forum

Mr. Robert Hawkins

(Yellowknife Centre)

Hon. David Krutko

(Mackenzie-Delta)

Minister responsible for the

NWT Housing Corporation

Minister responsible for the

NWT Power Corporation

Mr. Jackson Lafferty

(Monfwi)

Ms. Sandy Lee

(Range Lake)

Hon. Michael McLeod

(Deh Cho)

Minister of Transportation

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs

Minister responsible for the

Public Utilities Board

Minister responsible for Youth

Mr. Robert McLeod

(Inuvik Twin Lakes)

Mr. Kevin Menicoche

(Nahendeh)

Hon. J. Michael Miltenberger

(Thebacha)

Minister of Health and Social Services

Minister of Environment and Natural Resources

Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities

Minister responsible for Seniors

Mr. Calvin Pokiak

(Nunakput)

Mr. David Ramsay

(Kam Lake)

Hon. Floyd Roland

(Inuvik Boot Lake)

Deputy Premier

Minister of Finance

Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat

Minister of Public Works and Services

Mr. Robert Villeneuve

(Tu Nedhe)

Mr. Norman Yakeleya

(Sahtu)

Officers

Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

Mr. Tim Mercer

Deputy ClerkClerk of CommitteesAssistant ClerkLaw Clerks

Mr. Doug SchauerteMr. Andrew StewartMr. Darrin OuelletteMr. Glen Boyd

Ms. Kelly Payne

Box 1320

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Tel: (867) 669-2200 Fax: (867) 920-4735 Toll-Free: 1-800-661-0784

http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca

Published under the authority of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRAYER1329

MINISTERS' STATEMENTS1329

81-15(4) - Implementation of New Digital Drivers' Licences1329

82-15(4) - Human Resource Services Amalgamation Update1329

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS1330

Mr. Pokiak on Recognition of the Mangilaluk School Boys Basketball Team's Participation at

Cager Basketball Tournament 1330

Mr. Robert McLeod on Northern Leadership Must be United on Resource Revenue Sharing Issues1330

Mr. Menicoche on Appreciation for Dedicated Health Care Staff in the NWT1331

Mr. Braden on Progress on NWT Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities1331

Hon. Michael McLeod on Recognition of Laurie-Anne Fabien, Page at the Legislative Assembly1331

Mr. Villeneuve on Funding Levels for Community Justice Committees1332

Mr. Hawkins on Recommendations of the Final Report on the Liquor Act Review1332

Mr. Lafferty on Elders' Senior Facility in Behchoko1333

Mrs. Groenewegen on Maximizing the Benefits of Northern Strategy Funding for Communities1333

Mr. Ramsay on the Perpetual Planning Department of Health and Social Services1334

Mr. Yakeleya on Addictions and Mental Wellness Needs in the NWT1334

Ms. Lee on WCB Assessment Rates and Franchises in the NWT1334

RECOGNITION OF VISITORS IN THE GALLERY1335

ORAL QUESTIONS1335

WRITTEN QUESTIONS1345

REPORTS OF STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES1346

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON THE REVIEW OF BILLS1366

TABLING OF DOCUMENTS1348

CONSIDERATION IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF BILLS AND OTHER MATTERS1348

REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE1366

ORDERS OF THE DAY1366

ii

YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Friday, February 24, 2006

Members Present

Honourable Brendan Bell, Mr. Braden, Honourable Paul Delorey, Honourable Charles Dent, Mrs. Groenewegen, Mr. Hawkins, Honourable David Krutko, Mr. Lafferty, Ms. Lee, Honourable Michael McLeod, Mr. McLeod, Mr. Menicoche, Honourable Michael Miltenberger, Mr. Pokiak, Mr. Ramsay, Honourable Floyd Roland, Mr. Villeneuve, Mr. Yakeleya

February 24, 2006NORTHWEST TERRITORIES HANSARDPage 1351

ITEM 1: PRAYER

---Prayer

SPEAKER (Hon. Paul Delorey): Good morning, colleagues. Welcome back to the House. Orders of the day. Ministers statements. The honourable Minister for Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

ITEM 2: MINISTERS STATEMENTSMinisters Statement 81-15(4): Implementation Of New Digital Drivers' Licences

HON. MICHAEL MCLEOD: Mr. Speaker, since the events of September 11, 2001, the Department of Transportation and all North American jurisdictions have participated with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to development new national standards with respect to drivers' licences and identification cards.

Mr. Speaker, the current NWT drivers licence was developed 15 years ago and does not meet the current standards for document security. I am pleased to advise that the Department of Transportation will be introducing a new secure digital drivers licence this year. We are working with Canadian Bank Note, a world-renowned company, to develop an NWT digital drivers licence. This licence will be fully compliant with the new national standards and will feature the latest advancements in security measures.

We are developing a plan to introduce this licence in a seamless and effective manner. It is our intent to ensure everyone needing a licence is given the opportunity to obtain one, even prior to the expiry of old licences. The routine of obtaining a new licence will change in that a temporary licence will be issued and then the new one will be sent in the mail. Written reminders of licence renewal dates will also be sent to drivers in the mail, in advance of licence expiry. We will be visiting every issuing agency to ensure the proper training and equipment is made available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Ministers statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Financial Management Board, Mr. Roland.

Ministers Statement 82-15(4): Human Resource Services Amalgamation Update

HON. FLOYD ROLAND: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide an update on the amalgamation of human resource services.

The decision to amalgamate human resource services into regional service centres was made in August 2004. The actual implementation commenced in May 2005 and continues today as office relocations, recruitment and training proceed. We anticipate that it will be at least another year before implementation activities are completed and we have the staff, organization, business processes and systems operating at the level of efficiency and effectiveness we need. This time frame for full transition was anticipated and is much more ambitious than what other jurisdictions have indicated as their experience with the establishment of service centres.

The amalgamation of human resource services has resulted in the creation of seven full service centres in all regions. Service centres are located in Inuvik. Norman Wells, Behchoko, Fort Simpson, Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith. These service centres are supported by two corporate units, employee relations and corporate human resources. Services that were provided to employees from Yellowknife are now available from the regional service centres in each region.

There were many reasons why we amalgamated human resource functions:

1. to improve consistency and fairness of staffing processes;

2. to improve the quality of service being provided to existing staff;

3. to improve our human resource planning and recruitment and retention strategies in light of national and international labour shortages;

4. to increase our efforts in achieving a representative public service; and

5. to improve our ability to effectively respond to rapid changes driven by globalization, resource development, self-government and technological change.

We knew at the outset that addressing these issues would not be easy and we expected that the change process would be difficult and it would take time to achieve the efficient and effective level of service employees and the public expect.

Staff have worked very hard and faced many challenges and after nine months in operation, we believe we are starting to see progress in the quality and consistency of the human resource services we are providing in following government-wide policies and procedures. Human resources staff are collaborating with managers to meet each departments organizational need while maintai