Floyd Roland

Mr. Chairman, for those who have had an opportunity to visit anyone in that facility, whether it be the young offenders or the adult facility, when you drive up, you realize there are no barriers to getting to the main facility itself. There are no gates, no fencing leading to the public area. If anything were to happen or someone were to manage to get out of the facility itself proper, there would be no barriers for them finding their way within the city. That is one of the concerns of addressing the fencing around both facilities. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, all the Member has to do is look at the date when that report was published, and he can answer his own question.

Mr. Chairman, they are still using some of those funds, as our year progresses. Until we have the year-end, to look at what the carryover is, we wouldn’t be able to give that detail. We could probably go back to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to work with the school board to come up with what is remaining, a snapshot of a certain day and point in time. As for the actual amount of carryover, that will have to wait until year-end, when we do our final sup of the year.

Mr. Chairman, as the Minister stated, in making this motion and needing some more information…. I would encourage the Members, before we read the next motion if there is more to follow, let’s have that clarity or ask about the detail before we actually make the motion, because now we only speak to the motion.

Speaking to the motion, we can't support this action, as the Minister stated earlier. The integrated services delivery model has been in the works for many years. The department had worked on how it would deliver health care across the Northwest Territories, with Stanton being a...

No, we have not given direction to begin the reductions in the front line on April 1st. In fact, our interim appropriation is one that will keep us going at the existing levels.

Mr. Chairman, the process we used was, as Members highlighted, using one-third of the amount we would normally use during a fiscal year. The reason there are some areas of going over would be, for example, if we’re going to enter leases for facilities or renew any of our existing leases through, for example, Public Works and Services. They have to enter into agreements for a full year, and it would be difficult to try to do a month-by-month process. Some of the contracts, as-and-when contracts, as we go out to people for work during the summer into the year require an annual appropriation. For...

Mr. Speaker, we will be measured, careful in the way we approach this, and I’ve laid out a number of things that are under consideration.

When we look at the options that are before us, there’s the impact of the delivery of programs and services to the people that are out there expecting the delivery that we say we will provide, our employees who deliver those programs, looking at vacancies, looking at attrition, looking at transfer assignments that can happen — all those tools that we will be incorporating as we proceed forward.

But I must say, as difficult as it is, the unfortunate reality is...

Mr. Chairman, as Mrs. Groenewegen has pointed out, the interim appropriation is one where it will give us time to work on our main estimates process and give us the time to do a proper review of the steps we would like to take as the 16th Assembly.

The O&M as highlighted is fairly straightforward, as the Member has pointed out, in capturing what we require to run for the three months of this interim appropriation.

The capital plan is one where it is different. Initially a plan went to the departments, requesting what would be required in a full year, looking at the timing of our process, so...

Mr. Speaker, that is, in fact, one of the areas that we’re looking at — the basing of fees within departments, of removing those types of dollars or identified positions that are not filled, as well as attrition.

If we set a target and we know that people are retiring, then we could look at doing that. If there are areas that are not a priority but we are reinvesting in initiatives, we can see if we can transfer employees over as well.

So there’s a whole number of tools we can do in limiting the impact on our staff. That is some of the work that we are looking at as we compare the strategic...

Mr. Chairman, the area of these projects is highlighted.. The timing of it is why it’s included in this area. There are existing structures in place that do require…. Although it says there is no new money, this is work for existing features of our facilities, and would require them to be done and dealt with so that there is no further deterioration, potentially, and looking at the asset itself of this piece.