Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions, probably not surprisingly, are for the Minister of Finance today on his statement earlier today in the House. I’m wondering how the Minister can book $120 million in resource revenues in 2014-2015, $15 million for Aboriginal governments as 25 percent of our net fiscal benefit and refuse to commit 25 percent to the Heritage Fund to a more distant fiscal year? Mahsi.

In 2014-15 we are booking $120 million in royalties. We are booking 25 percent of our net fiscal benefits. That is $15 million to be paid in our 2014-15 budget to our Aboriginal government partners. Regular Members want 25 percent of GNWT’s net fiscal benefit to also be booked for ’14-15.

This House has been clear, the public has been clear about this 25 percent for many, many months, probably over a year. The Minister needs to start paying heed to the will of the House and not provide bafflegab where this is going to be met in some future years. Mahsi.

I understood the Minister to say that families were not covered by us before, but they are now. So I’m assuming that 256 doesn’t include the families there.

I’m wondering, since this is retroactive actually, we’ll be needing to come into force on the 1st of April of last year, what planning has been done in the way they have been handled to date, then, as actual residents, or are we talking reimbursements? I can just imagine there’s a bit of an administrative nightmare potentially. What have we done to ensure that that is dealt with efficiently? Partly I’m thinking of the families here to make...

The Minister has budgeted us into an untenable situation where he claims we have to spend almost all of our children’s inheritance in 2014-15.

How will the Minister adjust our budget to ensure 25 percent of the net fiscal benefit in 2014-15 can be booked into the Heritage Fund as per the will of our public and this House? Mahsi.

I didn’t hear an answer there, but I’m not surprised at that either, I guess. The Minister has repeatedly claimed that 5 percent of the Heritage Fund was part of this budget, yet less than 1 percent – it’s a very small fraction of 1 percent – is actually budgeted. What gives? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also am proud to recognize some Weledeh constituents. We’ve heard about Mr. Ernie Bernhardt and I see his family, too, so welcome to them. Paul Andrew, of course, and any members of the forum that might be with him from Weledeh. I can’t really see people back there. I’d also like to recognize David Jones, our Conflict of Interest Commissioner, who I haven’t met yet but am looking forward to meeting, and Paul Okalik as well. It’s great to have a representative from Nunavut here, old friends. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to respond to the Minister’s statement on the Heritage Fund contributions. I would like to begin by thanking my colleague Ms. Bisaro for stating many of the shortcomings of where we are at right now with regards to developing the Heritage Fund.

With regard to the Minister’s statement, I think pulling the wool over our eyes would be the most appropriate thing that comes to mind here. The net fiscal benefit resulting from our collection of resource royalties as a result of devolution is booked, although dollars are slow to flow.

The Minister has repeatedly...

Thanks for that information. So my understanding with other jurisdictions, Nunavummiut, for example, they receive the same services that we invoice Nunavut for those services. Have we been invoicing? In other words, for the past year have we been just taking care of these costs or have they been paid by the federal government and we will now have to reimburse the federal government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m glad to see this act come forward. I’m wondering: where do the families fit in? Were the families covered by GNWT before, and if not, are they also part of the 256? Thank you.

The point is that the Minister has booked the revenue. He’s booked the allocation to the Aboriginal governments and he has not booked the dollars to the Heritage Fund. We want that done this fiscal year. We know that the dollars flow later, and by delaying it another year, guess what. It delays the dollars into the Heritage Fund another year. Not acceptable.

I assume the $120 million booked in the budget as resource revenue royalties is an estimate. Why don’t you, again, at least book the estimated 5 percent as per your repeated claims that 5 percent was being booked this fiscal year.