Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it is only fair that I respond to the comment from the Member. I can understand his concern. I have been through the system quite a few times in all my years of work, and I am not sure if many in here remember the Department of Personnel days. There was a Department of Personnel which was much like HR now, and they went into the different departments. They did a lot of their own hiring. I know a number of people who were involved in those different departments, and they were comfortable there, and then they amalgamated into the department of HR. What that did, although initially a lot of them didn't like the move, it kind of broadened their horizon where, if you were working in an education department, for example, then you are used to hiring teachers. Then all of a sudden, you are working on hiring people for the department of public works, so it gave them a lot of different views on different departments within the governments.
I mean, I can understand the Member's concern, and we will have to see how this plays out. Let's not condemn things to fail before they even start. There might be an opportunity here for all of these people to come together and expand their knowledge. From working with one department on a particular project, they can expand their knowledge, and that may help them in the future.
It is unfortunate for the Member to say that he may not be able to support the budget based on this one particular issue when we have a budget of $1.9 billion that is beneficial for every riding in the Northwest Territories. It is a budget that a lot of people look forward to, and it is helping people in the Northwest Territories. I find that it is unfortunate that that is the Member's position, but I respect his position.
