Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Chair. We are not that prescient that we can foretell what the exchange rate will be by next year, which is why we’re going to set up this facility to help us try to hedge and hopefully pick appropriately as we’re hedging what exactly it is we’re going hedge and how much. So I appreciate the Member’s concern. We can tell you what we’ve spent to date with the actual cost of what we came forward with, the money we saved by advancing the project last year to the money that it cost us with the exchange rate drop. All combined, that money has been paid. We can tell you to the penny...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This money in question is money that was provided to us as an inducement to help encourage and make lease renewal more of a possibility, so the money is sitting there in an account as an inducement given to us and we are just now seeking approval to put that money to use to do different improvements. Once again, Madam Chair, I’d ask if the deputy minister wanted to add anything further.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have with me Deputy Minister Mike Aumond and deputy secretary to the FMB Sandy Kalgutkar.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016. This document provides for an increase of $2.1 million to the capital budget.

The most significant items are:

$1.5 million to provide the Department of Public Works and Services a capital appropriation to renovate office space in the YK Centre. This amount is fully offset by a lease inducement provided by the landlord; and

$400,000 for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to provide funding for the increased costs for the new air tractor fleet due to the current...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me the deputy minister, Mr. Ernie Campbell; and Ms. Susan Craig, the director of finance and admin.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two things: that the commitment has already been made as the claim process runs its course that we would be keeping committee and Members apprised of that.

In regards to the concern of the Member for Nahendeh, whatever comes out of that will negatively impact the next budget. Clearly, we’re going to agree to this budget. We’re going to go ahead with that and the incoming Assembly will pick up all the pieces for everything, look at all the challenges. But this project and whatever comes out of that claims process will not be tacked on to the capital plan where all of a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Memorandum of Agreement Between the GNWT and the Government of Nunavut on the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Acts.”

Some communities’ thinking and capacity is well along, like Inuvik. I know the community of Deline have their thinking very clear about what they see going forward with their microwave connection and wanting to become the sole provider for the community. Every independent service provider, every ISP will have the capacity to make the case. This is a business enterprise that, yes, communities may choose to pursue themselves or they would support somebody coming in that has the skills that’s prepared to wire or put in the fibre optic where it’s necessary and hook up the town for the full service...

Mr. Speaker, what is permanent will depend on the circumstances of the particular area. It has to be appropriate, depending on what kind of conservation designation there is outside of the protected area designation. But it does include all the areas on the map.

The Member stated, for example, 1999 Protected Areas Strategy. All the land that’s on that map that is designated to be protected is all the land that is projected to have any kind of conservation designation far into the future. There’s no new land on there. There’s land that’s been identified now since 1999. Some of it is yet to be...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Every community will have a point of presence established from the fibre optic link. Those in Deline will be covered off by microwave towers. The final mile piece becomes a business opportunity for the community or for some business that wants to go in there, it could be NorthwestTel. Deline, I know, has very strong leanings in decision to trying to manage all those and run all the telecommunications and IT requirements in the community for everybody, so that piece is the step that now happens, one step for the presence there and the line goes live in the second quarter...