Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’ll make note of the Member’s comment and thank her for her comments.

The indication from the Speaker is that there have been cost pressures that have driven both these areas of expenditures up and we bring it forward to the Legislature for payment and we’ll, once again, ask for that information.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’ll provide the requested information going back three to five years for those particular four areas and we’ll include supplementary appropriations plus whatever money has been added for forced growth as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2013-2014. This document provides for an increase of $3.553 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

The more significant items in this supplementary estimate include:

$2.75 million for the Department of Public Works and Services to advance funding from 2014-15 for the early completion of the Yellowknife General Purpose Office Building.

$453,000 for the implementation of a new Mineral Information Tenure System to support the administration of the NWT...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’re going to keep the capital plan at the agreed to rates. It will just be short-term borrowing to cover those costs.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, March 7, 2014, I will move that Bill 19, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2014-2015, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the intent of the fund is to allow us to address unanticipated pressures that we may not have anticipated in the budget. Many are demand-driven programs and you look at one of the big drivers is some of the significant costs related to services to adults and children in southern jurisdictions for example. It gives us a target. We try to hold it, along with our forced growth costs, we try to maintain that, but there are some costs that we can’t anticipate and there are costs that we have to be prepared to pay. Thank you.

Thank you. I don’t think you’re ever going to get away from potential variation. For example, we believe, and we have some of the numbers to show us, that there has been a significant switch from rolled cigarettes to loose tobacco because it’s considerably cheaper. Our cigarettes are the second highest in the county. We do our utmost to check and keep track of contraband cigarettes, counterfeit cigarettes as well. So we’re always going to have some variation. Plus we’re spending a considerable amount of money as a government trying to get people to quit smoking and that shows some signs of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I’d just note that we’ve done the calculations as we’re sitting here. The 2014 budget that we’ve just approved is a 9 percent increase, roughly, over last year. It’s the largest growth department, as it is just about every government of the land.

There have been some efficiencies with the changes we’ve made to personnel, how it’s managed, the navigator we put in place, the back office work were with various regions, but there are some significant cost-drivers here, the scheduled air travel, the tickets, ticket prices that have increased, reduced flight schedules...