SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Premier Bob McLeod has gone outside the ranks of the territorial government to pluck two new deputy ministers, one from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, the other from the Government of British Columbia.

Willard Hagen, a former chair and chief executive officer of the land and water board, will become the deputy minister of lands, and longtime B.C. bureaucrat Tom Jensen will take over as deputy minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

McLeod said hiring people from outside the GNWT is a good opportunity to bring in fresh ideas.

"Hagen has a wealth of experience - if there is anything you want to know about lands, just talk to him," McLeod said. "He's a Northern aboriginal person with a very long history of working in the North."

Hagen is of Gwich'in ancestry and was born in Tsiigehtchic. Hagen was also president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council and played a role in the drafting and signing of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act in 1998. Yellowknifer attempted to contact Hagen but was unsuccessful as of press time.

McLeod said Jensen was an attractive candidate to run the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment with his history as a senior bureaucrat in B.C. which McLeod said has the strongest economy in Canada right now. Jensen was most recently assistant deputy minister of Timber Operations and First Nations Relations with B.C.'s Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resources. He also has senior executive experience in community and regional economic development, skills training and labour market analysis.

"We had a number of deputy minister retiring so we have to set ourselves in position to keep going forward and delivering our programs and services and fulfilling the mandate and priorities of the 18th Legislative Assembly," McLeod said in an interview with Yellowknifer following the announcement of the new appointments.

Also changing departments is Mike Aumond, who leaves his role as deputy minister of Finance to become secretary to cabinet and deputy minister of the Executive. David Stewart takes on the deputy minister of Finance job and also becomes secretary to the financial management board. Sylvia Haener leaves her post as deputy minister of Justice to become deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Martin Goldney leaves his job as deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations to become deputy Justice minister. Shaleen Woodward will become the acting deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental relations.

McLeod said that the retirement of deputy ministers Peter Vician and Mark Warren along with cabinet secretary Penny Balantyne was part of the reason for the deputy minister shuffle.

"We lost about 100 years of service - you lose a lot of corporate history," McLeod said. He added that the new deputy ministers have big shoes to fill. In a news release, he thanked Balantyne for guiding the final devolution agreement.

All the changes are effective July 4 except for Jensen who starts his new job on July 6.

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