The culture of government is changing, says Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, and it is is going put Canadian tax dollars to work.

Brison was in Whitehorse over the weekend to attend the local branch of the federal Liberals' golf fundraiser and to meet with various stakeholders in the territory.

Brison was formerly a Progressive Conservative party member who ran for the party leadership, but lost to Peter MacKay. He later crossed the House of Commons floor to the Liberals in 2003 after discussions regarding the merger of the Canadian Alliance with the Progressive Conservatives began.

Brison quickly made his way through the ranks of the Liberal party. Now his department is looking at how to reduce the cost of administering government office spaces.

One of the favoured options is to sell off most of the federal government's 320 buildings, then lease them back in what will likely be a 20-year arrangement.

Brison told the Star the strategy could save Canadians almost $3.5 billion over the next five years.

'That's money that can be invested into Northern Strategy. That's money that can be invested into health care, child care, Canadian communities, cities and municipalities,' says Brison.

'We have a responsibility to respect every tax dollar we receive from Canadians and get the best possible value for taxpayers.'

The scheme has been very successful in other jurisdictions, says Brison, including Australia, New Zealand and parts of the United States.

The territorial Liberals attempted a similar scheme with the one-stop shop on Quartz Road. The building has locked the YTG into a 10-year build-to-lease that sees the government paying $607,000 a year in rental fees. By the end of the 10 years, the government will have paid more than $6 million for the building.

The building plan received backlash from Yukon voters in the 2002 election. Pat Duncan's Liberals were decimated to the point that she held the only remaining Liberal seat in the legislature.

But, Brison says he doesn't expect a similar backlash against the Yukon's Liberal MP, Larry Bagnell, in the next federal election if the sell-to-lease plan goes through.

Requests for proposals are currently out for the project, and Brison says he expects a decision to be made in late 2005 or early 2006.

'We haven't made any final decision about what we'll be doing with the real estate,' he says. 'What the Yukon can count on is a Liberal government that is absolutely committed to investing and helping people in the Yukon succeed and prosper.'

Brison says the government is very committed to the territory and the development of northern Canada.

However, it's recently been announced that the Public Service Commission is closing its offices in the North and the living cost differential allowance for federal workers in Whitehorse will be eliminated. Some critics say the government is moving away from providing services in the territories.

'It's a continuation of the federal government giving up on its human presence in the territories,' Jean-Francois Des Lauriers, regional executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, told the Star previously.

However, Brison says a new and evolving initiative, Service Canada, will make government services more accessible to all Canadians.

Service Canada will eventually provide a single phone number and online website, and maybe even a single office, for Canadians to access any government service.

'The model is a one-stop shop model,' says Brison. 'If you have an issue with a federal government department, you can phone one phone number or go on one website or go to one office and basically have them be able to direct you the way you need to be directed to achieve the solution you desire or need.'

The program is another way to not only streamline government services, but to reduce costs and get better value for taxpayers' money, he says.

But, Brison wasn't able to say if the automation of federal services may result in more offices moving away from Canada's more isolated regions.

'There can be an impact, but it's not going to affect services, because it's important to realize that in some cases, we have different federal government offices in the same communities. This involves a bringing together of services.'

The goal is to make services more accessible to Canadians, he says, and to allow them to be provided in a more professional manner.

All Canadians need to remember that both government and the delivery of services change and evolve, he says.

'There will always be some people, like my mother in Nova Scotia, or here, in the Yukon, who will resist change,' he says. 'But, the fact is that we as a government, have to cognizant of the fact that the world is changing and our citizens have to realize that the nature of service provision via the Internet or via the phone or the reorganization of government offices so they use the one-stop shopping model, are all going to change, and that's not a bad thing.'

This was Brison's first visit to the Yukon. He's doing what many ministers do in the summer months a cross-Canada whirlwind tour, while trying to meet stakeholders and get the Liberal party message out.

Brison arrived in Whitehorse on Saturday after having spent the three previous days in Charlottetown, Vancouver and Victoria.

'The biggest causality of the minority (government) is that it does glue people like myself in Ottawa. It's an absolute treat to come out to regions in the country. You really do learn a lot when you get out and about and meet with people.'

Brison says he hopes to get back to the Yukon to spend a longer period of time meeting with its citizens and hearing more about their issues or concerns.

However, with the current instability in Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, he isn't sure when exactly his next visit will be. He jokingly suggests it may not happen until the next election campaign, which could be as early as this fall.

'We can't predict what (Conservative Leader) Stephen Harper and (Bloc Quebecois Leader) Gilles Duceppe are going to do. If they have another frenzy where they want an election, they will try to precipitate an election,' he says.

In the meantime, Brison says, the Liberals are committed to making Parliament work.

Despite rumours that Brison may have his eyes on his party's leadership, he says his focus is just on Parliament and the next election.

'My goal is to be a good member of Parliament and to serve Canadians in that role and to serve the prime minister and Canadians in my role as a minister. I can't predict the future much beyond that.'