Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to spend some time today talking about decentralization. I’ve been pretty much silent on the subject to date, but I can no longer be silent. I have grave misgivings about this policy and its implementation.

We have only to look eastward to Nunavut where they are reversing their previous actions and bringing positions back to Iqaluit. Why? Because decentralization is not working. I appreciate the intent of the policy, but, and it’s a very large but, I

cannot condone the current mindset around the implementation of the Decentralization Policy.

The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment proudly announced last week that three more positions had been decentralized. Two of those three positions have incumbents. Premier McLeod stated yesterday in relation to this policy that, and I quote from Hansard from yesterday, “It’s a program decision.” He went on to say, and I quote again from page 63 of unedited Hansard, “It’s what’s in the best interests of fulfilling this decentralization priority of this government.”

That tells me that decentralization is nothing more than a numbers game for the government and that it is decentralization at any cost. But there are costs associated, both financial and personal.

It seems to be quite acceptable to make a position more expensive through decentralization. Yet, in the same breath the government states that our financial situation is not sustainable. There’s more than a bit of controversy in that. The Minister of Finance has said that our fiscal situation demands action, that we must leave no stone unturned. Well, this is a stone we must turn over and look beneath.

There’s also a personal cost, one which apparently is not a factor, considering the Premier’s comments yesterday. How many families have been uprooted since we started this initiative? How many are still in the public service? How many have left the NWT? Does the government know? Does the government care?

For the sake of adhering to a policy, we are willing to lose experienced, competent, long-term employees, willing to lose their corporate knowledge, willing to throw away the investment and training that we have in them. The government’s population strategy looks to increase our population. The current callous application of the Decentralization Policy will see people leaving the North.

We say we value our employees, but recent actions completely refute that.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted