Jane Groenewegen

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...

Agreed. Thank you. Page 6-10, infrastructure acquisition plan, community justice and corrections, tangible capital assets, total tangible capital assets, $90,000, total activity, $90,000.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My point is it is only possible because of the investment that was made in the North Slave Correctional Centre. What was the investment in the North Slave Correctional Centre, one more time, for the record, Mr. Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is exactly what I said and that’s what I thought. Mr. Chairman, being a government, then any department carries that kind of a vacancy that would lead me to believe there is a little bit of manoeuvrability within the Justice budget. In fact, the 49 vacancies would, even if some of them are in the process of being staffed, if you go with the industry standard for vacancy, there is still lots of room in the Justice budget to accommodate the $267,000 for the remand centre in Hay River so that we could keep that operational until such time as we have a chance to look...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given that the first year was the hard year, and that was the year that Hay River got hit so desperately, and now it looks like the future is a little better; wouldn’t it be prudent as a government, to go back and revisit some of those reductions to try to mitigate some of that harm that has been brought to my community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Total activity $1.542 million.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just as a side note then, I just want to make a comment here and I hope the UNW is listening. I hope that they're taking note of how this department treats casuals and term employees, because I think certainly they could not operate their facilities without casual employees and I think it's a rather abysmal oversight for the Minister to not even be aware whether or not they have been consulted about changes that are coming in such a short time, in three weeks from now, and can't speak to that definitively.

Mr. Chairman, can I just move on to the issue of the assertion...

Well, for the sake of this argument, Mr. Chairman, let’s just say it’s $60,000 that’s the average for the vacant positions, times 50 vacant positions system-wide right now that’s about $3 million a year. So would the Minister concur that his department is being funded an extra $3 million right now for positions for which there are no people? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, 70 reductions planned. I have recited in this House numerous times and I don’t need to do it again today. Prior to the reinstatement of the court registry, Hay River was scheduled for 43.5 positions reduced in one community. Out of the 70 government-wide, Hay River was going to have 43.5, until we pulled seven back from the brink. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Finance Minister what kind of reasoning, with regard to fairness and not causing hardship in our community, is applied when these kinds of things are considered. Was it something even discussed...

Thank you. Page 6-8, infrastructure acquisition plan, courts, tangible capital assets, total tangible capital assets, $1.542 million, total activity, $1.542 million. Mr. Pokiak.