Michael Miltenberger

Yes, Madam Chair. If committee is interested on energy money and wants to meet somewhere over the course of July or August, we’re more than interested to do that. In regard to the detail of how the reallocated money is going to be spent in early childhood development with Education, I’d ask, Madam Chair, with your indulgence once again, if Minister Lafferty could respond to that about some of the concerns raised by Mr. Bromley. Thank you.

Madam Chair, we have agreed and we are going to put in $250,000 a year. We are going to come up with the business planning process that’s starting. Again, if at the end of the day the consensus is – I’m not sure what the Member has in mind with significant – but if that is the end result of the decision of this Legislature, we will look at that. But going forward at this point, we have $250,000 a year ongoing. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just need clarification. As a matter of practice, we have the discussion about new money. The only reason we’re here is because of this discussion, that we did have to get agreement on this. We are going to be starting the business planning process where we will be having that renewed discussion, not only about new dollars but all existing programs. That’s a given as well. So, Madam Chair, I’m not quite clear what further assurance the Member is looking for.

Madam Chair, this fund will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, but there are some built-in checkpoints in the bill. It is put away for 10 years. There is a major review after 10, but it’s going to be monitored and reported on on an annual basis.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me reassure the Legislature that what we’re voting on today is, as the Member for Nahendeh said, $1.267 million. There are two different pots: one for $900,000 and one for $367,000, and once that is voted, then there will be opportunities for discussion as there will be on the energy money, how do we move forward with that.

The Minister of Health was asked to look at putting more money into early childhood development. He’s come up with some suggestions. Clearly, what this House is voting on today is that global number and the commitment here is, as we go forward to...

We are aiming at 1.2 percent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We’ve been dealing in good faith here with committee. This is new money. Everything we’ve done is here before the House and transparent. I’ll ask Minister Beaulieu if he wants to speak further to the Ministerial gathering that he’s got planned, but I appreciate your guidance, as well, in terms of going forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The $250,000 will be ongoing, so it will be another $250,000 next year until we come to some greater certainty with devolution and other potential revenue streams. Thank you.

Madam Chair, let me throw out a couple more four-year-old analogies and sayings about being penny wise, possibly, and pound foolish or forgetting the forest for the trees.

In this case, we made a very conscious decision, one that had all sorts of factors and variables, but let’s talk to the money. Ten million dollars today as opposed to another $9 million probably by next year as you remobilize and get everything done and, as well, an outstanding another $10 million or so in possible claims that we would have spent months in litigation. We had claims. They had claims. We made the wise decision...

Madam Chair, there was a fundamental decision to be made and we have made it. That decision is this: Do we tie ourselves in knots in the midst of a project, that we are working desperately to conclude, with lawyers and litigation and all these other issues, or do we rise above that and look at what the end goal is here and what is in the best interest of the people of the Northwest Territories, which is get the bridge built, limit the further costs and get it done within this current building season.

There will be plenty of time for review. There will be plenty of time later for finger pointing...