Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have been told there is a great deal of disgruntlement from laidoff employees about the administration of their termination benefits. Many are still on strength and I have again been told they feel they have difficulty in notifying and are reluctant to notify their MLAs with these particular problems. Some of these layoffs were expected by the affected employees; some were justified under the judgement of performance and some were a total surprise to the employees. However, all are hurting somewhat. When they turn to personnel officers to arrange their respective termination, there are issues of unused vacation time, severance pay and length of notice period in which they are still on strength and finally, pension. There are many combinations and permutations of these benefits which vary depending on many factors such as length of service, age, type of layoff et cetera.

There is no central specialist on these benefit issues. Each department's personnel officer is supposed to know the answers. However, they do not. An officer in one department gives one response and contradictory decision comes from another department. For example, can I use part of my severance to extend my service for some months and get the rest of the severance entitlement paid out as cash? One officer says yes. Another says no. You must choose to take severance as a total payout or totally use it up in extending service.

For public servants who have contributed the prime time of their lives to the NWT and are smarting from the method of a layoff, it is insulting to find that the employer does not even know what the provisions of a layoff are. Do the employees from the departments with more knowledgeable personnel officers get better deals? That is a question, Mr. Speaker. No doubt, the personnel officers, themselves, are exasperated and feel threatened for not having the proper answers for irate employees or giving wrong answers. This is a result of eliminating the Department of Personnel and not retaining the expertise it had in another form, especially with all the pending layoff situations that must have been anticipated. At this vulnerable and confusing point in their lives, the government they have dedicated themselves to is unable to give them the straight information they need to get on with their lives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause