Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are issues with the Cantung Mine. They’ve filed for creditor protection and there’s a lot of work underway with the involved governments to work through the process of what that would mean to make sure that we protect our interests. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regards to Stanton, the plan, as we will lay out tonight in detail, is going to be for a new hospital with the old hospital being designated for some other use in the coming years.

In regard to the $28 million for communities, what we have done is protected that money from any reductions, recognizing that it is a critical need and that as we manage our money and look at balancing our expenditures and revenues, that’s one area that was deemed to be in need of protection. I appreciate the Member’s comments both about the planning studies and the extended care facility...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the Member’s comments. In regards to the issue of lack of community energy projects, I think there’s a number that have been put in, either in the community or through NTPC, if I could refer to Colville Lake, for example, or Lutselk’e, where we’ve got power purchase agreements. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars taking a look at Deline. We’ve got biomass, albeit in our own buildings for the most part. We’ve promoted and are helping build an industry now.

I appreciate there’s a need to do more. We have an expression of interest coming out, for example...

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

We have over 5,000 employees. Our human resources costs are the single biggest costs in the government.

Once again let me state for the record that the Member is getting way ahead of himself on these questions. There is nothing that’s going to be decided by this government. There is transition planning in a whole range of areas that is going to be done.

As the Premier indicated in his statement, balancing our revenues and expenditures is a challenge of this government and will carry on as a challenge to the next government. When I do my fiscal update tomorrow, I will be making that same declaration. All we are doing is getting our transition documents ready and there will be no decisions made in...

Thank you. The amount of security that’s posted is $11.6 million.

We’re engaged in discussions with the Government of Canada over the potential that they could be filing for bankruptcy, and abandonment of the mine could lead to an agreement to transfer the mine to Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We fully agree with the Member about the need for the government, especially in the smaller communities but across the economy as a whole, the territory as a whole, especially given the fact that we’re now into a second recession in the last eight years, to use our infrastructure dollars to help stimulate the economy. We did that in 2007. We borrowed to our limit to make sure that we had as much infrastructure go into the ground as possible, and I think we did over a million dollars in a few years. We still see that as a critical way forward, especially infrastructure...