Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As I have said, the amalgamation created tremendous uncertainty amongst our staff because they were acutely aware, many of them may not have the same job; many of them were acutely aware they may not be able to transfer to a similar job; many of them were aware there was no certainty that they would have a job in the end. We did ask, and I think everybody that was involved made the commitment to work in spite of that outlook. In the end, most of the staff that left took voluntary layoff or were at the end of their terms or retired, so that changeover was not as traumatic as it could have been.

I have taken the approach as a Minister that the staff who are requested by the media to do interviews, provide information. I have instructed that the senior management, the deputy Minister himself and any of his staff can take the liberty of doing media interviews. They are the ones in the front line who are doing the work, who are intimately aware of the issues of interest to the public and that there is some limited liability in doing such a thing.

All of them have done very well in presenting themselves as representatives of this government in dealing with the media, and there has been less coverage for me, more coverage for the individual staff. That has helped morale because I think they feel more ownership and identify more and more with their work. There is, of course, too much work for everyone. We have tried to set out a schedule for the kind of expectation we have had. We have tried to demonstrate that all of us are putting in our time, doing our share and trying to find ways in which to give recognition to the staff who are still out there working away on behalf of the government. We have been trying to do that. There will always be people who by nature work too hard, put too much into their work, people who will suffer from work overload and stress from burning out. The best we can do is provide encouragement and support in trying to alleviate the situation where we can. But it is, in many ways, a difficult time for everyone and on the whole, I would say at least the staff of my department has been performing exceptionally well under the circumstances.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Are there any further questions for Minister Kakfwi? Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Madam Chair. One question, and I think you will be able to answer the rest of them without asking. Since the amalgamation of the Departments of Energy, Mines, Petroleum Resources, Economic Development, Tourism, and Renewable Resources, what is your department doing in respect to addressing as in the Agenda for Change, we speak of improving economic conditions? Can the Minister inform us what the department is doing in respect to looking to the future to trying to create some stability and some conditions where the economy might start to move and take over the loss of a lot of government jobs? That is, in respect to what we have already heard tonight, the questions on diamond mines and so on, but I was thinking more of the regions that are smaller and more remote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. One of the things we have done is initiate with the Department of Finance and Regulatory Reform Initiative, an office has been set up. Mr. Alan Downe has headed up that initiative on our behalf. He has actually now gotten into doing research with the business community and other stakeholders and asking some very specific questions. For instance, what type of environment is the business community working under now, how can we help to improve the environment under which the business communities operate, and what are the specific suggestions they have in that regard? So there are some specific things being done, and the Regulatory Reform will, instead of waiting for a big package to develop. As soon as we are convinced that we can streamline and simplify a sector of the operating environment, we will move to do those. The simple ones, we will do right away. The reforms that require legislative change, those type of things, we will do later.

We have made contact with the oil and gas industry and let them know that we are open for business. We have said that we do not write the rules for oil and gas exploration in the north. We have some suggestions that we have prepared with the support of the oil and gas industry to suggest to the federal government to change so that industry and ourselves can work towards a more business-friendly type of legislative base.

In mining, we have done the same thing. We understand that people want to know what the rules are up front. They do not want to take on a piece of work only to find out later that there are more costs being added on after the fact that they have to negotiate two or three times before they get into business. We have developed an economic framework that would give an opportunity for Members of the Legislature and the public, a fairly clear view, right across the board, of what the state of the north is and the government in terms of what kind of money, programs and support we give to different sectors of the economy. For instance, in fisheries, in mining, in handicraft, trapping, lumber business, every sector of the economy; we have developed a framework so that people know where we are spending money and where we are not, how many programs we have in each sector. It gives a basis for asking us questions. Why are we putting so much money in one sector and not the other?

We have done that. We are also at a state now where the NWT Development Corporation, which is the main vehicle we have for actually initiating economic initiatives in level two and level three communities. It has been brought to a state where it can. It is stabilized. All the subsidiaries that it has have been basically taken control of financially. They are not losing money to the extent they were when this government was elected. So, as a Minister now, I am in the position to, with some credibility, suggest that we put more money into the development corporation so that they can work with our communities, receive suggestions from the communities on initiatives where they could invest some money to create jobs. We will continue to put more and more effort into actually going to community by community on request to sit down with these communities, to look at the existing activities that are going on in those communities, identify opportunities where we can create businesses and jobs, and let the communities take the lead. But as a department, offer to work in partnership in support of them to take better advantage of their existing activities and existing opportunities to create jobs, to create businesses.

