Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm not really sure what that meant. I think the Minister knows what I want to hear here, but anyway, we'll keep going at it then if that's what we need to do.
Mr. Chairman, you want to talk about the way the government spends money. In the case of unanticipated costs for anything, like a bad fire season, we find the money. Wherever there's a will it seems there's a way to find the money. That's why we're in government. That's why we make the rules. That's why we make the laws. That's why we decide how to spend the money. There's nobody else in charge. We're in charge. We decide what the priorities are. We sit through many hours of meetings and lengthy discussions to decide what the priorities of the government are, and 11 Members of this House have put their best work and mind to the issues and priorities and spending of this government and they're saying leave the remand facility open in Hay River.
Now, I know the Minister can't wave a magic wand and pull the $300,000 out of a hat tonight, but I'm asking for some kind of a commitment here. I think it's a good service, I think it's close to the people it serves, I think it's running well, I think it's a mistake to take this thing apart. Sure you can say you'll put it back together at sometime in the future, but that's after 5.5 people who are trained and are operating in these positions are gone. It's kind of like trying to put the egg back together after it has fallen on the floor. It isn't that easy to put it back together. We have invested in it in developing the service. Sure, maybe you can bring the people over here and reassign them. Like I said, I still have my doubts about those numbers, and the Audit Bureau report bears that out. There wasn't any historical data analyzed in terms of coming up with those transportation costs of $18,000. So I think the Minister knows what I am looking for here. I would like he and his department to respect the wishes of the Regular Members and the Standing Committee on Social Programs and the recommendations on the floor, and agree to go back to FMB to find the money to reinstate the remand services at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre. Thank you, Mr. Chair.