Mr. Speaker, we have not looked at it from a 16th Assembly point of view. In response to the Member the other day, I did commit that we would look at what that potential may be.

I wish to advise Members that the Hon. Jackson Lafferty will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Justice Ministers’ meeting in Ottawa.

Bill 1, Interim Appropriation Act, 2008-2009, requests authority for appropriations of $381.275 million for operational expenditures and $110.291 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

This interim budget provides the necessary resources for the G.N.W.T. to operate for the first three months of the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The 2008-2009 main estimates will be presented during the May-June 2008 sitting of the Legislative Assembly and will include funding for the entire 2008-09 fiscal year.

The interim appropriation provides for only a portion of the full-year...

I move, seconded by the Hon. Member from Deh Cho, that Bill 1, Interim Appropriation Act, 2008-2009, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, as the Members are aware, we’ve been trying to finalize a schedule of getting the upcoming budget in place and how much of the change we can incorporate in our first year. So the time line’s in front of us.

Much of that work would flow into the ’09-’10 business plan process, so we’re going to see what work may be able to be carried forward. But the refocusing piece, and the amount of work that’s required, would take us more time than the typical approach we take to business planning. I would say much of this type of work would flow through into the ’09-’10 business plan process.

Mr. Speaker, the work that was done previously, in fact, was chaired by Minister Miltenberger. It just so happens that in this government, the 16th Assembly, he is the lead on the refocusing-government portion of our initiatives. This area would be falling under that activity.

Mr. Speaker, we would have to look at all the boards and agencies, not just health authorities but education authorities, the relationship we have with them, and the LHOs as well, looking at where there may be potential overlaps. That work is to be done, and the lead Minister, again, is Minister Miltenberger. They’ve...

Mr. Speaker, in a sense there are a number of partners involved in this. We are back stoppers, in a sense, as was pointed out by Members of this Assembly, on this project. Information that we would do, we would share with all parties involved. They haven’t requested this, and I can’t see why we would go to them for their evaluation of our work.

From the FMBS side, we have been monitoring the fiscal impacts of this project and ensuring that we’ve covered off areas of risk points for the G.N.W.T.

Mr. Speaker, the question asked of them, as I responded the other day, was work we could do for our membership. I am sure, even when the question was asked, that the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation’s interest is in looking at what liabilities they may be at risk for.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, number one, I wouldn’t want to, for debate on this subject, say that the Member has raised an issue that I think falls under more debate than what’s happening. Specifically to the issue that she’s raised on this item, we know that as Members of this House we debate a lot of things in this House or respond as Ministers are required to respond to questions that Members put before us. We respond with information from briefing notes that are done up by departments and so on and so forth with that area. Even the questions, as she’s referenced herself to this...

I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Thebacha, that Bill 2, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 3, 2007-2008, be read for the third time.