Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I will focus my question to the Premier, and he can forward it thereon in. Does the government have a policy to discourage people to use their first language?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Premier has already referred the questions to the Honourable Mr. Dent, so you will refrain from addressing the questions to the Premier. Mr. Hawkins.

If I can reword my question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment acknowledge if we have a policy that discourages people from using their language of choice, also noted as an official language of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Minister responsible for official languages, I don't think this

government has any policy discouraging the use of any languages, whether they are official or not, in the Northwest Territories. I think I have already answered this question. I said that the government encourages the use of all languages.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, before this story goes too much further, would the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment look into this situation before this so-called story of a person using their language is being discouraged? Before it goes through the meat grinder of arbitration and whatnot, would the Minister look into this before it goes too far? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the issue and have been aware of it for some time now. There is the process that has been launched. I am going to respect that process so far and watch how it turns out. When you have a grievance that is possibly laid, you have to respect that we have that process set out and have to follow it, so I will be watching how things unfold. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions again are for the Minister of Justice with response to the staff that I referred to in my Member's statement about the many dedicated and long-serving, in some cases, staff who have worked with the Dene K'onia Young Offenders Facility in Hay River. I would like to talk to the Minister about the next steps. I think the Minister would concur with me that these folks are a very valuable resource and we certainly have a lot of need within the youth community in the Northwest Territories. I would like to know what the Minister plans to do to retain this staff. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would concur with the Member that we have an awful lot of experience at Dene K'onia and people with good experience and a lot of dedication to the job. It is one of the bright points that came out of the review of Justice that was done last year. We have an awful lot of dedicated employees who have stuck around for a long time. We would very much like to keep as many employees as possible and take advantage of their knowledge, skills and experience. The offer of transfer will be made to many or has been made to many. Unfortunately, a lot of people find that it is either not the right time of life or because they have a partner who can't transfer, that that is not acceptable. We have worked as much as possible to find other openings for staff who are affected. Everyone now is on a government-wide priority list and will be considered with priority for any opening within the government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to my comments about the needs of youth, we had a theme day here recently by the Regular Members of this House with respect to the many needs of youth in the Northwest Territories and the emerging needs. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister of Justice support a reprofiling of this piece of infrastructure that would enable us to engage the expertise and the skills of this staff in Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in early days when we knew that we were going to propose the closure of Dene K'onia, I did, in fact, approach other Ministers in the government to ask whether or not there was some way that that facility could be used. I would certainly welcome any opportunity to keep the staff employed as long as they are employed in a program that makes sense for this government to embark on.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, because of some of the uncertainty with respect to the future of Dene K'onia over the past few years, at least 10 of the staff who worked there were casual employees and at least half of those had been working as casuals for at least four years or longer. What does the government have in mind to do to assist the casual and term employees affected by this closure? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Government policy is that indeterminate employees are the only ones who gain the benefit of the staff retention policy. So we do not offer a program specifically for casual and term employees. However, I would expect that, if these people have worked for some time, they would have good references that would stand them in good stead with other jobs when they come open. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his responses. Just for clarification, the Minister says that if the government found a use for the building and that could employ a staff there, that he, as a Minister in this government, would support such a proposal. Thank you.