Mahler Says Running Youth Department “Isn’t Rocket Science”

Last month, Dean Flowers, President of the Public Service Union, called on the Auditor General to launch an investigation into the Ministry of Youth and Sports. He wants a clear look at how public funds were handled under the former minister’s watch. At the same time, Flowers and the P.S.U. are challenging a new proposal by Minister Mahler, who recently suggested cutting jobs in the Youth and Sports departments. The union argues the move could hurt workers and services. But Mahler insists the changes are necessary, saying restructuring is key to helping the ministry grow and succeed. Here’s what he had to say.

 

Anthony Mahler, Minister, Youth & Sports

“There should be audits for everything for statutory boards, that’s a normal process. And for government institutions, that’s a normal process. So we are working on those things and we’ll have to do what we have to do.”

 

Reporter

“We promise leadership one, we promise a plan that we will consult with people and two we will work, we will lead by example, minister Daly and I will lead by example and show that we can get things done. And it’s not rocket science for us to be able to ensure that we have the programs that can meet the needs of almost seventy of our population.”

 

Anthony Mahler

“We will provide a safety net in terms of restructuring. Between youth and sports, we have about almost eight million. I believe that with restructuring, with improving the efficiencies of the department, and the departments, we can accomplish a lot of things out of that money. Just the way we manage the money.”