Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two weeks ago I faxed out a survey to GNWT employees requesting their input on how they felt regarding the five mandatory days of leave without pay. This leave was initiated by the government for the past two years as part of our deficit elimination plan, Mr. Speaker.

I was interested in finding the quantity of Christmas purchases done within Yellowknife and also, if these five days provided the option for employees to travel during this time. I also incorporated questions to get the employees' perspective on these mandatory leave days because, Mr. Speaker, we are the elected body, we have the responsibility of finding out how satisfied our employees are with their employer.

Mr. Speaker, I received 157 responses. I would like to sincerely thank all the employees who responded. I hope that every Member will find the results beneficial. Sixty-two percent of the respondents indicated they left Yellowknife over the Christmas season. Seventy-one percent of the government employees purchased locally. Having these days off at Christmas time was not a deciding factor for 88 percent in planning their holidays. It was reassuring to find that 71 percent of respondents did not feel these mandatory days off were detrimental to their workload.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most surprising findings for me, was the result of the question that asked if employees would support continuing the mandatory leave days without pay in future years. Fifty-five percent supported continuing the mandatory leave days, 41 percent did not support it and four percent were unsure. Following up on this, I asked whether employees preferred keeping these days off at Christmas, 30 percent wanted the time off at another time of the year and 65 percent wanted to keep these days off during the Christmas holidays. Seventy-three percent of respondents, Mr. Speaker, were UNW members, 10 percent were Hay Plan employees, and 10 percent were excluded employees and seven percent of them did not indicate their status.

Mr. Speaker, when these results were made available to Members of this House, you will also see the constructive comments and ideas our government employees have to send to their elected representatives. We can all read into these statements what we wish, Mr. Speaker. I hope this government will take heed of what the employees are saying in this response. I would sincerely hope that our employees being the most important asset this government has, will have their views recognized and considered. I encourage our Minister for the Financial Management Board to take a good look at what our employees are saying and feeling. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause