Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'll try one more time. So in forming this corporate services unit that's now going to serve what used to be four departments, now two, all of those people who used to be in their individual departments, were there any positions cut in forming this shared corporate services unit? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am not sure that was actually an answer, but I will try maybe a different way. There was very prescriptive direction in terms of how the Public Utilities Board is to deal with electricity rates that really limit the board's ability to exercise its jurisdiction. I am just curious to know if we are going to continue to do that Public Utilities Board, why bother having a board? Just get rid of it, and you can decide internally how to set the rates through ownership of NTPC or whatever. Why bother having a Public Utilities Board if we are going to continue to issue that...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. It is on page 145, environmental liabilities. It is just a flat $2 million. Are we not assessing these sites so that we understand the liabilities better? Are we remediating the sites and getting these liabilities off our books? What is happening here? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I guess what I'm hearing then is that positions are being cut in the budget. The funding is being cut in the budget, and they're going to do some sort of a functional review. They may come back. The Minister might come back at some point during the 201718 fiscal year for supplementary appropriation for additional positions. Is that what I'm hearing? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Sorry, one other quick question depending on answers. Page 80, water strategy action plan is being reduced. From 201516, we've seen this decline from 585 down to 325 for 201718. I believe this is money that's provided to perhaps Aboriginal governments to make sure they are engaged in implementation and negotiation of these agreements. Is that what this is for and why is it declining? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Great to hear that we are going to have a functional review, but are the figures in the main estimates correct then in terms of the active position reductions and the reductions in, it looks like it is the corporate services function within this section? Are those the actual figures or have they been changed in some way? Thanks Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the level of detail provided by the ADM. That’s helpful. We have the materials now. Presumably, they’re being distributed and there’s some assistance from local and regional ENR staff. I’m not sure that’s quite good enough to make sure that source water is actually protected. We need the plans.

I don’t think it’s just ENR’s responsibility, clearly. There’s a role for MACA here as well. MACA does spend a lot of money and tries to build capacity within the communities to have sound water systems for communities. Part of that is to make sure that the source water is...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the response from the Minister, but I will continue to disagree that we have the capacity to deliver, but time will tell, and I will look forward to the progress on this initiative, and I will continue to monitor it as it moves forward. Thanks, Mr. Chair. That's all I've got.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the response. That’s good to hear. If I just do the math here and add in 441k from 2016-17 to 2017-18, there are obviously some other things that are going on here within the Watershed Management function of the ENR.

Sorry, I’ll just digress here for a second. Part of the problem is there’s just no detail provided in the mains or even in the business plan about what this money is being spent on. I guess I would urge the department to find a better way to present what’s going on with these functions in their business plan so that we can actually see where any...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I just would like to ask a few more questions about the staffing levels within ENR then when it comes to this conservation network initiative. How many other people are working on this initiative within the department? Thanks, Mr. Chair.