Michael Miltenberger

It’s currently by looking back and looking forward and hoping we’re not going to move into a 2008 type of year that’s going to catch everybody by surprise.

The other big issue is while we look at our revenues, which is an important issue, we have expenditure issues, as well, where we’re spending almost every cent we make. We’re working hard to manage that. So one way to deal with it is, of course, to keep looking for more money. The other side is to try to control our expenditures and the growth of government and size of government and program creep and all these things. Between the two is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been ongoing discussions. That offer has been on the table. Within the banned zone for the Bathurst, we’ve allocated 150 tags and there is a continued offer to assist the community with the hunt outside the banned area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The passive restraint is the main reduction exercise, cost controlling exercise with the ‘15-16 looking to re-profile and save $30 million, which is an election year budget, I might add. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we have indicated previously, the intent is to move away from relying on the federal projections and we’re going to start using our own five-year rolling average which we think will give us a more consistent and realistic number, but I’ll ask the deputy if he wants to add anything further.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The biggest increase, of course, is the $67 million that we are getting added to our A base from devolution negotiations. I’ll ask the deputy if he wants to add more detail about the further particulars. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Consumption is up. Whether it’s because it’s not as efficient as they thought it would be, I think the pressure is more on the cold weather and costs are up all over the place just because of the cold and the greater demand, but I can get that detailed information for the Member. Thank you.

Madam Chair, I was working on my BlackBerry. Could you repeat the question?

Let me be clear. We have and are handing out and have handed out, I understand, 150 tags, authorizations to Yellowknives to hunt. What I was talking about was the assertion by the Member that we were doing it somehow with the chief’s signature on the authorization. That particular fact I haven’t had confirmed from ENR.

We want to work out an arrangement with the Yellowknives that involves ENR, that involves monitoring, that involves a coordinated, cooperative effort to oversee this process as opposed to just having carte blanche and we’ll check back with you and trust us we’ll take care of it...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we do this budget and we look at the fluid nature of the revenue projections, I don’t think it should blind us to the fact that we have, over the years, evolved what I think is a budgeting system, although some people may think it has a lot of shortcomings. It does what it is supposed to do.

We are, by any national standard, one of the best run jurisdictions in the country. We have managed our way through the worst economic downturn since the great depression. We protected programs, services, prevented staff layoffs, negotiated agreements with all our employees, we...