Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to ask the Minister about I notice in all the other regions there, there's a high number of positions and Beaufort-Delta it's only four, so I'm assuming that means all the other regions government is looking after maintenance, and maybe in the Beaufort-Delta all the maintenance is being contracted out. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That's correct, Madam Chair. In Fort Smith, Deh Cho and the other regions where there's higher numbers, those are our own forces. In the Beaufort-Delta, the bulk of the work is done through contracts.

Agreed. Thank you. Page 10-29, activity summary, ferries, operations expenditure summary, $5.603 million.

Agreed. Thank you. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know the Liard ferry and recently the Fort Providence ferry have come back under government control. How is that spelled out in here number-wise? Obviously there is going to be a shift in contracted services and the numbers don't seem to portray that, and I am just wondering when that might happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member is correct; there have been some changes. The ferry at Liard crossing and Fort Providence both came back under government control. We have reflected the new positions in our budget; however, the costs haven't been reflected. We expect that our budget line for contract services, which includes the ferry operations, will be able to cover that. There may be other costs. Once we have a full estimate, if there are other costs, we will come back through a supp or something of that nature.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's probably more like when. When there are some additional costs, what does the Minister think those will be and will those come forward in a supp sometime in the near future? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Madam Chair, I can't say with any certainty what those numbers will be. We recognize there is a need to hire an additional crew at the Liard crossing. So that's going to be an additional cost. We know that there will be some other things that we have to consider. We haven't been able to summarize that yet and that will come forward when we have our estimates all completed through a supp.

I should also point out that we are doing a review of our maintenance operations. We are going out for an RFP to have a consultant review our system that is in place and see if we can make any recommendations and also look at our ferry services at the same time.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Next on the list is Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am just seeking further clarity on this item. The line item for contract services, $3.07 million. Is that the whole dollar figure that represents the ferry contracts? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Yes, Madam Chair. That's the figure that covers the operation of all five of our ferries.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am just wondering why. I think I understood this correctly from Mr. Ramsay's earlier questions, but is it assumed that all the ferry services will now be considered territorial employees and it is assumed that all of the costs associated with hiring them as full-time employees will be covered by this $3.07 million? I just want to be ultimately clear on that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Madam Chair, we only have two ferries under our operations, operated by our own forces. The other ferries are still operated through a contract. Right now, we don't have anything to indicate that we will go over this amount. However, that is being reviewed and that's why this dollar amount has remained consistent.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Hawkins.