Floyd Roland

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in speaking to the Member and the issue that he has raised about the sale of overproof products in the stores throughout the Northwest Territories, that’s something I will take into serious consideration. There may be a number of ways in trying to deal with this, but I will look at that and work with the Member on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I could probably get into a long response into how the contracts are controlled. Basically as they are set out there’s a prescribed number of hours, as well as a list of products that could be for sale in the Northwest Territories. Through that we would have our Liquor Commission hold the product and ship it out to the contractors throughout the Northwest Territories. The list of product that is available for sale is determined by the department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister stated already in this House, this government already has a number of initiatives underway to ensure that all communities in the Northwest Territories benefit from some of the services we provide in the territory. That is one of the things we have to also keep in mind. Again, the Minister has committed to providing information to Members of this House, so that they can see the trail that’s gone to this point. It’s not something that came up yesterday. It’s been discussed for some time and we will provide that information. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that sounds similar to a question asked earlier about the business case. Again, the Minister has provided to commit to providing that information to Members of this House before the end of this session. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the impact we feel the most would be on the surplus we had accounted for during the budget process. This budget year and the upcoming budget years, there is going to be a small impact. We will not be reducing the current expenditures that we have voted for and put in the budget, so there will not be a reduction scenario coming as a result of this information. Again, there are a number of other avenues that we are working on with the federal government which could impact us in a positive way that might offset this, but that’s still up in the air as to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will have the department work on that as soon as we can put some horsepower to it and we should be able to work with the contractors out there in getting signage up. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I would consider that as we look at the matter of our products that we have for sale in the Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first and foremost it would be through the request or our fees that are issued regarding the sale of products; so when those contracts come available. As well, from time to time the Assembly will hold public hearings on it if there are changes to the act, and in fact we are going through that process and will be going throughout the communities in the Territories and trying to get input as to the Liquor Act and its changes. But for the actual product of what is available for sale, I can’t recall myself in my time as Minister of Finance, if in fact there...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to update Members and NWT residents on this government’s fiscal position and outlook.

When I presented the budget in February, we were looking at a fairly positive fiscal situation, both in the short and long term. At that time, we forecast a 2004-05 year-end operating surplus of about $44 million, primarily the result of the increases to our formula funding grant and federal health transfers arising from last fall’s First Ministers meetings.

Despite receiving these additional funds, our interim public accounts will show...