Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak in favour of the motion. I, like the Minister responsible for Finance, do not believe in spending money creating bureaucracies. I would point out that I have never called for the splitting up of this department. Mr. Speaker, in both the 13th Assembly and the 14th Assembly, I have heard a number of Members around the table who are concerned about whether the department can achieve its sometimes conflicting goals between protection of the environment and encouragement of development. I have heard this not only from Members in this House, but also from constituents. Mr. Speaker, good government requires review. In fact, as the Minister responsible for Finance is probably aware, the Financial Management Board Secretariat has recently reorganized to decrease their ability to do audits for fraud, but to increase their ability to do performance audits. Obviously, this government already recognizes the need to do performance audits.

In this case, we have the ability to get outside advice from the auditor who currently audits the books of this government, which includes the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. This allows us to ask the auditor to also undertake a functional review. Does the department achieve what it sets out in its goals and objectives?

Mr. Speaker, when the auditor comes back with the recommendations which, as Ms. Lee pointed out, will not be quick, because typically a functional review takes a period of time for the auditor to undertake and an even longer time to report on. When those recommendations come back, the politicians in this House have to decide whether or not to accept those recommendations. Mr. Speaker, it is not something that automatically has to be accepted. It is still something that we, the politicians, would have to choose whether the recommendations fit what we wanted to see in terms of the accomplishments for the department.

Again, Mr. Speaker, knowing that this government has recognized the need to do functional audits and performance audits, and the fact that the Financial Management Board Secretariat has recently reorganized the audit bureau to ensure they can take on more of these audits, I would think that this government would welcome some outside assistance, bringing the assistance of the Auditor General to the table. After all, as I have said, this auditor already audits the books of this government. The auditor should be entirely aware of what is happening within the department on a fiscal basis. We are asking for an expansion of the review to recognize that what this government has said is one of its goals.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe we should get back into the practice of asking the Auditor General to do comprehensive audits of all of the departments on a rotating basis of this government.

As has been pointed out, the recommendations that came back from the last audit on the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs led to some observations where the department was doing a good job, and some observations where the department could improve. By and large, those recommendations were accepted. I believe the operations of the department have improved.

Mr. Speaker, I would strongly argue that by passing this motion, we are in fact moving our government along towards improving the delivery of services to the public in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.