Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, with regard to audit and evaluation, there has been some work done in that area. There are draft program design standards that have been prepared and they are ready for review by FMBS. There is a discussion paper on the evaluation policy which has been widely circulated. The work is proceeding well on the development of organizational design standards, and an evaluation of the management for results system is nearing completion.

We have also been involved with some projects with departments:

- An evaluation framework for several community mental health projects in the Inuvik region;

- An evaluation framework for the new prime fur program;

- An evaluation framework for the investing in people initiative;

- An evaluation framework for the Cape Dorset community transfer;

- A review of the student financial assistance program and the early childhood pilot project;

- An operational review of the South Slave Divisional Board of Education; and,

- An organizational analysis for the Arctic A airports transfer.

So, Mr. Chairman, we have been doing some things in that area. I have admitted that we haven't done as much as we would have liked to. We think that there are programs out there right now that need to be looked at to see whether are some efficiencies, or to see whether there are still programs that we should be embracing.

With regard to some of the other comments that Mr. Ballantyne made on the fall capital budget and the spring O and M budget, being the person that put that system into place, I tend to defend it. But I am certainly prepared to recommend that it be looked at to see just where there could be improvements made. I don't think there is nearly as much work or as many problems involved in the capital plan as there used to be, simply because with the consultation with the communities that the Premier does, a lot of that priority and jockeying for position is taken out of the system and most of the departments have their people working on these areas anyway. So a lot of the problems have been taken out.

Certainly I see less competition, either in the Standing Committee on Finance or on the floor of this House, for projects because we know in advance what the envelopes are and where projects are in the process. But I will admit that it has not worked as well as I would have liked it to have worked, with regard to getting projects under way sooner. We are getting projects under way sooner, but they are not nearly as quick as I would like them to be.

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Antoine made some comments with regard to negotiating with our unions and so on and so forth. My position on that is very clear, Mr. Chairman. There is a process in place and I have said that I would abide by that process, that I wouldn't try to bring legislation into this House, unless things got really out of hand, or they got really unreasonable. So, if Members are somewhat frustrated by the lack of progress, as they might say, with regards to reaching a collective agreement, I can assure Members that the process that is in place between ourselves and our unions is being used by both sides to the best of their ability. We haven't reached an animosity stage. We are in agreement now to go to arbitration. I didn't want to see it end up that way, I would have preferred to reach a negotiated settlement at the table, but that was, unfortunately, not to be. The union thought that our demands were too great and we thought their demands were too great, so it will go to arbitration and we will see what falls out of it. But we've certainly seen both sides using the negotiating process, the bargaining process, in good faith, but nevertheless to each other's advantage.

So, there will be transitional documents and I will be glad to work with the Standing Committee on Finance and incorporate their concerns as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.