Thank you, Mr. Pollard. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to follow up from Mr. Ng on questions about human resource planning. I think it is fair to say that most people accept that our government has not done a great job in this area over the years. I certainly take my share of the blame for that. There are well-known stories where employees have gone for years, or even their whole career, without ever having had a performance appraisal. I am sure the Minister has heard these stories.

operations of our government? My impression is that there may be less staff in the field as a result of this reorganization.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Chairman, the last question first. There is not less staff in the field than there were before. I think perhaps Mr. Patterson is too hard on himself, there was a lot of good work done by previous governments. When the reorganization came about of the government, we found that Personnel had done a lot of work. It will not slow down now that FMBS is responsible, in fact, it will speed up. We have allocated more resources to human resource planning.

We have been told we have a lack of focus across government. In this area, and in other areas, if you really look at what we are doing, you will find that the Department of Education is very closely involved with FMBS in management training and in a new program we have where we are going to take young people from the Northwest Territories and bring them up through the ranks. You will find that we recognize that if we are going to have the kinds of people who are going to be required when division occurs, particularly in Nunavut, we have to increase the area of education. Mr. Nerysoo is very aware of that. Consequently, we are pouring more resources into Education because we recognize that we have to educate people before we can get them into the government service. These things are all meshed together. Human resources perhaps blends in with the other things in education and training, but it is very important to us. We will continue to put all efforts into hiring and training more northerners and making sure we have a public service that reflects the make-up of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Pollard. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do acknowledge that there has been some good progress made. I would like to specifically turn to the question of planning for Nunavut. I think there is a concern that, while we may have attracted considerable numbers of Dene-Metis into senior management positions, particularly in headquarters, and we have notable successes at the DM, ADM and other senior management levels, for obvious reasons Inuit have not been as successful at the senior management level perhaps because it has been farther away for them to relocate. I am not sure what all the factors would be. I would like to ask Mr. Pollard if the human resource strategy of the FMBS includes planning for the public service needs of Nunavut, particularly, whether we will see more programs like I know are in place in Renewable Resources to earmark positions like deputy minister and establish a training program and a training position as that department is doing with its deputy minister position, as that department is doing, I believe, with some of its superintendent positions. Will there be a strategy with an eye towards Nunavut in this area of the Executive? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, once again, I am going to get to go back to this, that we are not focused and that we are not working together.

Pardon me for harping on this subject, but every chance I get to prove to this committee that we are looking out for these things, planning long-term and collaborating, I think, will give this committee more confidence that we do have a game plan and maybe we are just not explaining it as well as we should.

With regard to Mr. Patterson's question about division, human resources on the Nunavut side is, after all, our responsibility. There is no question about that. Theoretically, and we can be reasonably assured that the employees that are there right now, and, of course, it is going to take some work with unions and the NWTTA about how it occurs, are going to be the employees of the new Nunavut government. It is incumbent upon us as the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and the Government of the Northwest Territories to make sure that those people are trained as well as they can be, because there is no question they are going to get more responsibility. Many of the decisions that are made in Yellowknife now will not be made here any more. They will be made in their own homeland.

Getting back to the coordination, that is why the Premier has established a division review committee, and there is a secretariat that goes along with it. That is one of the issues that committee is looking at. The secretariat will make recommendations to the division review committee, which will make recommendations to Madam Premier who will bring them to Cabinet and say, here are the kinds of problems that we are seeing when division occurs. And on the human resource side in Nunavut, here are the things that we are going to have to fast-track, speed up or pay more attention to. So we are looking at it through that process, Mr. Chairman, and we are aware of the problem. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Patterson.

This is all encouraging, Mr. Chairman, and I do acknowledge that this is the first year of operation of this new creature. I would like to learn more about this plan as it unfolds. Does the Minister see the eventual outcome of the Nunavut planning and the division secretariat being that each department and area of our government -- and I would hope this would also extend to arm's-length agencies or less dependent agencies like the Power Corporation, the Housing Corporation and the Workers' Compensation Board -- would have a plan and a strategy to prepare human resources with an eye to the division of the Northwest Territories in 1999? Would the end point be that each department would have, in effect, a new Nunavut human resources strategy? In addition, of course, to the other training priorities that would be identified, I would just like to ask if there would be kind of a Nunavut human resource plan in departments and in the overall government as a result of this new FMBS? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Chairman, not specifically. I think the plan that we have at the present time addresses all of the Northwest Territories because there are problems in the western Arctic as well. There will be a plan for all of the Northwest Territories but, as I say, we are aware of the fact that there is going to be a bit of a vacuum in Nunavut if we don't do something about that kind of thing now. The division review committee will point out where those problems may occur and pass them on to us. We'll then come back and say how it should be addressed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Pollard. Mr. Patterson.

This is my final supplementary. Does the division review committee happen to include any persons ordinarily resident in Nunavut? Thank you.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Chairman, Nick Carter, one of our regional directors, is on it, but that is the only one I can recall from Nunavut or the eastern Arctic at the present time.

Mr. Patterson is finished. Is there anybody else who would either like to ask a question or make a comment? Mr. Koe.

I move that we report progress.

There is a motion on the floor and it is not debatable. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

I will rise and report progress.

Item 20, report of committee of the whole. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Lewis.

Madam Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 1 and Committee Report 2-12(5). I would like to report progress, with three motions being adopted. Madam Speaker, I move that the report of the committee of the whole be concurred with.

Thank you. Seconder for the motion, the honourable Member for Inuvik. The motion is in order. To the motion.