(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When people become mentally ill, the regional director has the authority to commit them to a mental hospital without delay. Mr. Speaker, the regional director also looks after labour relation problems in the region. The regional director has signing authority in a variety of areas, such as special leave and travel. We do not know who will exercise these important functions if the regional director is gone.
We understand that the laying-off of a senior public servant such as our regional director requires that he be paid a lot of money as severance pay. We believe that with the important work which lies ahead in our region on community transfer and community wellness, the people would be better served if the regional director was actively working with the Baffin management team to conclude these initiatives, rather than doing nothing and still collecting his pay.
There are other important functions being performed by our regional director. He has participated actively on committees which make decisions on fishing and shrimp licences. The fishery is very important to our region. He has also been working very closely with the Nunavut Implementation
Commission to advise them on designing a new government for Nunavut. If the regional director is to be removed, Baffin MLAs will be asking questions to find out what plans the government has to make to make sure that these important jobs will continue to be done in our region.
Mr. Speaker, we believe that now, more than ever before, with the changes being made to try to save money, we need strong leadership at the regional level. For all these reasons, we would not like to see the Baffin regional director removed. If the Baffin regional director must be laid off, we suggest that he be given one year's notice, so that he can bring these initiatives to a successful conclusion and can be productively employed rather than getting paid for doing nothing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--- Applause