Mr. Speaker, I was going to talk about something different today, but after hearing the lead Minister responsible for the Refocusing Government Strategic Initiative Committee, I thought I would talk about his statement instead. I’m happy to see the government is moving forward with refocusing government. I’m happy to hear that the government is planning on conducting program reviews. I’m happy to hear that the government is planning to change the GNWT’s approach to infrastructure. I’m also happy they’re going to be improving human resource management, improving service delivery and managing...

I think it’s less important that it’s activated. I think it’s more interesting that you’ve taken the steps to move beyond the budget process and begin implementing things that haven’t been approved by this House. Just a comment, but I think it might have been a bit premature and approaching the inappropriate.

I just want to follow up on that question, Mr. Chair. Seven total were proposed; five were accepted? Does that mean two of them were from the regions and they weren’t accepted, or does that mean that seven additional ones were proposed and not accepted?

Mr. Chair, in listening to the Minister's statement, I see that he's indicated that there's been a decrease in four positions, which is technically true, but there were actually five positions eliminated as part of the reduction exercise, all in Yellowknife, and then there was one position created in Fort Smith. So, technically, five positions have been eliminated as part of this reduction exercise.

I'm not as upset or as disturbed by the elimination of these five positions, as they were all vacant. I'm more concerned on a territorial level about eliminating positions where there are actually...

I was wondering if I can get from the Minister some sort of commitment as to when something might actually happen with these houses. The longer they sit vacant, the more they cost us. At a time of fiscal restraint it seems like a bit of a poor use of our public funds. Can I get some commitment or a timeline on when we might see those assets disposed of in some way?

My questions today are to the Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation and relate specifically to the houses that were constructed in Fort Res that now sit vacant. It’s my understanding that at least three of these homes were built by the Housing Corp. through the home ownership program and that, once constructed, there were no eligible candidates to actually take over those houses. So they’ve been sitting vacant for two years.

My question to the Minister is: what criteria are used in determining which community these homes are built in, in anticipation that they will be purchased...

In a time of fiscal restraint it's important that the government is responsible with the money and that every dollar spent is spent well and for maximum benefit. I'd like to talk to you right now about an example of where I found government funds are not necessarily being spent in the most logical or responsible way.

On April 28 I was in Fort Res with the Standing Committee on Social Programs doing some public hearings. Prior to our public hearing we went on a tour of the community. As we were walking down the street from the band office to the school, we passed three really nice, brand-new...

I’m actually slightly changing tacks here if that’s all right. I’m looking at your budget. For your compensation and benefits in this section it’s about $2.3 million. There’s been no position change in this area at all, yet when I look at vacant positions under HR Strategy and Policy, I see a business systems analyst that has been vacant for seven months, the manager of human resource information systems which has been vacant for two years and a policy officer which has been vacant for a year. In light of the reductions and finding ways to avoid laying off staff, were any of these three...

The TSC upgrade is included in this budget line — the contract services?

So the increase is mostly around the TSC chargeback area. It wasn’t growth –– was it –– that increased this area back up to $302,000? You found it from within.