Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question on the increase in the income under liquor sales. May I ask the Minister as to whether or not the increase projected for this year is a result of consumption or could it be because of an increase in taxes that we had introduced? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if I could just continue asking questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services on the same topic that the honourable Member for Hay River South has been pursuing. This is something that’s been curious to me, as well. I don’t know the long and whole background of this issue, but I do know that we have upwards of $30 million in disbursements or reimbursements from the federal government outstanding that has incurred as a result of this government providing services to aboriginal residents in our territory that they are entitled to. We’re...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to have the breakdown of other expenses of $147,000. If at all possible, I would like to have this read into the record, just to be clear. I am not looking for accounting for every dollar of what is planned under these other expenses areas. So I would like to know the general categories like the Minister mentioned earlier, such as travel, materials and supplies and computers. I am looking for approximate figures under whatever headings they are using. I could put every other department that is going to appear over the next 10 days that I will be asking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present our first report of the Standing Committee on Social Programs. The report contains comments and observations and recommendations where appropriate on each of these departments, and will be addressed in Committee of the Whole when the detailed budget of each department is considered. That concludes my very short introductory portion of the report of the Standing Committee on Social Programs.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The insurance premiums in the amount of $2.030 million. Is that the same insurance premium that the Minister was mentioning in which we were going to see a reduction of $1.6 million? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. May I get the corresponding numbers to those four items that the deputy minister mentioned? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Taking advantage of the remaining seconds, could I ask the Minister for more information about the involvement of the government in terms of helping out the NGOs with their insurance coverage? The Minister made reference to shelters. More specifically, I'm wondering if this section of the government, the Finance department and the insurance management division, is engaged in analyzing the situation and looking at options for the government and the NGOs as to how to address the high insurance costs and how to mitigate that cost perhaps. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I think we're getting there. I have a follow-up question, Mr. Chairman. On the first, the premium cost has been reduced by $1.6 million. What is the entire amount of the premium?

My second question is if the short-term interest cost savings that we are getting in the amount of $1.7 million, could we rely on that as something that's going to stay a savings for the rest of this fiscal year? How temporary is that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the net revenue is in the amount of $20 million after taking out the expenses.

I have another question. Where does the money that the Liquor Board gets from the fines and whatever the inspectors do when they go out to bars and give fines to establishments, does that money go into the revolving fund as well and they are available to be used as expenses prior to it being accounted for at the end as part of the surplus or whatever?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Further to that, I believe in his budget statement, Madam Chair, the Minister stated that under the proposal being put forward by the federal government on our financing formula, we would only see an increase in the base in the amount of $7.6 million, which is about one-third of what I believe this government is hoping to be able to achieve; about $18 million more annually than what the federal government is proposing. So I would like to ask the Minister whether or not that $7.6 million to the base that the federal government is proposing is for every year going back...