Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Have these types of secondments happened with other businesses or is this a unique case within his department? Thank you.

Other secondments have taken place in the past. I understood our colleague, Mr. Koe, for example, when he was with the Department of Economic Development, was seconded. I think other people have been seconded to the Metis Development Corporation and to other groups. I don't know whether common practice is the appropriate term, but secondments certainly happen. Right now, Nunavut Tunngavik has asked for some secondment positions with respect to the land claim and to support the need for implementing their land claim agreement. A precedent has been established.

I can realize that secondments with the Nunavut Tunngavik and that type of thing are municipal corporations and generally the public interest groups have been done in the past but, specifically, my question is relating to private businesses, if there have been secondments of government employees specifically to private businesses in the past. Thank you.

I think this is a unique situation that came about a number of years ago. I don't believe there are other secondments.

With regard to the concern with the secondment with this development corporation, the Minister knows that the Standing Committee on Finance raised that during our review in January. Subsequently, we received correspondence from the Minister explaining the situation. Our concern is that it is government policy now that any secondment for government employees to corporations is that the corporation pick up the total cost of this individual, for salary, benefits and everything, but this is only one case that is presently going on. I know that it is a position of one person that has been paid for here by the government for this development corporation. What exactly does this person do for the Development Corporation?

He administers all their financial programs and is currently training a replacement. He was instrumental in putting together some of their joint venture proposals. He is a jack of all trades, I suppose, in terms of the responsibility of the development corporations, but mostly his strengths are in the fiscal financial side. Over the last number of years, he has been a key individual in the acceleration of the assets of the development corporations in the region. We would like to see that secondment carried on so we can

complete the training of his replacement and to provide security to the banks in terms of the financing of some of their investments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Why would the Development Corporation allow themselves to become so dependent on one person, when it was always intended to be just a temporary arrangement? I understand that this started back in 1989, 1990, perhaps quite a few years ago. Every year, the government has been funding this position. I have no problem with it except for the fact that, if it happens to one corporation because of fairness and equity, it should happen to other corporations, as well. I know there are different groups out there that certainly would welcome an additional $100,000 from the government in the form of a secondment to help their businesses. In the west, we have some band councils that require a lot of help. This type of secondment would certainly help them along the way to development. Just to allow it for one group, I don't see that as fair.

I would like to ask the department, why has the corporation become so dependent on this one person? Are there other staff in the Development Corporation who could do this kind of work? I'm curious to find out these things. Thank you.

I was requested by the Development Corporation to seek an extension to this secondment. I agreed to do it on the basis of the arguments they presented to me. I said right from the beginning that this is unique. Perhaps some people see it as unfair in terms of equity, but it was what was requested from the Development Corporation, based on the arguments they presented to me.

We provide a great deal of other financial support to other organizations that are not directly related to secondment. That's about all I can say about it. In terms of the dependency on him, I'm not in a position to answer that. You would have to ask them directly. My understanding is, they finally found someone with the fiscal skills they think they need. They are training that person at this time and they are optimistic that person will be able to take over within a year. I certainly hope so. Thank you.

Just a final question. The justification for continuing the secondment provided by the Minister in his correspondence and today is that the corporation could not afford to bear the costs of an administrator. I guess this is the person's position. Why is this the case after five years? Thank you.

I'm told that they are rich in their assets, there are certain opportunities that came to them and they've had significant fiscal growth. In their cash flow projections, it will be another two years before they can afford to invest in that. Five or ten years down the road, most of these investments were made by Inuit people for their children and they were structured accordingly. That's what I was told. It is just a cash flow problem, basically, based on the assets they have. Thank you.

Further to the justification that the Minister provided regarding the secondment, it says that the Keewatin Development Corporation needs to grow to a size of $50 million in real estate for prerequisite to realize their necessary fees of $250,000, which is five per cent of the $50 million. I would like to ask the Minister how that amount was determined?

How was the amount determined?