August 13, 2004 - Government of the Northwest Territories

Keeping Tracks Keeping Tracks
After 32 years
of service with
the GNWT, Philip
Liske, Renewable
Resource Officer
retires. Philip is
a familiar face
having worked
in Fort Simpson,
Inuvik, Fort Smith
and Yellowknife,
and will no doubt,
be missed by
many!
MAA
Welcome to Carolyn Laude, Senior Policy
Advisor, Policy and Communications, Darlene
Romanko, Policy Advisor, Devolution, and
summer student Erin Olevsen-Cleveland,
Admin. Assistant, Devolution. Best wishes to
Ryan Murray who has moved to Tumbler Ridge,
BC. Congratulations to Jamie Fulford, Chief
Negotiator, for passing the NWT Bar on May 28,
2004.
Executive
After four years and 48 issues, Leslie Straker
will be passing on her pen and paper as Editor
of Bear Facts as she’ll be returning to her old
stomping grounds at the Legislative Assembly.
WCB
Welcome to Gregory Kelly, Entitlement
Officer/Adjudicator, Kris Erasmus, Claims
Assistant/Register, Jeffrey Dalley, Corporate
Comptroller, and Patricia Austin, Payroll
Specialist. A fond farewell to Trixie Mercereau,
Heather Ross and Lucy Qavavauq. Best of luck
in your future endeavours!
HSS
A fond farewell to Karen Willy who is going
to the Executive on a transfer assignment,
Jan Ballantyne who is leaving for Ontario and
Giselle Leclarc who is retiring after 28 years in
the Financial Services Division.
Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority,
Fort Simpson
Welcome to Beatrice Antoine and Sharon
Allen, both are Home Support Workers. Another
welcome to Eija Somero, Benefits Officer,
Human Resources Unit, Lorna Assenault, Insured
Services Coordinator, Inuvik Health Services
Administration, and Judy Gillander, Admin.
Assistant, Financial Services Division.
Legislative Assembly
Welcome back to Sue Tkachuk, Executive
Assistant to the Speaker, the Honourable Paul
Delorey.
Grin and Bear It!
Our mystery gal started with the Federal government
back in 1977 and ten years later moved over to the GNWT
to work with the Department of Personnel. You always
know when this gal is around because she’s either laughing
or making others laugh. The first correct fax or e-mail
after 8:30 a.m. on August 13th will win a prize. Send your
guesses to bearfacts@gov.nt.ca or fax to 873-0629.
ECE – North Slave Office
Welcome to Tammy Ouellette, Admin.
Assistant, Teri Giesbrecht, Income Support
Officer, Norma Jeremick’ca, Income Support
Officer, and Elizabeth Kenny, Corporate
Services Officer Intern. A fond farewell to
Dolores Dooley who is on her way back to
Newfoundland, Darlene Romanko, who has
accepted a transfer assignment to Aboriginal
Affairs, Marilyn Pike, and Vita Beaulieu. Best of
luck in your future endeavors!
PW&S
Shauna Yeomans and Coralee Round want
to thank Joy Smith and Kim MacNearney
for filling their shoes in the Human Resource
section over the past year. You’ll be missed!
Welcome to Bianca Cazon, Operations Assistant,
Petroleum Products Division in Fort Simpson.
DOT
A fond farewell to John Bowen who retires
after 34 years with the GNWT. His experience
and knowledge will be sorely missed!
Once the missile crisis of 2004 was cleaned
up, NWTHC staff were finally ready to hit the
links! Thank you to Mel Lafferty and the Golf
Committee for organizing such a successful
event. L to R: Sheldon Grayston, Clarence
Emberly, Paulette Doucet and Dave McPherson
enjoy a missile free game of golf.
NWTHC
Congratulations to Elizabeth-Ann McKay,
Fort Resolution Housing Authority, who
completed the Community Manager’s Program
through the School of Community Government.
Welcome to Andy Tereposky, Manager, Lands,
and Kris Schlagintweit, Manager, Construction
Services. A fond farewell to Billie Arden,
Division Secretary for Operations, who has
moved to Peace River and to Ron Gelinas,
Materials Management Officer, Operations, who
after 22 years of service with the Corporation
has decided to retire to Alberta. You will both
be missed!
Swap Shop listings are free to GNWT employees.
Fax us @ (867) 873-0629 or e-mail us @ bearfacts@gov.nt.ca
Volume 8 • Issue 8
By Intergovernmental Relations
and Strategic Planning
From July 7-9, visiting Premiers from
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British
Columbia, Nunavut, and the Yukon came
to Inuvik for the 2004 Western Premiers’
Conference chaired by NWT Premier
Joe Handley. While the weather didn’t
exactly cooperate, the Premiers and
delegates had a memorable time in the
Northwest Territories.
Premiers and delegates were able to
participate in many unique opportunities
during the conference. They were able
to dip their toes in the Arctic Ocean on
a short visit to Tuktoyaktuk. On the way
back to Inuvik many delegates were
also lucky enough to catch a glimpse
of Beluga whales. Later, the Premiers
were able to fit in a bit of fishing and
Manitoba Premier Doer caught the
largest fish of his life!
The Western Premiers’ Conference
dinner was followed by an enjoyable
night of entertainment provided by the
Gwich’in Nation Dancers, singer Amber
LeMouel and fiddler Lee Mandeville. As
well, local athletes dazzled the crowd
by demonstrating northern games. The
blanket toss was a particular hit with
most of the Premiers, many of whom
took a turn on the blanket.
