Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be reading the portion of the report which deals with human resource management. This is one of the areas in which the committee's concerns were the greatest. In particular, Members were absolutely dismayed at the poor job the department has done with respect to the hiring of aboriginal people and promoting health careers for aboriginal people. The department simply cannot continue to stand back and wait for the education system to turn out doctors or nurses who are Dene, Inuit or Metis. They cannot continue to sit back and wait.

This is a point which was made by my honourable colleague for Nahendeh when he appeared before the standing committee. His presentation had a significant impact on the way Members look at this issue. The department should be targeting people in the communities and helping them realize career goals in the health profession and in health administration. That is something which Mr. Whitford stressed repeatedly along with other Members. This has to be planned within a reasonable workable strategy. Presently, headquarters has only about 11 per cent aboriginal representation. That is unacceptable. The health and hospital boards are doing a little better, about 40 per cent on the average but it is not good enough. Later I will be making a number of motions in this area. It is something which the Department of Health is going to have to address.

The committee was also concerned about certain personnel management procedures and especially about the need to ensure adequate cross-cultural awareness. We will be making motions in that area as well.

There were a couple of areas in which the committee was not prepared to support the Auditor General's recommendations. First, the Auditor General's recommendation that the department should develop performance standards for doctors. The standing committee is of the opinion that this should not be attempted until a college of physicians and surgeons is established for the Northwest Territories.

Secondly, the Auditor General recommended that the recruitment function of the department's human resource management division should be eliminated. The standing committee heard strong presentations from some of the regional boards, and especially from the Kitikmeot regional health board, that this would not be a good idea. Accordingly, the standing committee is not recommending any change in this area. Mr. Speaker, if there are no general comments, I would like to make a motion.