Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, as well, would like to recognize a former roommate from the really good old days in the last century when we were in Grandin College together, a lifelong friend, Mr. Ernie Bernhardt.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

There hasn’t been any target investment in the amount of $632,000 that’s already been approved for 2013-14 in ongoing. As we look at improving and having a process that better reflects the concerns of the Legislature, I give the Member acknowledgement of her interest in this issue both in health, but across government, forest firefighting, for example, of making the base more reflect the reality of the operation as opposed to having to come back. As we identify these areas, that’s what we’re attempting to do going forward here. Thank you.

I understand, having talked to some of the biologists and such, that anthrax is a treatable condition if you capture it in time, but there’s no inoculation that I’m aware of. In cases with wild roaming herds, we are responding late in the day after we, through our aerial surveys in this case, happened to find some dead bison that turned out to have anthrax, so we were playing catch-up the whole summer trying to identify the outbreak in the animals after the outbreak had already occurred. The short answer would be, no, I don’t believe there’s an inoculation for anthrax.

My understanding is that this is basically an accumulated amount, that over the last number of years the costs have been absorbed within the operation. It’s no longer sustainable, hence the request that’s now before this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The final accounting is just being concluded. There is going to be some under expenditure. The money will be identified. Of course, it’s been voted by FMB that that money is coffered. That will be fully accounted for and returned to the treasury. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The year-end accounting will capture all the money across government that has lapsed. One of the specific ways, if there is direction of committee, we could look at a negative supp that would specifically target any funds should they be lapsed on this project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a project that was done in discussion in consultation with the Tlicho Government as well as the community of Whati. It depends on how you want to consider the sequencing. The transmission line will allow the community of Whati to go onto hydro. We know that we’re currently looking at expansion in a number of areas for hydro. We’re just concluding the Bluefish, for example, and we’re, through the energy plan as we’ve laid out to committee, going to be talking about the broadening of the grid and the connection of the grids going forward to allow us to move...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The combined projects come to $8.855 million.

Yes, the Member is correct; the contract was for $1.459 million. The amount of money in that program area that the Inuvik Health and Social Services had in their budget was $842,000, so a $547,000 shortfall that they have been covering off as an authority and running a deficit to do that. They’ve reached a point where it’s no longer fiscally sustainable, and as we try to adjust and have realistic budgets, this funding area, clearly, was underfunded. Hence this request and an ongoing target adjustment of this same amount for both facilities of $850,000.