Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 30/99) - The bill to consolidate two separate kinds of pensions for former MLAs appears dead.

The bill would combine regular and supplementary pensions for those who retired before the legislature eliminated the supplementary pension plan about three years ago.

The bill would have seen pension recipients have a choice between one lump sum payment and instalments for 64 months.

Since all recipients were not in favour of the lump- sum payment, opting instead for regular payments, the point of the bill was lost.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations was reviewing the bill, but chair Roy Erasmus told the house July 27, "we recommend that the bill not proceed."

Recruitment and retention

Several members of the house repeatedly questioned Minister of Health and Social Services, Floyd Roland, this week on what he is doing to help the recruitment and retention of nurses.

Roland stressed his department would stay within the $3 million over two years budgeted for recruitment and retention.

Some initiatives he mentioned included allowing nurses and social workers coming out of nursing programs to do their practicum in the smaller communities.

He also mentioned a Northern development program to encourage high school students to take up the profession.

"We have been losing our professional people to other jurisdictions," Roland said.

"Although the program we have started will have promising results, I believe it will take a little bit of time," Roland said.

Negotiated contract abuse

Mackenzie Delta MLA David Krutko pummelled public works minister Vince Steen with questions about negotiated contracts coming out of the Inuvik region.

Architectural contracts under $25,000 are not required to be tendered but can be sole sourced and not go through a public tendering process.

"I believe that that is being abused at the Inuvik regional office and that your department should look at it," Krutko said.