Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since the 13th Legislative Assembly was elected in the fall of last year, the government and standing committees of the Legislative Assembly have spent many long days reviewing department multi-year business plans to determine the best and fairest means of dealing with our fiscal problem.

We have reviewed all the government programs and operations to identify ways we can utilize our resources more effectively, reduce expenditures and find innovative ways to live within our means. The conclusions that have been reached are that changes are necessary in almost every aspect of government operations. As a result, the services presently provided by this government will be impacted, capital spending will be reduced, and the manner that we do business will be dramatically altered. These changes will necessarily involve reductions in the size of the public service and in its cost.

Although the business plan review process is not yet complete, to date the process has yielded a number of areas of agreement between government and the standing committees on how the government can be restructured and downsized to reduce expenditures.

This process has also allowed the government to largely determine where positions will need to be eliminated for the 1996-97 fiscal year and to proceed with the implementation of these reductions.

All Members of the House recognize that the budget reduction exercise currently undertaken by this government has caused a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety amongst our employees and their families. It has been our intention since the outset of this process to ensure that the decisions on expenditure reduction and job elimination be taken in a fair, consistent and rational manner.

As importantly, we have tried to implement these changes in a manner that would minimize job loss by eliminating positions through attrition and redeploying many of the staff affected. To a large extent, we have been successful in reducing the number of lay-offs that will be necessary.

Mr. Speaker, this process will result in some lay-offs. Employees affected by these lay-offs will be dealt with fairly. They will be provided with priority on government job competitions during the period that they are on lay-off notice. Employees that are not re-employed may choose from a range of assistance such as an enhanced severance pay package or education assistance for one year.

Mr. Speaker, the number of positions that have been eliminated in departments totals 295. From this number, the total lay-offs required are 150; 49 of these lay-offs were implemented earlier this year and we are in the process of implementing the remaining 101 lay-offs.

The reductions in positions are reasonably balanced across the Territory when compared to total government employment in each area. Headquarters reductions are slightly higher than other areas as emphasis has been placed on minimizing the impact of downsizing on front-line staff and direct services to clients.

The 295 positions that have been eliminated constitute the majority of position reductions required in 1996-97.

There will, however, be some additional reductions over the year as some of the departmental consolidations and other strategic direction initiatives of this government are implemented.

There may also be some staff adjustments made by boards funded by this government to deal with reduced funding. The impact of these actions will become clear within the next several months. In all cases, Mr. Speaker, it remains our intention to implement these reductions in a manner that minimizes job loss and ensures that the staff affected are treated fairly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause