Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to pick up where one of the other Members had gone in terms of the human resources consolidation. As the Minister is aware, I made a statement in the House the other day with regard to the growth and the expense of the public service. That was taken roughly by the UNW, the union president and some other executives with the UNW.

What I just wanted to mention to the Minister today is that part of what I see this human resources consolidation doing, is actually getting a handle and getting an understanding of where the GNWT is going with its public service. Again, I am in support of this happening. If it's your single-based expense, you have an obligation to pay attention to that.

The other thing I wanted to mention, while I have the floor; when we go through draft main estimates, the business planning process and whatnot, I think it's our duty and our obligation as Members of this Legislative Assembly, as stewards of public funds, to hopefully identify areas of concern, maybe areas of duplication, maybe where efficiencies can be found and leave it at that. That is our job. I didn't mean any disrespect to the union when they were here the other day. I spoke of hiring freezes and attrition; words that certainly would frighten the union, I suppose. Again, I didn't mean any disrespect to the union or to the Minister who is responsible for the public service.

Certainly I think going forward we need to have a public service that is sustainable and the sustainability, Mr. Chairman, is something we must pay close attention to. There is a compounding effect at play and the further on we get and the larger we get, the more it compounds itself. I just wanted to draw the Minister's attention to that. Thank you.