Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The one variable that is yet to be finalized, and the Premier mentioned in some of the debate in the House this morning, and that is the conclusion to our request for an increase to our borrowing limit. When you look at the status quo, the debt ceiling, we’ve been working to keep a minimum of $100 million cushion between us and the $800 million borrowing limit. We are now slightly under that $100 million as a result of the latest decision to cushion and absorb the cost of the rate rider for low water on the Snare. For short-term borrowing, we think we can manage within...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present for the committee’s consideration the 2015-16 Capital Estimates of the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The estimates represent $249 million in appropriations for government and $28 million for community infrastructure investments in the 2015-16 fiscal year.

These estimates do not include appropriations for housing infrastructure proposed by the NWT Housing Corporation in 2015-16, totaling $36 million. The appropriation for these investments will be sought during the committee’s review of the 2015-16 Main Estimates. The NWT Housing...

Effective April 2014 there were two additional tax audit positions put into play. It was approved during the business planning process. The regional structure was put in place. One of the new auditors was in Hay River and the other one in Inuvik to complement the manager of tax audit. We talked tax audit positions in Yellowknife. The 2014-15 audit work plan was created based on general risk assessment of the tobacco, petroleum products and payroll tax areas. Training of the new auditors, implementation of the regional structure is a focus for 2014-15, and the work plan the following planned...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Once again, I think the Member for his comments. Some of the items that he has raised, clearly the Ministers of Education, Health and Transportation will be ready to have those detailed discussions.

I understand that the plan is to issue for the Fort Smith Health Centre some RFPs to be issued here sometime in the fall of 2014. I believe that things are proceeding at pace on that one.

As the Member pointed out, there is money put aside or identified, fairly significant money over the next few years for Highway No. 7. The Inuvik-Tuk highway, we’ll once again have that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were two tobacco tax audits in 2013-14, one in Edmonton and one in Hay River. There were 18 petroleum products tax audits in 2013-14 and all 18 were in Yellowknife. Thank you.

Sorry, Mr. Chairman, if I’ve misstated titles. I thought I said Mr. Moses. The Member, Mr. Moses, said about the Dempster Highway, raising that concern, I just wanted to confirm that, in fact, with the Building Canada Fund there’s going to be some fairly significant money on an ongoing basis to address that issue. We’re also intending to be able to address the road from the airport into town in Inuvik as well as that airport building.

So I thank the Member for his comments. We have all the pieces in place; we’re just waiting for the final signed agreements on the Building Canada Fund. That will...

We have a very stable tax regime. We have committed not to raise taxes in the life of this government or the previous government for that matter. Income tax, corporate tax, we haven’t affected the taxes on motive or non-motive fuels, and we have as a government, if you look at our list of subsidies, at least $200 million worth of subsidies that we put on the table across government to support and assist Northerners.

I thank the Member for his comments. His concern about can we afford to accelerate the Inuvik-Tuk highway and the potential lost employment and extending it out over the year, the bottom line concern about the project is to get the job done. We want to keep it to budget, $299 million I think is what the budget is. The reason we went to a negotiated contract was to maximize the involvement of local contractors and local employment, which the project is delivering, I believe, in spades. But at the end of the day, it’s not a social program. The concern is to get it done. If we can get it done in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize to the Member opposite. Not recently.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to the issue that the Member started his statement on regarding fiscal management and responsibility, we have, over the last eight years, managed our way through some extremely traumatic financial times, including the major downturn in 2007. As we have pointed out, we have still not rebounded from that, but we manage to navigate our way through those difficult times without any program cuts or layoffs and we continue to invest in capital.

We give, in every case possible, as much advance notice as we can. For example, when the fire season was going, we sent...