Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize for taking time to get up to answer the question. I was just consulting with my colleagues. I am not clear on what has been in place in the past, but previous governments had to take a very strong role in recruiting community leaders and managers, business managers, and sending them off to university for further training, with very strong support from this government. This was a way of investing in people who we know are going to be involved in the political and economic future of the Northwest Territories.

That was discontinued a number of years ago. As well, there were individual initiatives by departments in the past to put management trainees in place. At this time, there are no specific initiatives undertaken by this government.

What we would like to do is take suggestions such as the Member is making and put them together in a clear plan or strategy, so that we can take ideas like the Member is making today and put it in place in the overall context that can produce some results for us in the next year or two. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I would like to do is engage the Members of the Legislature, specifically the Members in Caucus, in the fall, so when the House reconvenes in November, we can look at ways in which we can make commitments to targets that we can achieve. We will need the Members of the Legislature on side to develop a strategy and plan that we can clearly implement with achievable results in the very near future. We need sufficient time to get senior managers and departments on side so they buy into a plan and approach that they are also comfortable with and will be supporting.

That is the approach I would like to take. I am afraid I could make targets myself today with no assurance that I can achieve them. I would sooner approach it in an organized way and get the Members of the Legislature to buy into a plan, as well as the senior management of this government, and proceed with a plan and strategy that we can discuss here in the November Session. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I daily remind the Members on this side of the House, I am the only woman on the AOC.

I feel very compelled to ask this question with respect to women in management in the government. Mr. Speaker, during the budget review in the standing committees, I was very surprised to learn things, even though I was not looking for them. One of them had to do with a very low level of women in management in this government.

My first question to the Premier is whether or not, since his appointment as Premier, he has addressed his mind to the issue of the lack of representation of women in management? Has he given any direction to the government with respect to that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a priority given by myself as the Premier to look for senior managers who are competent, qualified and credible, particularly in the area of women.

As Members know, the deputy minister of the Executive and the deputy minister to Cabinet is Liz Snider. The chief of staff position that has been created and newly appointed is Lynda Sorensen. We have moved people like April Taylor into director positions. We have done some initial work to make sure that, where possible, we seek out and attract and retain women in senior management positions. I would like to continue on this initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's answer. I wonder, Mr. Speaker, whether or not the Premier is aware of some of the statistics of women in management in other government departments, such as the case of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, where the stats are less than one percent. I wonder if the Premier is aware of that fact. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Interjection

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Order, please. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the source of her statistics. I cannot respond to that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, not only women in management, but women as a whole, I wonder if the Premier can tell me whether or not he is aware of the policy in government called the Equality of Men and Women in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my job to be aware of the policies that govern the work of this government. Thank you.