Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the orders of the day.

---Unanimous consent granted

Within that review of the Public Airports Act, we’re extending the leases to a maximum of 30 years. That gives them a longer period, so something more definite. We also lay out in the lease that there would always be a market value for the lease. So every five years we do a market assessment on the lease and then the individuals are advised. If there is to be an increase on the lease payment, then the lessee is advised eight months in advance of any increases. We’re hoping that this will build more certainty for the individuals that are leasing at the airport.

Thank you, Madam Chair. For the times and what we’re using as opposed to maybe a conventional letter of appeal, it could be using some e-mail process, but using the Internet and so on, so I’m going to just ask the deputy to provide the details of what we’re streamlining.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation is proposing amendments to the Public Airports Act to make the act more efficient and effective. We are finalizing a legislative proposal to amend the act and we’re hoping that a review for that will be before committee within the next month or so. Early 2015 is our schedule. We are looking at things like harmonization with the Motor Vehicles Act, giving people at the airport the same authority that lie within the Motor Vehicles Act. We’re looking to extend leases at the airport. There are a few things that are laid out in the...

Sorry, Madam Chair. I guess the only change to the direct appointment had occurred when there was an accommodation, a duty to accommodate employee had occurred. Then in that case, the Minister could do the direct appointment. That duty to accommodate had a bunch of prerequisites to it where we would be dealing with the union, the receiving department, the department the individual was leaving and so on, and we could do a direct appointment, I as Minister could do that direct appointment. Also, the direct appointment at the timing of an individual that was affected, so individuals where their...

Thank you. The responsible Minister is the Minister responsible for Fisheries and Oceans that would have completed the dredging if there was dredging to be done. I didn’t meet with Fisheries and Oceans. I met with the Minister of Infrastructure, Minister of Transportation, Minister responsible for Northern Development. In one discussion I had with the Minister of Transportation I mentioned that dredging in Hay River is needed as part of the transportation out of there, but it’s not her responsibility. We need to engage the Minister responsible for Fisheries and Oceans. If they were to look at...

Thank you. I’d like to have the director explain that jump that occurred between ‘13-14 actuals and the mains from ‘14-15.

This was our officials in a telephone conference call talking to the Canadian Coast Guard, asking them to meet with the Arctic and Canadian Marine Advisory boards since they had responsibility for that. It’s not something where our officials are meeting directly with individuals that would be responsible for dredging, but rather encouraging one of the key users of the river to meet with these organizations to try to get some money put into the budget. Thank you.

Public Works and Services will be involved in organizing a construction workshop here in Yellowknife that’s an annual thing. That will be occurring sometime in April. What we will be doing as one of the topics will be discussing the energy efficiency act. Actually, sorry, I believe that’s in the middle of this month is when the date of that workshop will be occurring.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That money has been removed, but it didn’t impact directorate. This was a whole section on pay and benefits that was in Human Resources that moved to Finance, and all the people that were in the management and the whole group from there moved over but it didn’t impact on the directorate specifically.