Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to commend the government for its recent work on our response to the NIC report, Footprints in the Snow 2. In our last sitting, I

pressed for assurances that the government reply would contain statements of support for civil servants affected by division. Draft versions of the document were circulated to us shortly before Christmas, and I was glad to see my concerns had been adequately addressed. The final version of the report was released a couple of weeks ago, the statements of support were adopted unchanged. Mr. Speaker, this government is now on record saying all civil servants in the eastern Arctic should be automatically transferred to the Nunavut government upon division, with no changes to the terms and conditions of employment. It has also said the Nunavut government should give hiring priority to qualified headquarters staff who will lose their jobs during the creation of the new territory.

Finally, this government has said it should work with the interim commissioner of Nunavut to create a staff transition plan as well as protocols for dealing with labour relations and personnel issues. These statements are reasonable, fair, and firm. They address the issues that are close to me and many of my constituents. They are consistent with the points I argued during our last sitting. As a side note, I would like to thank the Chairman of the Division Secretariat for sending an e-mail message to all government employees outlining sections of the Footprints 2 response that deal with the civil service. The briefing went out early in the new year, several days before the report was released. Steps like this are important at a time when government workers face uncertainty in job security due to deficit reduction and division. It shows we do not take staff for granted, and will do our best to inform them of developments at the earliest possible opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.