Jane Groenewegen

Is committee agreed?

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to ask the Minister, does he need any further political support for this concept, for this idea. Would he like my colleague from Hay River North, would you like us to approach the Seniors’ Society, the Town of Hay River, other stakeholders from within Hay River to get support for this idea of looking at the H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital as a long-term care facility in the interim?

I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. Tabled Document 9-17(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2013-2014, is the only matter before the committee today. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Menicoche.

Again, not wanting to pre-empt any kind of process or notification to employees or anything, but is the Premier able to be any more specific about those positions?

I thank the Premier for that. Those are good and valid concerns. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here. Could we get a general approximation? Would it be safe to say that of those 14 new positions and four relocated positions – and I realize that this is not the Premier’s, it is the Finance Minister’s role to answer this question – would it be safe to say that eight or 10 of those are coming to Hay River?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not used to being upstaged, but here I go.

---Laughter

This year’s budget includes a total of $5.15 million for energy initiatives. According to this Cabinet, 7 percent of this budget will go to energy planning. The Government of the Northwest Territories has a consistent track record of spending millions on energy studies, surveys, strategies and public consultation; yet, for all the energy that has gone into energy planning, we only pay more for heat and power every year. For all the planning, two of our communities are in dire need of reliable energy sources. The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 9-17(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2013-2014, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

I thank the Premier for that. I think there’s actually a lot more but it’s probably not easy with where we are in the business plans to identify all of those, so we will stay tuned and get updates as they become available.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Premier if he could confirm that the 18 positions that are referred to in the budget address yesterday, is that the total extent of the decentralization being looked at for this fiscal year? Thank you.