Michael Miltenberger
Statements in Debates
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. The ’14-15 budget will contain appropriate inclusion of this particular project.
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the Member for his comments and his suggestions and note that for the record, unless the Minister wants to respond in any other specific way.
Thank you, Madam Chair. With regard to the Stanton budget, the budget is reflecting $20 million for next year and every year forward until it’s complete. Those numbers are clear commitments, and once the class C estimate is in, we will be having an even more refined discussion about the timelines and cost and what money needs to be put on the table. But right now we have that number in there.
We are also going to be doing, as we are obligated to under our P3 policy, a review of the project to see what is possible through the P3 side.
With regard to the medical records, I’ll ask the deputy...
The Member’s comments are accurate in terms of how that money fits into the overall budgetary scheme of things, that it’s tied to remediating any deficiencies tied to ATCON’s involvement in the project. It’s separate from the project.
I’ll ask the deputy if he wants to speak to the amount of money that has been expended. Then I will dig back into my memory. I think we’ve spent there, out of the $13 million, I think we’ve spent five, and tied to addressing deficiencies tied to ATCON’s involvement.
Madam Chair, if you actually look across the whole health care system, I think the government, Health and Social Services, Public Works and Services has and is doing a commendable job in terms of infrastructure in Fort Smith, Hay River. We have done Aklavik.
In my life as a politician, we opened up the Inuvik hospital. We are looking at facilities in Norman Wells, places that had older infrastructure, places that had no infrastructure. At the same time it is now clearly Stanton’s time and we are putting in money. There’s $20 million in next year. We recognize that we’re going to be putting...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Three key points, if I may. The bill before us talks about putting to good use the carry-over, the money that didn’t get spent last year on a critical area. As we all agreed at the start of this Assembly, we would have two years of fiscal discipline and then in year three/four we would add $50 million to the infrastructure budget. So the capital plan is being referred to Members for their review prior to the fall session. It contains those resources so we will have to have that discussion with the Members.
Then the government, through Minister Ramsay, is at work talking to...
It’s worth noting that while the overall percentage of carry-overs is up, on a numerical dollar basis, it’s about $26 million less than last year. We had some major projects tied to Health and some to Transportation tied to contracting and some design issues that we have worked our way through.
The anticipation is this year that we will once again try to set the bar as high as we can. I believe the system is working. I think the changes we made are good ones. But every building season you have to look at the type of projects, the complexity and these other variables that we sometimes don’t have...
As much as I don’t like to disagree with Members, in this case the Member is categorically mistaken. The money that we’re talking about was voted and put aside back in 2004-05 as our part of the broader Giant Mine Remediation Project. That $23 million was taken, $17 million of that was in O and M, put it into capital to pay for this road.
I’m not sure exactly what project the Member is talking about that he thinks Yellowknife got shortchanged on. If it’s the bypass road, that was Build Canada money, but no one has been shortchanged. That money, that $17 million from out of the $23 million that...
Madam Chair, I have with me Mr. Mike Aumond, deputy minister of Finance; and Mr. Paul Guy, deputy minister of Public Works and Services. Thank you.
Madam Chair, this money is carried over money, so it is not new money. I will ask Mr. Aumond if he can speak to some of the detail of what the money is going to be put to, the use it is going to be put. Thank you.