Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am listening with interest to the arguments that are being put forward with respect to this motion that has come to the floor for debate today.

Mr. Speaker, audits of departments can be good. I do not disagree with Mr. Dent's most recent comments about perhaps having a more comprehensive look at the operations of the government, and perhaps looking at other departments on a rotating basis.

However, I would like to point out that the Auditor General's office is very busy. I do not think this will be viewed as a priority. It will take some considerable amount of time. They do not have unlimited resources.

The previous speaker said that the audit by the Auditor General's office is at no cost to this government. That is also questionable. It would take, on the part of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development staff several thousand man-hours in order to provide the information required for the Auditor General's office to do the assessment.

I agree that the timing on this is off. The department is extremely busy right now. We are on the verge of a number of unique and extensive opportunities for Northerners to participate in various areas of development. I would say this would not be a good time to take the attention away from the limited resources of the department and spend a tremendous amount of time providing and compiling information for the Auditor General's office.

I also believe that the assessment of the working of the department is something we have the capability to look at within our government. On a more limited scale, it is possible to assess areas where there may need to be minor changes made. I am reluctant to see if we are talking about dividing this department up. I am reluctant to take that kind of decision away from this Assembly and go to outsiders and say what should we do? I believe it is, to a large extent, a political direction. I think this government should be able to take it if that is where they decide they want to go.

We have heard many comments made in this House over the last few days about costs of various departments, certainly the focus on the Department of the Executive. We have heard Members speak to the fact that this department would be better divided up again. That is a bit contradictory, considering you would be looking at more staff, more bureaucracy as Mr. Handley has said.

I have a problem with asking a question that we could answer ourselves. Also, asking a question which we may not have the financial resources to carry out at this time. I also have a problem distracting the employees from this department by providing comprehensive piles of information to the Auditor General's office at this time. Thank you.

-- Applause