Statements in Debates
Thanks, Madam Chair. So there's an interesting graph in the report by the committee, and it shows that, you know, from 2010-11, to 2015-16, the contingent liability amount in the public accounts was single digit numbers in the millions of dollars, and then it leapfrogged to $67 million, and now it's at $107 million for 2019-20. And I guess I have my own suspicions of what's driving this, but I think it's partly that the very complex P3 arrangements that our government is getting into. These are like a thousand pages of documents for each project. And I think it just leaves lots of room for...
Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I just want to encourage that the department does get out some more information about what the next steps are. There was the PricewaterhouseCooper's study done in that was publicly released in October of 2020, and I understand there's some more work in progress. But what those next steps are and the timeline for them and how that's going to relate to regulation development, whether the regulations are going to cover a variety of topics like map staking, transparency, that's just not clear at all. And so I want to encourage the department, the Minister, to put out...
Thanks, Madam Chair. Just briefly, I checked the heritage fund balance, and it's predicted to be $27 million at the end of 2020-2021. And I calculated the value of the diamonds that have been exported from the Northwest Territories since diamond production began, and it's about $35 billion.
I know we got a late start on the heritage fund, and the heritage fund is something that's going to be reviewed hopefully during the life of this Assembly, but I think we kind of need to do better for our future generations. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Committee would like to consider Tabled Document 437-19(2), Capital Estimates 2022-2023; Committee Report 22-19(2), Report on Telecommunications; Committee Report 20-19(2), Report on Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act; and Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. And I'm really happy to try to help him get the money but I'm sure that he can work more closely with his Cabinet colleagues. But I'm still just not convinced that culture and heritage gets all the attention it deserves, especially when it comes to federal relations and opportunities.
Can the Minister describe the department's recent attempts to secure federal funding for culture and heritage and how this relates to our efforts to towards reconciliation; and, more specifically, what this means for the museum? Merci, Mr...
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I've seen so many documents calling for renovations or a new facility that it isn't even funny anymore. Some of us have visited the museum and seen the problems firsthand. If our government actually made culture and heritage our higher priority, I think we would have had a new museum by now. And that's exactly what the Yukon did, Mr. Speaker.
Does the Minister have a renovation or upgrade plan to address the museum's practical needs that he's going to bring forward for funding approval or when will such a plan be presented...
Merci, Monsieur le President. The advice from the Transition Matters special committee of the last Assembly was that there should be fewer priorities. We produced a list of 22 priorities versus the 25 for the 18th Assembly. Hard choices were not made. We ran out of time and energy after an intensive orientation with a looming leadership selection process.
I do not support some of the priorities set by this Assembly. Some work at crosspurposes with each other. Some of the priorities provide precise direction while others are extremely vague. The priorities provide very little direction for the...
Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.
Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, and I want to thank my colleague from Yellowknife North. He's covered off a number of my concerns, particularly with regard to P3s being used increasingly by GNWT.
But the other aspect that the report goes into, and this was found in the audit by the auditor general, was that there was overspending on capital by $32 million during 2019-20. You know, the 50 percent mark was a certain figure, and we only generated a $46 million cash operating surplus but we spent $78 million on capitals using the fiscal responsibility policy.
So even though our government failed to...
Thanks, Madam Chair. So this project's actually in my riding, and it's something so I've been here six years and I've never really understood how we owned the old hospital and then it was given to somebody else to renovate and then we leased the whole thing back at a cost, and then we get it back at the end of the period when it's been rented to us for 30 years. I've just never really understood that arrangement. It just boggles my mind. And I don't understand why the government didn't keep the building, renovate it, and then we used it for longterm care and extended care, which is I guess...