Michael Miltenberger

As I indicated just in the previous response, the Premiers and the Council of the Federation have put the Finance Ministers from the provinces and territories to work under the chairmanship of Premier Selinger from Manitoba, who has many, many years – he’s one of the longest serving Finance Ministers in Canada – to work, to review those issues raised by the Members and others, as well, so as a collective we can come up with the best understanding possible and agree hopefully on a way forward and be able to have a sound basis to engage the federal government in any discussion that may be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure if it’s short order or short-term, but really in the short term we’re guaranteed the 6 percent increase and then subsequent to that it will be tied to the nominal GDP to a minimum of 3 percent. We will have to govern ourselves accordingly. It depends. I laid out some demographics, for example, about the doubling of our population over 60 by 2015 or so. We’re going to have to manage ourselves accordingly.

I would also point out that under the arrangements that have been proposed there were two jurisdictions that were positively impacted. One of them, in a...

The issue of whether there’s a fragile global economy or not we could debate. We could debate the use of the term “fragility.” Clearly, when you have written Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, most of the former Eastern European block countries, France, either in recession or teetering on the edge of recession and the United States just struggling to get back out of recession, when we have our own provincial jurisdictions all in severe deficit reduction mode, I would say that things could be defined to be tenuous. The Member has made reference to what sounds like a fairly...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would agree with the Member. We definitely don’t have enough money to throw around, but let me go through the lists.

You made a comment about the subsidy, but we need to do more to reduce reliance. Within the fiscal ability that we have available to us, we are doing a significant amount of work. It varies. Like biomass, retrofits, upgrades. We’re looking at a very positive geothermal opportunity. We’ve put in the biggest solar array in this part of the country in Simpson. We are looking at our hydro opportunities, both to the north around Deline as well as the North...

If we were to contemplate putting money into the Heritage Fund, it would be money that we’d have to borrow at this point. We have, as I indicated and tried to lay out in the budget address, our short-term and long-term borrowing costs, how much we have, the need to put aside and replenish our cash reserves so we can commit to infrastructure in year three and four and we’re very aware of the Heritage Fund sitting there. We do have plans to do a number of things in year three and four, as I’ve indicated as well.

The Heritage Fund is on that list. In the meantime we have to have two years of...

Sorry, Madam Chair, for the confusion. In regard to the prevention and promotion, as I indicated in the budget address, we’re going to be responding to the letters from the Social Programs committee and all the committees in terms of their requests and recommendations and we’re going to bring forward what we think will hopefully be an acceptable response.

The Deh Cho Bridge opening, it is important. The vast majority of the funds have been expended. We anticipate that this piece of infrastructure will be open before winter and that’s what we’re working towards.

The Inuvik-Tuk highway, as I have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After 17 years I’m glad you remembered who I am.

I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize a good old Metis boy from Fort Smith who’s made very well, and my companion for dinner just about weekly, and a man who has a long, sterling reputation in serving the people of the Northwest Territories, my friend and colleague, Mr. Tony Whitford.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will deliver the budget address on Thursday, May 24, 2012. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 3, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2011-2012, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 3, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2011-2012, be read for the second time.