Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. It is page 155, the one that we were just talking about. If I may, thank you, Mr. Chair, if he looks under the expenditure category, chargebacks is the fourth line. The sixth line or whatever is contract services. There is a reduction in expenditures under chargebacks and a fairly significant increase in contract services, so if I could get some explanation? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am glad to hear that, because that is my understanding as well. What is the plan moving forward? We are just going to have $160K, then, in SEED that is available for support for the film industry? What is the feature of this effort on this sector of the economy? Are we just going to let this die, or are we going to continue to invest in it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I do appreciate the response from the Minister, but as I understand it the original offer was for 5.2 per cent increase annually in healthcare, in the agreement that was under discussion. So why did we sign off on 3 per cent when the original ask was 5.2 and the offer that was on the table was 3.5?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. There is $100,000 listed here in the mains on this page. Another $60,000 comes from SEED. Is that what I am hearing? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health before the clock runs out. Cabinet seems to be able to find resources for its preferred projects, whether it's NTCL, Mactung, or roads. We're still waiting to hear, though, about improving our housing stock and other social infrastructure needs. Can the Minister of Health comment on how we're going to fund our growing social infrastructure needs, including the shortfall in long-term care, or shall we just tell our seniors to hit the many roads we keep on building? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The entire program is sunsetting at the end of this year? Is that what the Minister said? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, monsieur le President. In his reply to the Budget Address, the Health Minister referred to the growing numbers facing us in meeting the demand for seniors' long-term care. We know that by 2026, he said, we have to put in 258 long-term care beds. That's $139,000 in operational costs per bed, for a total of more than $35 million annually by 2026 to meet the projected demand.

The numbers are taken from the 2015 Northwest Territories Long-Term Care Program Review report. The report provided a detailed analysis of the anticipated demand for longterm care, options for programs, and approaches...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Since the previous speaker opened the door to consideration of policy matters under corporate management, can I ask the Minister: is this where funding is found for drafting of the work that's going to get under way soon for a Mineral Resources Act, or is it found further on into the departmental budget? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will direct that to the director of finance as well.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the response from the Minister, but I'm just not sure how he can commit to bringing forward legislation while he's cutting the budget for it. I will just leave it at that for that one.

I have a further question under the expenditure category. I see where contract services is once again, last year, not all of the money was spent, and this year, there's a reduction in that. Can the Minister or his staff explain what's going on with the money allocated for contract services? Now, I presume that some of this might be used to help bring forward some of the legislation...