Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, November 2, 2012, I will move that Bill 16, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2012-2013, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 14, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2013-2014, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chairman, when I get to that question, I will answer yes. Thank you.

In my discussions with one of our very skilled veterinarians that we have in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources when I was on-site doing a tour, it was pointed out to me that on almost every site they were tracking the type of fuel mixtures that they used. They tried some with dry wood and green wood and no coal, some with coal, some with coal and green wood. They tried just tarping some to see how natural decomposition would work in the heat. They were going to go back in the fall and test all the burn sites with all these carefully identified and catalogued burn sites to...

Madam Chair, with your indulgence, I would ask the Minister of Health to speak to that program issue. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The existing base funding was $2.527 million. The contract amount was $3.069 million. There’s a shortfall of $542,000 and the cost drivers of the increased costs for dietary, housekeeping and laundry services related to the contract. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don’t have that breakdown. Based on my recollection, we fought, on average, a normal number of fires. What we did have was an extremely dry season, a season where lightning started a month earlier, for example, a season that extended into September. We know that in just about every region there were major fires near communities requiring the mobilization of all our resources we had available, as well as importing resources from Alberta, Alaska, and any jurisdiction that we could get resources from, because every other jurisdiction in the country was facing the same...

Other than I think it was referred to as destructive testing to find out what was actually there, that was referenced yesterday, this is the only work that has been done in terms of the demolition and remediation. Thank you.

There has been, speaking as the former Health Minister, an ongoing struggle with the authorities and deficits. Clearly, as they go through their operations items like this, program areas like this that are unfunded and the authority can no longer afford to carry that without incurring a deficit are coming to light and being identified, and we’re coming forward to clear them off. The same as we’ve done with some of the costs, if I refer back to the Stanton issue, as well, with their dietary, laundry, and those types of service areas.