Thank you, Mr. Chair, and for the record the Minister is right; I shouldn’t be referring to mismanagement, and also for the record I have nothing but respect for the staff and employees of the GNWT, in particular in health care, social services. I think they have some of the hardest work out there and I have nothing but respect for them and if what I have said has
offended them in any way, I apologize and I withdraw that.
Having said that, one person in a program that costs $400,000 means something didn’t happen correctly and ultimately the Minister is responsible for that and the Minister needs to explain that. She needs to explain how a $400,000 program that was designed to run four or five people in it with one person managed to get over budget. Ultimately she’s responsible for that. Ultimately we have to hold her to account for that. Ultimately we need to see this program running.
It’s unfortunate what happened yesterday. You know, last fiscal year when they managed to spend all this money, when the Minister’s department managed to spend all this money on one person, but it’s 2011-2012 we’re talking about; 2011-2012. Where’s the budget for 2011-2012 if all the people who finished this program... There’s nobody in it. Where’s the money? What are they using the money for? How are they using the money to train our Northerners for northern jobs? How come there’s no intake? That’s what I want to know and it doesn’t make any sense that we aren’t doing these things. I want to see Northerners in northern jobs. That’s what this money was supposed to be for.
I apologize for accusing anybody of mismanagement. I respect the staff. If I’ve offended them, I withdraw that. But come on. Let’s find out what’s happening with this money. Let’s find out how we’re using it. Let’s put it to the use that was intended. You can always defer and start talking about all of the other areas we need to do training. What area costs us the most money? What do we hear about most in the communities when we go out there? We hear about how come there’s no permanent nurses? How come there’s no consistency of care? It’s nurses.
How are we spending the $400,000-plus on this program to make sure that we get them in there? It used to work. It used to be a great program. Why does there appear to be no interest in it anymore?