Robert C. McLeod
Statements in Debates
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not going to get into a debate on this. This was raised in September. If the Member missed it, he missed it. There was plenty of time from September to now to find out if this was in there or not and raise the concerns that he had. I am going to find out. There may have been more information off the officials, but it is my understanding. I think the Member wants a big, 12-person, public board to oversee this money. Then we have to start putting money away into the Heritage Fund, and we will determine how we are going to use it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon. Today I am presenting the 2019-2020 Main Estimates for the Department of Finance. These estimates total $258.2 million, which includes the GNWT's operating contribution of $70.4 million to the NWT Housing Corporation. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $7.5 million, or 3 percent over the 2018-2019 Main Estimates.
Setting aside the changes in the contribution to the NWT Housing Corporation, which you will review with Minister Moses, highlights of Finance's proposed 2019-2020 Main Estimates include:
$15.3 million in inter-departmental...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is actually a very good idea, and I think it is something that we are going to away from here and have a look at to see if there are opportunities for us to provide that. The Member said it exactly. It is very expensive to go out and search for people. There are times when the planes come from southern Canada, and that could be the difference between living or dying.
I think that the idea has got a lot of merit, and I can assure the Member that it is something that we will go away from this particular exchange with and see if it is one that we could implement. Thank...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Of course it is a concern, as I mentioned earlier, about the dams that are going there and the water flow to the territory. We see it up in the Beaudel, where the water level sometimes fluctuates up and down. I know we have had some Aboriginal governments who have come to us say that they do have a concern with that and want to know how we plan on dealing with it, so we have been trying to work with them to assure them that the Government of the Northwest Territories is doing what we can to bring their concerns forward. At the end of the day, I believe the decision is...
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is, from what I have been told, this was raised during discussions at business plans in the Department of Finance's proposed budget. As far as the third party goes, I think the Member in particular has been asking for the last few years that this be something that -- I mean, we were talking about public governance. Maybe that is the next step, but, for now, it has gone out for an RFP to have somebody administer it on our behalf, is my understanding. The public governance part, I will have to have a discussion with the official. I am not sure if that...
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is there have been no further discussions, but I'd have to confirm that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Member's comments. I believe we do have the best support for our harvesters in the whole country. I can assure the Member that there are no plans for any reductions to this particular program. We know how much it is valued by trappers out there. We have heard from them personally. As the Member has said, it gives them the opportunity to get a fur advance and then wait for the actual fur auction itself. It is a great program. It is one that is well appreciated and well subscribed to. We are going to continue to keep that program going. Thank you, Mr. Chair...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to try and make as much progress with our partners as possible. We are always prepared to go to the table and do some negotiations. Negotiations involve two parties, and if our other party is not getting to the table as quickly as we would like, then that affects our ability to get this work done. I said before, when I was responding to the Member's question, that I know that I signed the one Transboundary Water Agreement with Alberta. My understanding is that a final BC-NWT agreement was also signed in 2015, and we are holding an information session with...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am a very sharing person, so I would be glad to share that, along with anything else that the Member might want. When the opportunity arises, we will give them an in-person briefing as well.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, it's still accurate.