Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to hear from the Minister that the review that was requested a couple years ago is actually moving forward today and the RFP has gone out. I didn't see it, but I'm sure it would come to my attention. I'm just kind of looking forward to finding out when this review is going to be concluded and when we can move forward on the recommendations of the review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I anticipate the review process to take a number of weeks, after which time we'll be getting the report. We'll be sharing it with the community, we'll be sharing it with the authority and we'll be sitting down to look at the recommendations and then, from there, how best we can respond. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for clarification, I guess, number of weeks, what are we looking at? Fifty-two weeks, 104 weeks, two weeks, one week, I don't know what number of weeks we're looking at. I just need a better scope on the timelines, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll commit to the Member that this review will be done by the first week of January. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today go back to my Member's statement from earlier, and the questions are for the Minister responsible for the budgeting process, the Honourable Floyd Roland. First off, I was happy to be a part of the historic venture that the Regular Members took upon themselves to go out and listen to the public with our pre-budget consultations that happened in September. I think they were very fruitful and certainly a step in the right direction. We went into the communities, and we listened to what their concerns were.

But, Mr. Speaker, something was missing, and that's what happens between us going about these pre-budget consultations; the business plans happen and then the budget session. The public doesn't get to see what their MLAs are doing or what they're saying in the business plan review. Some of the best debate that I've heard as a Regular Member in this House happens in committee. The public does not get to see that debate take place, Mr. Speaker. They see us hibernate for four months only to come out with a bullet proof, well-orchestrated budget. I'd like to ask the Minister of Finance, why are all the business plan reviews done in this veil of secrecy, and what can the government do to try to open up the process to the public? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member speaks of a veil of secrecy around our budgeting process. I think I should remind all Members here that, in fact, our process for business plans and the budgeting exercises is one of the most open processes we have, when we compare ourselves to other jurisdictions in Canada.

We receive the input, as Members receive their input, from their constituencies, as well as, for example, the exercise the Members have spoken a lot about here today. They come and meet with us as we present the budget or the business plan, and go from there as we look to making possible changes. That doesn't say that we won't, at some time, sit down and decide if we need to open up the process any more, but we do have a very open process compared to other jurisdictions across Canada. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Finance Minister what his definition of "open" is when, from my standpoint as a Regular Member, the general public has no ability to attend any of the committee meetings that take place in the fall right up to the lead-up to the budget session in February. What does the Minister describe as "open?" Right now it is as closed as I can imagine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess the definition of openness, as we would make it here in this Assembly, is a consensus style government. The way we operate and the way we practice business here is one of the most open, again, in comparison to other jurisdictions in Canada.

As I stated earlier, the input Members receive, we receive; we also receive input from NGOs and from organizations out there. We make some adjustments on the information we receive from Members as we go through that plan. Again, we go through a very public process of the main estimates in this House when we present the budget. I think we do have a very open system and, again, I say that in comparison to other jurisdictions. If we compared ourselves to the federal government, you would be presented with a budget on budget day, never seeing anything of it the day before that, and day by day we would have to go through that process. I think in that comparison, in that light, we are fairly open. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to compare this style of consensus government to that in Ottawa or any of the provinces, for that matter, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering if the government is prepared to explore options to open up our committee meetings and the committee structure to allow the public to attend these meetings. Unless we do that, Mr. Speaker, I don't believe we have an open process whatsoever. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think there would be opportunities for us to look at how we would like to see the process open up even further. I say we, because as the Assembly, all Members have input as to how we do business and conduct our business here. I would be prepared to listen to the Members if there is a common position they see in opening some of the process up. To what degree is going to be critical. Because if I decide as a Finance Minister to put down a plan for an issue around taxation, I am sure that everybody out there would tell us no more taxes, but want more spending, on the other hand. There is a balance here that we have to be able to maintain to get business done in government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to ask the Finance Minister for a commitment to work with the Regular Members on this side of the House to ensure that we open up the committee meetings to the best of our ability, to ensure that the public at least gets a chance to be in the room, and at least gets the chance to see some of the best debate that can take place in this building that doesn't see the light of day. I would like to see that change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.