Michael Miltenberger

We’re anticipating to start with the one and we’re still working on partnership arrangements with the federal government to get us up to three. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will carry on under the heavy burden of the Member’s disappointment and we’ll make sure that the Minister of Education is listening carefully to the concern so that next year we can, hopefully, be labouring forward with her approval with a lighter step and a happier heart. Thank you.

This is the first increase to base funding for electricity since 2006-2007.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the FMB; and Charles Tolley, director of budgeting.

I am also here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, 2010-2011. This document outlines a net increase of $800,000 for capital investment expenditures in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

There are two items in the supplementary estimates:

A negative supplementary appropriation of $150,000 which represents the transfer of capital investment expenditures funding to operations expenditures funding for the maintenance costs associated with the NWT Laboratory Information System.

$950,000 for the reconstruction of a section of the Inuvik Airport taxiway. The net impact on...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2010-2011. This document outlines a net increase of $8.437 million in operations expenditures for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The major items in the supplementary estimates include:

$4.370 million for the Department of Health and Social Services to fund the cost of insured services to non-NWT residents, which will be fully offset by recoveries from other jurisdictions for services for their residents.

$1.766 million for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to fund the projected...

The Commercial Power Subsidy will cease to exist as it’s currently structured. What was the number for $267,000 back in 2009-2010 under the actuals was how much we were actually spending at the time. It was an undersubscribed program for a number of reasons and when we looked at the new electrical rate structure there was a clear recognition that we would want to come up with a different way to provide some type of support in the smaller communities and the thermal communities for the commercial power rates, because this particular way that it was dealt with wasn’t that effective, hence what...

I agree with the Member that the whole issue of biomass is not a singular event, but it’s a process that we’ve embarked on as a Territory and it’s going to take time to get it implemented fully. We’re setting up systems to work with communities and individuals, institutions, other governments, community energy plans. Making sure we deal with some of the value-added pieces when you look at pellets. We are doing, and we’ll continue to do, a significant amount. Sixty million dollars is what this government put towards alternative energy. A good portion of that has been tied into trying to improve...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Under program delivery details it’s characterized as interest expense.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a significant number of things that the government is doing. I agree with the Member that there is nothing stopping individual families from going out and installing a woodstove, especially in the larger communities where they have access to the supply and they can get the woodstoves insured. With our Biomass Strategy, we have converted a lot of our own buildings and other communities’ buildings to biomass. We’re, in fact, looking at work on the value-added piece with pellets. We’re looking at what’s the best technology to use in combined heat and power in some...