Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two specific points in response to the Member’s question. This project has a life going back to 2003 when it was initially contemplated. When it was finally ready to go in 2009, the price was almost $29 million and was scaled back to $20 million to get us up and running with our stripped down economy model Chevrolet kind of system to allow us to do the basic business of government. Now, as we look at consolidating our contract and procurement services within government, this module will in fact assist us in doing the work to do that consolidation and is, in fact...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’re buying a module, basically off the shelf and we’re going to be able to tailor it to the requirements, our contracting requirements. So it will be able to reflect what the Green Procurement Policy will eventually end up being. It will be configured to accommodate the BIP requirements and those types of things. So, yes, we will have the capacity to have it tailored to the specific realities of our contracting world with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance.

Yes, Mr. Chairman, we will confirm remediation versus replacement.

As we look at managing forests we are doing a whole host of things. We are continuing with our inventory that we’re undertaking on Crown lands. We’re working with communities on community forest management plans that are anticipating in the boreal forest area the development of possible biomass facilities that would allow communities to have access to ongoing biomass supplies close to their communities. We’re working, with interest, as we’ve indicated in this House yesterday. For example, Member Groenewegen from Hay River South mentioned about biomass pellet plants. We’re investigating that...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have to my right Mr. Gary Bohnet, deputy minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled Conference of Management Authorities (Species at Risk) Annual Report 2009-2010, and Northwest Territories Species at Risk Committee Annual Report 2009-2010. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, keeping with the automobile analogies, the reality was that if we were prepared to pay the 28 or 29 million as opposed to the 20 million at the time, we could have had all those extra features incorporated. Given the pressures and the fiscal realities of the day a year or so ago, we scaled it back to do the most fundamental core services we had, recognizing that we would probably want to, as time and resources permitted, expand and put in the programs that we’re talking about today to do the things as a government and as a Legislature that were not targeted, such...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The information we provided gives a significant overview. The Member has requested more detail. I will commit to check with the officials to see whether we can pull that type of information together with any kind of alacrity. Thank you.

We are working on that consolidated shared services model and we are bringing as many of the infrastructure resources together and the decision-making and the policies and procedures so we have something similar to those of us that have been around a long time and would remember the old government services kind of approach. The final configuration hasn’t been decided on, but regardless of that, the assured services model, this module will be an integral part of that system and infrastructure. Thank you.