Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have tried to address some of the operational issues through this policy, and the one reason, for example at Stanton, is because the operating room does shut down each year and for lengthy periods of time. It was felt that this is an appropriate method of ensuring we had nurses to cover that year round when they would come back on. Again, for seasonal or for heavy work schedules in the winter or early spring, are paid out effective as of October 1st is another area. So we do try to put some flexibility in here. But the big matter here is, we have to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I presented my budget to this Assembly in February I spoke about a need to develop a broad macroeconomic policy for the NWT. Today I want to talk about how we will accomplish this.

We have all heard the statistics about the tremendous economic growth the NWT has experienced; 71 percent growth in gross domestic product since 1999, the highest employment rates in Canada and higher levels of income for workers. Much of this growth has come from investment in the construction of diamond mines and from exports of diamonds, with some growth associated with oil and gas...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, because it refers to our operating surplus of our last budget, there is some impact in the sense that we book previous year's earnings or revenue into the fiscal year. As well, throughout the year we do adjust our numbers based on revenue indications we get from the federal government. In this case, this money is again for previous year's surplus situation. Our fiscal responsibility policy, for example in this fiscal year, requires us to hold a $30 million surplus to fund our capital infrastructure program. So that's what that money would get to use...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Public Accounts Northwest Territories 2005-2006.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now within the Government of the Northwest Territories, the existing program we have, through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, wage subsidies and so on for a private sector, as well as departments, to help fund if they are going to go into the area of hiring more apprentices. Within the Department of Public Works and Services, as I stated earlier, we have struggled in that area. At one time, we provided all of the maintenance, O and M in communities. Since then with hamlets and community governments taking on more and more of that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Under the existing system that we are now under until the next agreement is signed -- and we expect we should have an agreement in place by the time the new federal budget comes around -- the interim formula financing arrangement we are operating under, we get to keep 100 percent of the revenues; or, if it slides the other way, we lose 100 percent. So in this case, there's no further adjustments to those numbers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are beginning our plans in the sense of how we would communicate and what sort of support we could build across other jurisdictions. More importantly, before we can do that, we need to know and understand the parameters of our own decisions we go forward on; how large to increase or push for an increase in a northern residents tax deduction. That portion of it. So we have to build our case of what we would like to do and move that forward. So we are coming with a discussion paper to Cabinet to follow up on this, as well as to come up with a plan to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at one point, Public Works and Services was the largest, within government, producer of tradespeople through the Apprenticeship Program. For many years, the government, past governments, have taken a different direction and the staffing levels within the trades side of our department was privatized and that initiative wasn’t used as much. What we have done within the Government of the Northwest Territories, though, recently was to look at the Apprenticeship Program, the involvement that we have. Each department already has, through a number of programs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s not too often I get to stand up and get some good news out there. I’ll take this opportunity today to mention some good news for us here in the Northwest Territories, as well as for a constituent back in Inuvik.

Yesterday in New Brunswick the BDC honoured top young businesspeople from across Canada at the 19th Young Entrepreneurs Awards Ceremony. Out of the 19, the Northwest Territories was represented by one of our own out of Inuvik, Ms. Holly Norris.

---Applause

She started, along with her partner, a business called Delta Sun Services in Inuvik. It’s a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this reference that we highlight the estimated surplus that we were targeting in the last budget reflects the previous fiscal year operations. So it doesn't have an impact on today's fiscal environment. It shows that through our final accounting and the measures taken and adjustments with the federal government, and those adjustments are not directly related to the formula, they're related more to the CRA, or Canada Revenue Agency, and how corporations file their tax and when those final adjustments happen there. So that's the impact. But the surplus...