Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We can get that information for the Member. Thank you.

Thank you. I consider also what they cost as part of that request.

Where does the funding come for these positions? Where does it come from? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the 475, it’s through the main estimates and for the other information the Member wants, we’ll detail that in our response to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there any specific allocation for the unfunded positions and where would I find that, on what page? Thank you.

Mr. Hawkins, if I can get you to repeat that question, please.

Is there any specific allocation for these unfunded positions, and if so, what page would I find that on?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. For that, we’ll go to Ms. Schofield.

What page would that be on if this isn’t the appropriate page?

Thank you. Over and above the relief positions as noted, which Ms. Schofield just said would be found on 9-31, are there any other unfunded positions within the department, and if so, where and how many?

Out of the 475 positions, how many are presently filled and how many are empty? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think that information was provided to committee about two weeks ago. We could perhaps bring it back. I’ll go to Ms. Haener, but I think the level of detail the Member is looking for was supplied to P and P two weeks ago.

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Ms. Haener.

Thank you, Ms. Haener. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you for that. Do we have an approximation of what those positions, in summary, would be valued at? Do we have an average assessment of how long those positions have been vacant, referring back to the 42? I’m glad to hear that 26 have been filled. Furthermore, have any opened up since the October 31st snapshot had been taken? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It would be that number, 42, isn’t a static number. It keeps changing. As the deputy minister mentioned, we filled 20 positions. That number will keep changing. It’s a rolling process where we identify positions that need to be filled and then we fill them. That number is always going to change. It’s not always going to be 42. It’s not always going to be 20 that we’ve filled just recently. Some months it may be more, other months it may be less, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

These types of questions are sometimes asked in committee, but the public lacks the ability to be in committee to hear the answers. Vacancy has been a bit of an issue right now and I would think the department would be somewhat ready for this or at least know they would be asked some of these questions. What is the value of the

42 positions? There must be some sort of rolling dollar amount. As the Minister said, these are a rolling process. There must be some assessment of what human resources dollars aren’t being consumed in the department in this particular case. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, we did come prepared to answer the questions. A lot of this information was provided to committee two weeks ago. The Members made assumptions on vacant positions and what their value is. If you have 42 positions and we filled 20 of them, that leaves you with 22 vacant positions. You can do the math quickly for what a full encumbered position costs the Government of the Northwest Territories and figure that out easily. It’s not rocket science.

Again, it is a rolling average, Mr. Chairman, and something that not just the Department of Justice deals with, but every department across government. We do the best to fill the vacant positions that we have. Thank you.

I keep asking the question for the benefit of the public. It’s been stressed, reaffirmed, continued… Ms. Bisaro’s phone is ringing there. They must be calling in with the number, I guess.

I keep asking the same question that is not before the public and I’m trying to get it on the public record. Is the Minister unwilling or unprepared to answer the question I keep asking about the value of these positions when it comes to the monetary portion? Thank you.