Robert C. McLeod

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to use this opportunity to recognize two pages from Inuvik. We have Gabrielle Nogasak and Shenise Vittrekwa. I want to thank them and all of the pages. We have had some long nights here and they have been pretty patient with us. I am not sure if they want to come back, but we appreciate the job they have done. I also want to recognize an old hockey teammate of mine from the 1970s, and no, it is not the NHLers. Tom Williams and I played minor hockey together way back in Inuvik a long time ago. I would like to recognize Tom and his wife, Pam...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have with me a Mr. David Stewart, who is the deputy minister of the Department of Finance. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents entitled "Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2016-2017," "Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2016-2017," and "Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2017-2018." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am confident that I can reach out to the federal government. At the end of the day, the decision is theirs. I could try to see if I can secure a timeline for them, but I can't speak on their behalf. I can only commit to what we can do as a government, is to reach out to them. I commit to the Member that I will do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of this, and I don't think there is any ill intent on behalf of Canada, I believe, once they realize that they would be contravening a section of the Treasury Board rules to rollover the money. My understanding is they are taking steps to find a solution for this. As we know more, I will share that with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide an update on the progress to approve the 2017-2018 Main Estimates. Since the Budget Address on February 1, 2017, we have seen significant debate on specific elements of our annual budget and an extensive review of the main estimates in Committee of the Whole.

It is fair to say that all Members of the Legislative Assembly are passionate in their desire to address the challenges facing the Northwest Territories. Our reality is that we need to take action in a fiscally responsible manner and we are operating in an environment of limited revenue growth and an...

Yes, Mr. Chair, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will follow up on that and see what tools we have at our disposal to help find a solution for the funding. I will commit to following up on that.

The federal government are the funding contributors to this, and, as such, they make the decision. They try to live within the rules. I take the Member's point, and, at the earliest opportunity, I will convey our concerns to the federal government and see if there are ways, solutions, that they can find to allow the carryover of this money.