Michael Miltenberger

Thank you. That, of course, is a given. We have a very able group of MLAs that bring forward those opinions and, yes, I will do the rounds. In the first budget dialogue and the feedback sessions we had, for example, we talked about where we should put our focus with the limited funds that are available, and they gave us some good advice that we’ve built into our first budget and our second budget. We’ve received some very helpful advice on this go around, as well, including on the Heritage Fund. So, yes, we will obviously, and clearly, commit. We always take that feedback into consideration...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In our system of government, we do annual budgets and the government puts a budget before the House. In effect, the government proposes and the Legislature disposes.

We started this process, as the Member said, many long months ago to set this budget in place. We’ve talked about what we were putting forward as what in our estimation was the best way to move forward to balance all the demands with expenditures, revenues, projects, infrastructure versus programs and services, all those issues. We have put before this House a document that lays that out, and now we’re...

Thank you. Once again, this is a short question that would require a very complicated answer if we wanted to cover all the issues. But there are positions, the money is used in some cases to help cover off a gap in benefits, there are casual dollars, there are contract dollars, there are staff that may be on transfer assignments. So there’s a range of reasons why some positions may be empty.

The issue, though, is one of concern to the government that we need to find a way to make sure… We have a couple of competing issues here. We have northern graduates that don’t come home and we have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In any given time there are about 800 vacancies. There are about 400 that we’re actively trying to fill. Those numbers are split between Yellowknife and outside of Yellowknife.

Thank you. I think there have been briefings with the Members. We’ve offered all the existing employees in Yellowknife that are in federal positions that are transferring. We’ve had, as the Premier indicated yesterday, nearly 100 percent take-up. So you’re going to be at 150 positions, roughly. I mean, I don’t have the exact number, but all the jobs that are currently in Yellowknife, job offers were made, all of them were accepted and they have a two-year commitment to their positions and stability here in Yellowknife. Thank you.

As we went around the North and travelled to the regional centres, we talked about not only the Heritage Fund but we talked about the vision of the Assembly and of the government with the grid build out to the road completion from Wrigley to Norman Wells, the need to look at things like natural gas expansion, the need to put infrastructure into our communities. The only way we can do that is if we get a bump-up to our borrowing limit, which I would point out we haven’t had finalized yet and we haven’t borrowed a cent yet. We painted that picture for folks for the road ahead on what we need to...

Mr. Speaker, we are doing things like regional recruitment. We are looking at the way we are structured as a college and supporting post-secondary students. We are now doing things, as indicated in this House, like job fairs. We have the initiative that’s going to put market housing in the small communities, which we hope will allow us to staff long needed positions in the smaller communities. There are a lot of things being done not only by us but by industry.

The issue is, are we doing it, as the Member herself said, well enough. Clearly, when we look at our territorial population statistics...

I don’t have that level of HR detail, and I don’t have the ability to ask my colleague from Human Resources to provide the statistics, but we have those numbers available, it’s just that I don’t have them before me here today.

There is some certainty in regards to the Lands department and those kind of organizational changes where there’s going to be a Lands department in each regional centre. Those decisions are there. Some of the other components that may be decentralized, we’re still looking at what makes the most sense and what is available in terms of capacity in communities to absorb potential positions, and that will be happening over the next few months.

The housing piece, the $22 million that is going to small communities, the actual location has yet to be determined, and of course, we’re doing some of the initial planning subject to approval in this House. The office space requirements, we’re looking at some communities where it seemed to be an issue, and as well, some communities may have other housing challenges, like the small communities, so that’s being looked at as well. We do know through our current process that’s now before this House, there are structural changes coming with the new departments. For example, we talked about, in the...