Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, we are booking a whole number of dollar figures. We are booking all the money we’re getting for our A-base transfer, for all the positions, all the programs. We are booking the notional amount of $120 million as projected revenue, and once we get the money, then we’ll talk about the expenditures which we have committed to, one of them being the Heritage Fund, the 25 percent. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, last week I delivered the 2014-15 budget on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. That budget was based on a fiscal strategy of living within our means while still identifying funds to better support the people of the Northwest Territories and make strategic investments in our economy. Part of our plan included investing in the future of the territory by allocating 5 percent of resource revenues coming through devolution to the Heritage Fund.

While public reaction to the budget has generally been positive, Members have clearly indicated that they disagree with the...

Mr. Speaker, we are constantly held to that account, and to my understanding, it is embedded in part of that documented process. Thank you.

The issue of the debt to revenue number, for example, 5 percent, a maximum 5 percent can go to interest payments out of revenue. It’s not 1 percent; it’s 5 percent, so the Member’s statement earlier in the day was wrong, just for a point of clarification. But that number, we looked across the fiscal landscape across the country and it’s something that is manageable, and at the 5 percent of revenue, yes, we could manage the additional cost should we get a borrowing limit of a billion dollar bump-up and should we decide to invest that money, and yes, that money would be targeted to economic...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We, as well, have hopes for Highway No. 9. As I pointed out to the Member, not over supper but we did have a chat, I don’t think there’s been a budget that I can recollect where the Norman Wells to Wrigley portion of the Mackenzie Highway has received as much attention, because it is a critical chunk, or the next segment of the Mackenzie Highway. So we are, once again, looking at that.

The Bear River Bridge, as well, is on our shortlist of bridges. As I indicated, there are calls in the next few days with Ministers and deputies to look at what the federal government...

As it has been pointed out, some of these figures are estimates. They’re based on the royalties posted on an average basis. So depending on how good a year it is and the coming year will depend on what we’re going to get, but we fully anticipate we are going to get royalties in the neighbourhood of $120 million, barring some unforeseen bad news, and if there’s good news, then it will be more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Member for his comments. The issue of managing within our resources, trying to meet the demands, the issues that the Member has talked about, as has some of his colleagues, nursing in the small communities is a challenge that, as the Member said, is still yet to be met.

I agree with him on the opportunity that decentralization and devolution are presenting us, that there are opportunities we have committed as a government to a decentralization plan. We’re moving into phase 3. There are going to be benefits in regional centres like Simpson, Smith, Inuvik, Hay...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, we’re not. We’re acknowledging that the Devolution Agreement kicks in April 1st. The resource royalties will start to accrue but the royalties will not be paid out and will not come into our coffers until the end of 2015. Once the appropriate business cycles are concluded and reporting cycles and financial cycles are concluded where royalties are ascertained, at that point we will honour the commitment and put in 25 percent in 2015-16 on a go-forward basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 50 percent has not been allocated and we’re still having the discussion about how much goes into infrastructure and how much goes for debt servicing costs. Thank you.

The intention was to have that number reflected in the 2015-16 budget when we had the number. We’ve committed to the 25 percent and we will honour that and we will put it in as soon as we get the money. That will be reflected clearly and accurately in 2015-16. Thank you.