Thank you, Mr. Chair. The people who work for the government in the departments across the North are the people we expect to carry out the direction we set out.
It is true in some quarters that morale is not as high as it should be. The government has gone through some traumatic changes. The previous government went through a conflict of interest inquiry where there were allegations of wrongdoing because of issues like the Lahm Ridge Tower. These affect the people who work for us.
Anything that brings an aura that something is not right, or not above board, that there is hesitancy, that there is no consistency and decisiveness, creates morale problems.
I think it is important to keep a very strong line of communication open with our workers through the union negotiations, but also, as Premier and Ministers, we need to make a commitment that we will respect the senior managers who work for us, the deputy ministers. I have always told my staff I do not want them to agree with me because it is the easy way out. Every one of them is expected to present their views and to disagree with me when they think I am wrong, or when they think I am making decisions based on incomplete information.
That has been part of the secret of my success, if I have had any. My staff are always told to be strong, clear and independent in their thinking. At the end, we will come to a decision we all support.
It is important to have staff that can stand up to you, and are not afraid to say, “I disagree with you and here is why”. It is important they have the confidence to do that without fear of losing their jobs. To have staff that can say, “Yes, I know this is your relative and you would like to do something for them, but it is wrong.” Staff that can say that without feeling there will be some retribution later down the road.
That is what we need. Once we get that type of message out to all employees, once we say we need this job done, how much can you realistically accomplish? We need to have their input on things like that. I think that would greatly improve morale. Thank you.