Michael Miltenberger

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...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents, entitled “Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016;” Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 14-7(5), Expansion of Policing and Nursing Services;” and “Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 17-17(5), Interim Measures for the Commercial Harvest of Wild Mushrooms.”

Finally, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Justice, I wish to table the following document, entitled “Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 9-17(5), Report on the Review of the 2012-2013...

Thank you. That type of deliberation and review is part of the critical debriefing that’s underway and that I’ve just committed to sharing with committee when it’s done early in the New Year as we look at coming for the winter session. Thank you.

What we have laid out is a good, solid plan on a go-forward basis that we believe is going to show results. We are making a lot of the structural, organizational and procedural changes to do that. We have initiated a much closer working relationship with the private sector to make this a combined and joint effort so it’s not just strictly government.

But I can tell you, from a simple math point of view, if we filled the vacancies that we have, then we would address the issue that the Member is talking about many times over, and if we would recruit all the students that we’re giving SFA to, to...

Thank you. The Member is a fine example of the success of our education system. We’re not excluding the fact that it’s a loss. What we have done is started a program, an initiative that we’ve given ourselves a five-year time horizon, because we recognize that these things take time to sort things out, to turn things around, to do the work that’s necessary, to make the changes that are necessary, to do the things with HR, for example, where we want to be able to go south and enable the folks that go south to take interviews and do job offers on the spot so that we can be way more timely in how...

Thank you. We are at work in terms of a review, cleaning up after fire season, doing the final accounting and then doing the critical debrief is underway. Then early in the new year, we’ll have that work done and we expect to be able to go forward with those findings to committee to have a thorough discussion in anticipation of the upcoming fire season. Thank you.

Thank you. The extra funds are covered through borrowing the money. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize one of the members of the union contingent, as well, Ms. Lauraine Armstrong, a family friend and a berry picking and swimming companion of my wife. Thank you.

---Laughter

Thank you. All the communities could take a page from the work that Kakisa did to take matters into their own hands as the fire smarted their community, and as they were encroached on all sides by fire they recognized the value of that exercise. So I think communities can look at doing public spaces and then the encouragement for all individuals to get out there with their own saws and chainsaws, as I did my property, where you thin out the trees, you clear out the underbrush, you limb your trees as high as you can, move your woodpile away from your house and those type of things. All will...