Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Member's referring to page 299 under purchased services. It's gone from $327,000 in 2015-16 in the revised estimates to $227,000 in 2016-17 main estimates, so it's actually gone down by $100,000, but for a breakout, I mean if the Member still wants a breakout then we can provide that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the less work that they have to do, the better, I think. And we don't have to pay for it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that was as my response to the previous speaker's question, I talked about modernizing our policies, and I'd be more than happy to sit down with committee and get their input into some of the work that we've been doing, give an update on some of the work that we've been doing. That may answer a lot of the questions that they may have. So, I mean, I'll put that offer out there, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I have with me to my right, Kate Hearn. She is the acting deputy minister for the Department of Lands. To my left I have Brenda Hilderman. She is the director of finance and administration.

I will have Ms. Hearn respond to that, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as far as the waterways go, that would still be a federal responsibility, so it seems that in this case, it could be, you know, the town has some interest in it, the GNWT may have some interest in it and the Government of Canada may have some interest. I think it would be wise for the three organizations to get together and decide a plan to do some remediation if the company goes, I mean, the company is in receivership, so we’ll have to come up with a plan going forward. But I do know on the government side of it though, we do have our committee that would do an assessment on any...

The Member is correct. The company does own a large number of properties in Hay River. As for the actual number of which ones are, if any are GNWT owned, I would have to follow-up and get that more detailed information and how much is owned by the town. I’ll commit to the Member that I’ll try, I’ll work to get a breakdown of exactly where these properties are from, if they’re leased, they’re owned and I will provide that information to the Member.

Mr. Speaker, there’s a number of reasons why business is not as lively across the Northwest Territories as it usually is. Part of it is because of lack of investment, and what we’re trying to do going through the exercise that we’re going through now is to have more money that we can invest into more opportunities for our businesses to take advantage of some of the money that we will make available. Again, it is an issue that needs further discussion, and I have committed to being a part of those discussions with the Members across the floor, and with my Cabinet colleagues as well. Thank you...

Mr. Speaker, I can’t make that commitment here as to what’s going to be in the next budget without going through the budget planning process, and as part of that process is the business planning process in September, which we take part in along with the Regular Members. I’m sure the issue will be raised at the time, and it’s something that we can determine then, if it’s financially viable to include into next year’s budget cycle.

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my opening response, the federal government has accepted responsibility for historical remediation or liabilities. However, on a go-forward basis, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, they monitor the activities of the mineral and development petroleum companies operating in the NWT and including the financial status of the company and the work is delivered through ITI’s financial analysis and royalties administration division. As much as we would like all the companies operating in the NWT to be financially stable, our main concern is to ensure that we...