Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Madam Premier, please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me today, I have Mr. Russell Neudorf, the associate deputy minister of the COVID secretariat, and Ms. Jeannie Mathison, the director of finance with Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. COVID secretariat, beginning on page 176, with information item on page 178. Questions? Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am looking at page 178 at the active positions. Could the Minister or the department tell us how many of these positions were hired from the North versus how many were people brought from the South? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As committed to when we met with standing committee, 100 percent of the staffing for the COVID secretariat are from the North, either P1s, P2s, or some of them are not priority status but are residents of the Northwest Territories. No southern people were hired for the COVID secretariat. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Premier. Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister tell me how many of these employees for the enforcement team are ex-RCMP officers? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The enforcement task team, I will turn over to the deputy minister to get more on the RCMP officers, but there were qualifications that were needed with the enforcement, Mr. Chair. The task force enforcement team are literally knocking on people's doors and handing out verbal warnings, written warnings, or tickets. It was really critical that we have people who have some kind of training in enforcement to ensure the safety of residents and the safety of our enforcement team. Mr. Chair, I can turn it over to our deputy minister to speak more on how many are ex-RCMP. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Premier. Mr. Neudorf.

Thank you. Member.

Thank you for that, reiterating the Premier's point again. Thank you. I look forward to getting that information. Can you speak to how much money was spent relocating people around within the territory to take these positions, i.e., people being moved to the Beaufort-Delta region rather than hiring locally there? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will ask Ms. Mathison if she knows exact numbers. We did try to hire as much as possible from the regions. For example, in the Beaufort-Delta, when I went up to Fort McPherson, all of the border patrol staff were actually from the communities. Mr. Chair, the amount of money that we had spent, I would have to turn it over to Ms. Mathison if she has that.

Ms. Mathison.

Thank you. Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Rather than the monetary amount, I would like to get a feel for how many people did move around. I know that there have been people who were hired from out of the region into that region. I just want to know if there is a way to characterize that happening, but it doesn't sound like it. Maybe I will follow up, then, with the Minister at a later date. Thank you. I'm good.

Thank you, Member. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take that as a comment, and the Member is going to follow up.

Thank you. Questions? Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just looking at the 2020-2021 revised estimates, $31 million. We passed this in a supplementary appropriation, but I know, since that time, a number of cost-saving measures have gone on. Do we have a forecast of how much we will actually spend on the COVID secretariat this fiscal? Thank you, Mr. Chair.