Most importantly, the Western
Premiers’ Conference resulted in great
progress on business matters. Premier
Handley was successful in securing the
visiting Premiers’ support for northern
priorities such as devolution, resource
revenue sharing and adequate health
A NEWSLETTER FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
August 2004
It’s Official; the 2004 Western Premiers’
Conference in Inuvik was a Success!
care funding for remote communities
and Aboriginal Canadians. The Premier
was especially pleased that all Western
Premiers signed a letter to the Prime
Minister urging Mr. Martin to conclude
resource revenue sharing and devolution
agreements with the Northwest Territories
without delay.
Much of the success of the 2004
Western Premiers’ Conference was a result
of the relaxed and enjoyable environment
in which the Premiers’ found themselves.
This would not have been possible without
the contributions of the town of Inuvik,
our sponsors, and particularly, the many
volunteers who donated countless hours
of their time to help bring this conference
together. The GNWT would like to thank
everyone who helped make the 2004
Western Premiers’ Conference in Inuvik a
success.
Premier Joe Handley catches some air in Inuvik.

Long Deserved Thanks for Long Serving Staff
FAREWELL TO
RWED
OF OUR OWN
Amanda Mallon
The Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is pleased to acknowledge the
dedication and long service of the following individuals:
Congratulations
to Judy McLinton,
Communications
Planning Specialist
and Mary Savas,
Contribution
Officer,
Investment and
Economic Analysis
who received the Deputy Minister’s Recognition
Award from Deputy Minister Peter Vician for their
outstanding work.
Hay River
Our apologies to Hay River’s long service award recipients for publishing last year’s list in our July
issue. Congratulations go out to this year’s recipients.
25 Years
Leardre Beaulieu
Santiago Lau-A
20 Years
Bonnie Crowther
Charles Larocque
William McSwain
John Chartrand
Joe Lockhart
Freda Elief
Kelly Webster
PW&S
Dawn Ruttle
Marion Smith
15 Years
Margaret Jerome
Cindy Wasylyshyn
Lorna Masuzumi
10 Years
Diane St. John
Deloris Shiels
Brian Dawson
Beatrice Thomas
Frank Jr. Fabien
20 Years
Reggie Gabert
Emery Paquin
15 Years
Charles Pitre
Terry Lancaster
Bonita Nowell
10 Years
Dan Westman
Dean Cluff
Albert Bourque
Bob Murphy
Dennis Boyer
Sister Margaret
Beaudette
Larry Munro
5 Years
Lionel Gagnier
Ken Boyer
David Sanguez
Stella Wasylyshyn
Sharon Dragon
Lionel Painchaud
Doreen Simon
5 Years
Judy McLinton
Sonya Saunders
Lloyd Thiessen
Bong Ramirez
Brandi Burbidge
Diane Baldwin
Jeff Hollett
Vivi Lazar
Natasha Ramm
Hendrik Falck
Jackie Bell
Karen Henry
Clara Redvers
Angeline Fabien
Tim Borchuk
Dorothy Buckley
Darren Hataley
Kelly Thompson
Jennifer Tweedie
Ellen Baxter
Carolyn Carroll
Staff at the Department
of Education, Culture and
Communications recently said
good-bye to Amanda Mallon,
Coordinator of the Teacher
Induction and Mentorship
Program with Education
Operations and Development, to
begin her new job as President
of the Northwest Territories
Teachers’ Association. Amanda
had been seconded, for the
past two and a half years, from Yellowknife
Education District No. 1, where she recently
celebrated her 25th year of service.
During her short time with the GNWT,
Amanda made a significant impact on the
northern teaching profession by facilitating
the mentorship of teachers who were new to
the profession and/or new to the Northwest
Territories. During the past three school years,
230 new teachers have been mentored by
teaching professionals in each of their schools.
Mentors, who have the experience of working
in the community school, support newly hired
teachers through their first year of teaching
in the North. This professional partnership,
which often develops into a friendship, focuses
on improving teacher performance and job
satisfaction, with the goal of sustaining the
desire of new teachers to remain teaching in
the North for longer periods of time.
The teacher induction web site
(www.newteachersnwt.ca/), that Amanda
designed, received the Busy Educator Award.
The teacher induction binder, which is a
tremendous resource for teachers who are
new to the North, serves as a reference for
a variety of topics including: tips for the first
day of school, professional advice about
lesson planning, inclusive schooling, classroom
management, working with elders and so
much more!
Recently, the Teacher Induction Program
Team of Amanda Mallon and Muriel Tolley was
awarded the Premier’s Award of Excellence
for their work in recognizing the importance
of supporting new and “new to the North”
professionals who work to develop the
potential in our students. Muriel Tolley will
take on the duties of the Teacher Mentorship
Coordinator for the upcoming school year.
ECE is certainly sorry to see Amanda leave
but wishes her all the best and much success in
her new role as NWTTA president.
Congratulations to Public Works and Service Long Service recipients who were recognized June 18,
2004. (Missing from photo: Fred Collins, Charlie Kudlak, Deana Dickson, Mike Jennings, Bill Kaip, Jim
Kenny, Marc Whitford, and Randy Daniels)
30 Years
Randy Daniels
25 Years
Jim Kenny
Eddie Mantla
Marc Whitford
20 Years
Linda Balkwill
Mike Oram
Wayne Newbitt
Dave Burton
Bev Bourque
Debbie Roy
15 Years
Hendrika Brown
Fred Collins
Deana Dickson
Mike Jennings
Bill Kaip
Charlie Kudlak
Diane Magnusson
Ranald Matheson
Yvette McLellan
Heather Reddy
5 Years
Norm Dei
Coralee Round
The Bear Facts – It’s your newsletter! Questions Comments Suggestions We’d love to hear from you. Send us a fax us @ (867) 873-0629 or drop us a line at bearfacts@gov.nt.ca