Mr. Chairman, these would be studies for government purposes, not for the deputy minister's managerial skills. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do believe there is a whole section in the Department of RWED that is probably called economic analysis or business section of that department. So how does this relate to that section of the department? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, this group of people in Finance are the people who do the formula negotiations. So they do their own economic analysis as it impacts on our formula and our negotiations of the formula. They work closely with the economists who are in RWED on issues that are common. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as I stated earlier, we have a Department of RWED, and among the many things that the department has a mandate for, one of them is to do economic analysis. The Finance department is a department of the government, and one would think that Finance will do its job and RWED will do its job. So why wouldn't the Department of Finance rely on the information gathered by another department that is mandated to do that work?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, there are many types of economic analysis that are done. The economic analysis done in Finance would be around issues related to our formula, it could be with taxation or various other areas that are fiscal. The economic analysis that's done in RWED is different. There are some areas where there is some common purpose and room for the economists to work together. But clearly the economic analysis done in Finance is different than what is done in RWED. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Directorate, not previously authorized, negative $32,000. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the next item on the detailed information we have is an $11,000 reduction under finance and administration, and it says that a furniture expense will be reduced by 100 percent. Computer hardware and software will be reduced by 100 percent, and travel will be reduced by 30 percent. It says here that no furniture or equipment replacement, and possibly reduced services to Hay River. So what is that about? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

The furniture reduction by 100 percent means that there will be no new furniture purchased. The finance and administration section will make due with the furniture and equipment that they have. The possible reduced services to Hay River is a result of the travel reduction. The Liquor Commission is headquartered in Hay River. The finance and administration people do make regular visits there. They will do more of their work by other forms of communication, including telephone and whatever else. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The next section under deputy minister's office under the directorate, it says there will be lower student employment with fewer tasks performed, by reducing $1000. It says it's a wage reduction by 50 percent, so I'm assuming the wage allocated under here is $2000, and I don't know how you could get a student for $2000 in the first place, and then you're going to half it by one. So what kind of work was this student supposed to do?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, it's not uncommon for government departments, including this one, to hire students on a casual basis, for anywhere from a day or a few days to a week or two weeks, and that would be the kind of work they would do. The work could range from photocopying to answering telephones to wherever there may be a short-term need.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The next section out of that $32,000 reduction under directorate, it says a wage reduction by 100 percent and a training reduction by 100 percent. The very last part there says less staff training possibly resulting in employee turnover. Could I ask the Minister as to what that means?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, again, as I've said before, the deputies of each of the departments decide with their staff where they're going to undertake the economizing measures. Economizing measures will always have some impact. In this case, the decision was made to reduce wages for student employment in the finance and administration section by removing that opportunity altogether. The training would be reduced. It means that the finance and administration staff will not do any professional training this year.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, under treasury we are looking at a reduction of $33,000 for basically the same reasons as we've been discussing. It says that the impact of this cut will be reduced staff training and less contact with provincial and federal counterparts, less support from actuaries and brokers. Mr. Chairman, I once again want to state that this whole Department of Finance, by all accounts, and the statements made by the Minister in the House, is that we are engaged in a very long and bitter struggle with the federal government to get them to see our point of view about the lack of, or unfairness, or lopsidedness of our formula financing arrangement with the federal government. As well, another area is that there has been a huge increase in insurance rates, due to some of the losses that we suffered in the government in the Territories ourselves, but also probably from 911 or some of the major disasters in southern Canada. So I would think that this is an area that, if anything, more support might be needed. Again, without knowing the full figure of staff training and support for actuaries and brokers in the first place, I cannot access what the impact, financial and otherwise, might be. So does the Minister have any more detailed information on what that might mean? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.