Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 3, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2017-2018, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriation for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Member is correct. That is for the enrolment of 12:1, I believe. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Regular moose surveys in the Deh Cho region have shown a fairly stable trend and no evidence of any decline in the Mackenzie Valley. There was a community meeting in Fort Liard at the beginning of the month, and we actually heard that moose numbers in the Liard area have improved recently. Also, some of the other Deh Cho communities have not raised concerns over the moose population. I can inform the House that the next moose survey in the Deh Cho region is planned for November 2017 and February 2018, after which we will assess the population trend.

We never forget. Mr. Chair, the reason that it's coming forward, and a negative supp, it was a timing issue. My understanding is the revolving fund wasn't quite set up in time. The capital budget had been approved by FMB, and then so once the revolving fund was set up, it would determine that we would put a negative supp in and have this $400,000 paid out of the revolving fund. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The $2.3 million is made up of $741,000 for increased school enrolment, and full funding for JK in 2017-2018 of $1.542 million. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT is on the front lines of climate change and has been experiencing its impacts for decades. Our government is committed to addressing the threats that climate change poses to the sustainability of our communities and the way of life of our residents. The Government of the Northwest Territories is actively engaged in a comprehensive and coordinated response to climate change by developing a Climate Change Strategic Framework, which will guide our efforts on climate change from 2018 to 2030.

This week, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, also...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I will work with my Cabinet colleague from Education and soon as we have a concrete plan as to where the investments are going to be and what it's going to consist of, we'd be glad to share that with committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures) No. 3, 2017-2018. This document provides for an increase of $5.9 million to the operations budget.

Major items in these supplementary estimates include:

$3.6 million for projected fire suppression costs; and

$2.3 million for costs associated with increased student enrolment and implementation of junior kindergarten in NWT schools.

That concludes my opening remarks. I am prepared to respond to the committee's questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, to my right I have Mr. David Stewart, who is a deputy minister of the Department of Finance. To my left, I have Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar, who is our deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 2, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2017-2018, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.