Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of this motion. This issue, for me, has been on the table for almost the entire life of the 13th Assembly, into this one, where a bad decision was made to dismantle and blow up the Department of Personnel with no clear plans in place. We have paid a price ever since. We are now faced with, very clearly in everybody's estimation, a fragmented and uncoordinated human resources service across government.
Mr. Speaker, the numbers clearly indicate that the costs and the number of people that we are using, who are put to the task, are greater than before in the Department of Personnel. This tells me that there is duplication, there is extra cost, there is overlap, and that it should not cost more, and, in fact, there should be a cost savings.
I would, once again, hope that this Cabinet, this government, would reach out and embrace this motion and the intent of this motion. It is worrisome to me, once again, like with Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, where we requested to take a critical look at Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and it was blocked. We requested to take a clear look at personnel services and do an audit, and that was rejected. Now we are being cautioned against doing this, that we have to take time.
Well, Mr. Speaker, the political clock does not stop ticking. We are already six months into our term. This is a critical issue; it is going to take time to put things in place. I think the will of the Ordinary Members will be clearly demonstrated. I think the Public Service Commission will help alleviate not only the concerns raised by my colleagues who have spoken so far, but also the concern that was raised earlier in this House, that I think every Member has heard.
That is the perception in many quarters by many people that the process is not open, transparent and accountable in many cases. That in fact, it is often a meaningless formality because there are already decisions made on who to hire. By supporting and passing this motion, the implementation of a Public Service Commission will help do away with, if nothing else, the perception of managerial interference and political interference in the hiring process. That, I think, is one of the most fundamental needs for this particular agency that is being promoted.
Mr. Speaker, of course, I would encourage Cabinet to embrace this and to show us that they are not going to sit on their hands and want us to defer, defer, defer. We are going to embrace this and make a move on this long outstanding issue, tied in directly with affirmative action, which, by all accounts, is considerably less than effective. That is the kindest way that I can probably refer to that.
I would also like to suggest, as we look at this motion, that the work that has been done in the past by the previous standing committee and the recommendations that were put forward were very detailed and addressed a lot of the issues. The government chose not to respond actively on any of them that I can recollect. I really fully support this motion and I encourage Cabinet to get ahead of the parade on this one, and embrace the motion and the intent in it. Thank you.