George Hickes gets 2 Crown corporations and no departments

George Hickessays he'll have more than enough work to do now that he'sbeen given hisassignment following Thursday's Nunavut cabinet shuffle.

The caucus voted to go back to the original cabinet size of eight members in addition to the premier.

But Hickes, one of the newest cabinet ministers, was only assigned responsibility for two Crown corporations, and no departments. He'snow in charge of Qulliq Energy and the Nunavut Housing Corporation.

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"It is a lot of work," said Hickes, "I think of the stuff even going on at QEC in the past year, the Pang fire, the workers' strike."

Hickessays it's not unusual for a cabinet ministernot to be assigned a department, and that theQulliqEnergy and theNunavutHousing Corporations are a perfect fit.Hickesserved asQEC'smanager of corporate communications under PeterMackey.

He says the Nunavut Housing Corporation will also take much of his time.

"There's some work to move forward with housing being a critical need across the territory."

A cabinet of 9 makes sense

The cabinet has been working with a smaller group since Tom Sammurtok, MLA for Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet,resigned from cabinet this spring after being stripped of his portfolio because of a drunk driving charge.

Premier PeterTaptuna says reverting back to a cabinet of ninemakes sense as there there is a lot of work to get done.

"That evens out the workload per minister," said Taptuna.

"I'm pleased about that. I've seen the amount of work some of these ministers put in and it's a lot."