This is where I think we are at in our efforts to try to enhance the economic conditions here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This will be my final question. As we had heard earlier on the concern of after the amalgamation, the workload of those employees that were remaining, many of those long-time employees have had to take on new responsibilities. Has the department done any training with those in the communities and regions to take on their new responsibilities and to effectively, I guess, carry out their jobs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe that all the staff whom we have in the positions that they occupy have the capability of doing their work. We know that, in many cases, we have added increased responsibilities to them, and we are asking the superintendents and the senior managers to ensure that the support is there for these

employees to carry out their duties, that the public is not being given an inferior level of service, that people are not going to be punished for being in a job where they are not adequately trained or adequately supported. I cannot be specific beyond that, but I do know that is the attitude we have taken. There is a need, for instance, I know in many regions to just simply accept that they cannot do all of the work. In some of the regions, for instance, we are missing two, three, four critical positions simply because we are not able to attract staff or to find suitable people to fill those positions. So, as I say, that is the approach we have taken to date. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. I will continue on with Mr. Roland in a minute. But just before I do that, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the MLA for the Mackenzie Delta, Mr. David Krutko, I would like to recognize the students from the Chief Julius School in Fort McPherson, who are here with us in the gallery and also Annie Smith, Susan Peterson, and Louisa Kay who are accompanying them. Welcome to the House. I have Mr. Roland.

No, Madam Chair, I am done. Thank you.

Sorry, Was that your last question? Are there any further questions for Mr. Kakfwi? Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In doing our Deficit Reduction Programs, the Arctic Tourism Association was cut back substantially in their funding, but in the summertime when the association met at their annual meeting, they made a request of the Minister to restore their funding back to their historical level. Considering the importance of tourism, and this association, I should explain, the NWT Arctic Tourism Association represents the western Arctic, considering the importance of tourism to the many people who are employed in this industry and the business owners in the tourism industry, I wonder if the Minister could tell us if he will readdress the question, if he can look at restoring the funding to the association that it was traditionally. That amount, I believe, was $352,000.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the directions that we have set for the tourism organizations is they have members, and we want a demonstration that the members of that organization should take ownership of it. The best way to demonstrate it, which is done in other parts of the country, is by asking that each member pay a fee, that there be a collection of fees from each member. That would ensure, I guess, that there is more ownership of this organization, that it truly becomes an organization that reflects the tourism industry here in the Northwest Territories and that they have then an obligation to work together to come up with some viable plans which this government can then support. Once those two things happen then, as a Minister, I would be more than happy to revisit the issue of the level of financial support that this government gives to an organization like that. That was the understanding that we had the last time I met with them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like the Minister to clarify. I did understand him to say that if the membership were to demonstrate its commitment to the organization by a membership fee, I take it, but I thought he said there were two conditions that he would, after the two conditions were met, look at revisiting and re-examining, restoring the association to its former level. Could the Minister explain again the second condition?

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I was suggesting that once the membership fee would be a significant source of revenue for the organization itself. It would also create a sense of ownership, real ownership, by the Members. It is my view that once that happens, then there will be a commitment to work together, perhaps more so than in the past, resulting in some sort of a plan that they could present to myself and to the government saying, as representatives of the tourism industry, here is what we need to get done to enhance the tourism industry in the Northwest Territories, and here is what we ask of you as a government. Whether it is assistance in marketing, in providing technical, professional advice, in dollar terms, whatever that is, all I am saying is once they have come up with some viable plan on how we can promote the tourism industry, which is the primary purpose of that association. Then we have business to do and the amount of money that we would be making available, if it was required, would be in terms of whatever it is that is required for their plan. We would not be restoring the level of funding, if there is no plan. There has to be some plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department experienced some staff changes and losses. Throughout the summer there was an effort to restore and fill those vacancies. Could the Minister update us as to how many vacancies are there today?