Jane Groenewegen

The Member is indicating that we will proceed with the opening comments for the Department of Public Works and Services. Is the committee agreed?

I call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Chair, the members of the standing committees went to some great lengths to go over the business plans and put their ideas out there on the table. If the Minister doesn’t support the remand, that is quite another thing. Then he needs to say that he doesn’t support the remand expenditure because he can’t say that the Members here don’t. We have been pretty clear and concise about that. I am really glad that the Minister brought up the issue of all-day kindergarten because, when I started questioning the Minister in the House about this whole issue of reinstating the remand, he wanted to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to, for the record, indicate that of the 10 casuals that worked at Dene K'onia, these are the lengths of services for the 10: two months; four years and two months; one year and two months; three years and seven months; seven years and two months; seven years and six months; four months; three years eleven months; four years eleven months; and five months.

That is the length of service for the casual employees at Dene K'onia. I think the record indicates here that several of these employees -- at least more than half of them -- that had been there for...

Agreed. Thank you. Does the committee agree that that concludes the review of the main estimates for the 2005-06 fiscal year for the Department of Justice?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What recourse would an employee have if they had been in a term position for a two-year period, the term is going to be renewed but they are ineligible to apply because somebody else is on a priority hire staff retention list? Thank you.

Well, you know, it’s ironic, Mr. Chairman. We’re going to need more than four RCMP just to keep escorting these people back and forth. We’re going to be taking RCMP out of circulation to do this. So it’s kind of a catch-22 situation. Mr. Chairman, ever since the business plans came forward and the main estimates came forward and standing committees made their recommendations, even since then there has been initiatives discussed with us, I don’t want to get into the detail of them, that indicate new investments on the part of this government for expanding government, for adding positions for...

Thank you for that characterization of that being one small part in one small place. That one small part and that one small change is costing my community 5.5 indeterminate positions and probably nine casual positions in the process. If the Minister thinks that is a small impact on a small community, well, then I guess I have my work cut out for me here to talk about this, because that is a huge impact. It may be a small change in the overall operations of Justice and part of this government, but it is a huge impact on the community of Hay River.

Mr. Chair, I am just going to talk for a few...

Agreed. Thank you. Page 6-12, infrastructure acquisition plan, services to the public, tangible capital assets, total tangible capital assets, $93,000, total activity, $93,000, total department, $1.780 million.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of the people that we had indicated would be losing their jobs in Hay River, I had indicated 12 full-time positions at the Dene K’onia and the 10 casual positions. The Minister indicated that we wouldn’t count the casuals into the job losses. However, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to indicate that of the 10 casuals, at least six have worked at that facility for more than three years, four years, three years, seven, and seven. Quite a number of them have been there for a long time. This is their sole source of income. I think it is really a sad statement on the part...