Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were talking about this audit. I believe we are talking about looking at the programs and services, looking at the customers that are affected and seeing if these customers are getting what they should be getting out of the various programs and services.
It is not at all our intention to be on a witch hunt. I do not think that is the intention of the Ordinary Members. No one is trying to criticize either the Minister or the former deputy for how this department was amalgamated. I think it is good practice to routinely take a look at our departments to see if things are working, see if the customers are satisfied and move from there.
As the Premier suggests, we have delivered the goods. It is not like we have not done a lot of good things. I would agree with him. I think it is not a bad practice to take a look at all of our departments, see how they operate, see what they are doing and see where we could make improvements.
Mr. Handley mentioned that by amalgamating these departments, we were able to save $5 million and then $10 million. I think that was a great idea and it certainly seems to have made sense. But I think we should look at how we do business and see if there are other adjustments that could be made to improve things.
I suggested the possible creation of a department of industry. That may be something that will be suggested down the road, or it may not. This is just something I have floated out there for discussion. Other Members have discussed it as well.
As Mr. Handley mentioned, to simply create bureaucracy is not the intention or the goal here. Other departments could possibly be reorganized and the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development could be changed to incorporate different things. I think structural things are something we should look at. We have to ask the people of the Northwest Territories if they are happy with the service from the programs and services. I think that is all we are asking this auditor to do.
As Mr. Kakfwi mentioned, we need a good reason to be doing something like this because it is going to be expensive. I think we are putting the cart before the horse. We are not talking about splitting up departments. We are talking about an audit by the Auditor General, an audit that will not cost this government a cent. I think it is good practice. We have discussed in committee that it may be a good idea to audit one department a year. I think this is simply the first one that has come to the forefront and that is really where we are going with this. Again, this is not intended to be a witch hunt. Thank you.