David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Executive.

With regards to food catering for National Aboriginal Women’s Summit II, specifically SC 411268 and SC 411279 for the amount of $53,668.54 and $16,647.50:

Did conference participants have to pay a conference fee that would cover some of the costs of the conference?

Did any participants receive from their employers a per diem for the time they were in Yellowknife?

Mr. Chairman, I’m just wondering if there is any legal recourse for the Government of the Northwest Territories to pursue the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation for their inability to deliver the project on budget. The design, like I said, the issues with the design, the issues with the subcontractors, the issue with the general contractor. They’ve been removed. I mean, can we go back after the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation to recoup some of the costs that they’ve forced the government to incur? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one more question and I don’t know, I guess I could ask it on this page but… Well, actually, I’ll wait until we get back to operations expenditure summary, Mr. Chairman. It fits better there so I’ll wait.

Page 5-13, Finance, activity summary, deputy minister’s office, operations expenditure summary, $41.921 million.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m just, again, wondering -- and I believe I’ve asked this question before -- one of the other six budgets, the Women’s Advisory, now I know it plays an important role in what we do here, but, again, I just have trouble understanding why we keep it under this area of the Department of Executive and why it wouldn’t go to the department of let’s say Health and Social Services or let’s say ECE. It certainly doesn’t belong under the Department of Executive. I think if you’re going to give it the support and push that it needs, I think it’s got to be under one of the...

Thank you, Ms. Melhorn. Mr. Bromley, anything further? Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Thanks, committee. We’re on page 5-29, office of the chief information officer, operations expenditure summary, $1.777 million.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am just trying to understand where this Contracts Over $5,000 Report for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2009... I am just wondering, there is an item in here Yellowknife liquor warehouse for $7 million in the contract registry here. How come that doesn’t show up in the actuals anywhere in this year’s main estimates in the 2008-2009 actuals? It should have that amount in there and I am just wondering why it doesn’t. I couldn’t find it anyway. Maybe there is an explanation for it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Page 5-9, Finance, department summary, information item, revenue summary.

I guess one of the areas of concern is the management NGOs and I’m just wondering if the government’s given any consideration to the possibility of setting up an NGO management training course, which would give prospective managers of NGOs a rundown of government programs and services, how NGOs relate with the government and how they can effectively manage an organization. I think that’s something like the capacity building we’re doing for communities, Mr. Chairman. Has the government given any consideration to maybe the possibility of training some of these NGO managers? Thank you.

Page 5-29, Finance, activity summary, office of the chief information officer, operations expenditure summary, $1.777 million. Mr. Bromley.