Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Members were aware that when we looked at our target for reductions and reinvestments in the Northwest Territories, we talked about two years of planning and implementation that would happen. We were fully aware, from past experience, that with some of the reductions that are accepted in one year the full impact doesn’t occur until the following year. So the numbers of potentially affected employees — and that’s the term we use, “potentially affected,” until the budget passes — was discussed. All employees were informed of being potentially affected. So ’08–09 employees, ’09–10 potentially affected employees were notified.

I am fully aware that those employees cannot be removed or their positions terminated until that budget is passed by the Legislative Assembly, but the numbers we’re using for potentially affected employees are the numbers that Members are aware of.

Yes, there was a concern about timing of that notification. Members were to be made aware before the message got out. That didn’t happen. But the fact is that since that information got out, all the numbers there are included in ’09–10, except for those that haven’t had any decisions made. For anything further we would have to come back in our ’09–10 business plan process coming up.

The Member is right; notifications went out to potentially affected employees, but the only ones who are approved in ’08–09 will be the ones that get implemented through this process.