Question.

Mr. Chairman, I apologize, I forgot to read the preamble on page 31 on the staff housing policy. Mr. Chairman, I went straight into the motion. Can I read it?

Mr. Chairman, the committee reviewed the proposed changes to the staff housing policy with the Minister in some depth and made some recommendations at the time to improve implementation. We would like to re-affirm the committee's support for the government getting out of staff housing. As a result of expressing our comments and concerns to the Minister, he has made the program more flexible and acceptable to the affected staff.

The program revision was not well received because of a lack of consultation and information. The Department of Personnel has to recognize that they have a responsibility to treat government employees with consideration. It would be a shame to lose good people due to the mishandling of an otherwise good policy. We have already dealt with the motion, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I will conclude. In light of continuing concerns and questions from the employees about the methods by which the new policy will be implemented, the committee further recommends that the implementation plan for the new staff housing policy be amongst the first orders of business for thorough discussion in committee of the whole. That concludes the presentation from the Standing Committee on Finance. Mahsi.

Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have one question. I made a Member's statement regarding the situation in Cambridge Bay. Our former colleague, Ernie Bernhardt, was not there, however, I questioned the whole hiring practices of the region. Many aboriginal people who work in Cambridge Bay felt they were not being treated fairly with regard to certain practices. The head office was hiring relatives and this sort of thing. It seemed that the people were not being treated fairly. This is the only question I have. Has the situation been resolved? I also realize that Tony Villebrun the person who headed up this whole thing has now been transferred here. Has the issue been resolved?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe there is also an appeal process. Are the aboriginal employees aware of the process with regard to promotions and applying for certain managerial positions or positions of responsibility within this government? My concern would be whether or not we are allowing regional or district managers to get away with the way they do their hiring or hiring practices. I do not want the communities to perceive that we are still hiring people from out of town or who are good friends with the district manager perhaps. I would encourage the Minister to keep a sharp eye with regard to what is happening in the field. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I made most of my general comments within the Standing Committee on Finance. In respect to the UNW coming up for negotiations, I believe it is next year, has the Minister considered taking the portion of his department that does the negotiations and somehow amalgamating it with the Department of Finance to ensure that, whatever negotiated items they are looking at, they will look at the overall financial implications this government has to absorb? Has there been any consideration for that consolidation? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, there is some discussion going on, on this side with my other colleagues. I could not quite hear. Has he indicated that there would be consideration for this to go in conjunction with the Finance department?