R.J. Simpson

Thank you. I understand the Member's time has run out, so I'll just keep it quick that we're not committing more resources to this. I know that was a statement that was just made, but that's not accurate. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that level of detail on hand. I apologize to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the total is beyond that. We've had a number of initiatives so far in this fiscal year that we have expended money on, the on-the-land camp, and we are -- or have -- receiving federal funds for transitional housing. For a bit of a breakdown, I can pass it maybe to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Thank you. So other jurisdictions have a lot more political staff that can make those connections. I don't have a breakdown of other jurisdictions. I do have our main estimates and our business plans in front of us, and so I can discuss those, but I can't provide a list right now to the Member of positions that might be comparable in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and so on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think I misheard part of the Member's question earlier. So I'll hand it to the deputy minister for some more information on this. Thank you.

Thank you. So that's still to be determined. We -- you know, we're in the middle of a leadership race right now. It is prior to, you know, potentially an election period. The House is not sitting. And so there's different times in Ottawa. Sometimes there's a lot of people around. Sometimes there's not a lot of people around. Sometimes there's transitions when you want to have a voice there. Sometimes there's not. So it's dependent, and it's hard to really say with the current situation in Ottawa what that split of time will be. Thank you.

I'll hand it to the deputy minister through you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. So there was the principal secretary moved into a new role, so the role is new. I'm not sure if there's a technical definition I can provide about when a position is new, but the position did not exist before it was created so in that sense it's a new position, but it's not a new person in the position. Thank you.

Sure, yes, I can make some comments on that. So, you know, there are cases where the departments do have integrated teams, and so while you might not have the DM from one department directing an employee from another department, there is integration. So there's those internal structures in place. And the reason that this is under EIA and the Premier's office is because I recognize the difficulties in getting departments to work together. I was Minister of ECE. I was Minister of Justice. I had difficulty getting ECE and justice to work together. So I'm very much aware of these issues, and...

Thank you. I'll pass that to the deputy minister.