Michael Miltenberger

As we move as a government on our very ambitious alternative Energy Strategy on the area of biomass, very clearly one of the issues for us as a Legislature and a government is the pursuit of the secondary industry that would see us be able to manufacture wood pellets, set up communities and regions to be able to do the chipping or the pelletizing that may be necessary, to look at the employment opportunities, to work with communities as well to combine some of the value-added benefits of biomass with the concern in communities in the boreal forest to be better fireproofed when it comes to...

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government has earmarked and this Assembly has approved a significant amount of money, for the first time ever, towards alternative energy, one of those sources being biomass. And, yes, we have on the books a pilot project that we’d like to look at. In Jean Marie, we’re looking at expanded waste recovery. We’re looking at wood pellets both in institutions and in communities. We want to move that plan forward. We’re waiting, with considerable interest, on the specific recommendations that the Member is going to bring forward with his colleague Mr. Bromley as a...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With me is Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance, and Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar, the deputy secretary for the Financial Management Board. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present Supplementary Appropriation No. 1, 2009-2010 (Operation Expenditures). This document outlines an increase of $4.27 million in operations expenditures for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The major items in this supplementary are requesting two:

$3.6 million for the Department of Health and Social Services for the increased cost associated with a new contract between the Government of the Northwest Territories and NWT positions.

$485,000 for the Department of Transportation to continue research and development projects funded under the Building Canada...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have to ask the Member to repeat the question. I think he is asking whether the $37 million has been counted twice.

Mr. Chairman, we provided the list to committee. I would be happy to share that. We have all the details of these known liabilities.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me the deputy minister, Margaret Melhorn, and Sandy Kalgutkar, the deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just will note the Member’s comments and will look forward to that discussion, as the Member suggested, during business plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present Supplementary Appropriation No. 4, 2008-2009. This document requests authority for additional appropriations of $46,691,000 for operations expenditures for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

There are two items in this request:

1.

To provide appropriation authority in the amount of $9.3 million for the Department of the Executive, Financial Management Board Secretariat to record the increase required to the estimated accrued environment liabilities of the Government of the Northwest Territories as at March 31, 2009, as required by Canadian Generally...