Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are following a process. We are asked to come with some reductions, and this is one of the ones that we thought warranted bringing forward. As I have said in the House many times, we did a cost-benefit analysis on this, and we believe that doing this is outweighing the benefits. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was answering the question as to how the department is looking at spending money in the communities versus mega projects and I referred to the Building Canada Plan, but that money comes in the capital projects. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to give that one right up to the deputy minister, Mr. Paul Guy, right off the bat. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, it was. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So everyone is focusing on the Community Access Program, but when you look at the broader as a whole, transportation, what have we been doing, you look at the BCP money that we spread out across the Northwest Territories. It is spread out amongst the regions, amongst the communities, and in the particular Member's riding we have just done community access roads Jean Marie and Nahanni Butte. So those are the types of programs where some of this capital money goes, and it is spread across the Northwest Territories, not just some mega projects. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Deputy Minister Russ Neudorf for Transportation. On my right is Deputy Minister Paul Guy of Public Works and Services, and on my far right is Vince McCormick, director of corporate affairs services for Public Works and Services.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, I ask the Member if he can send that e-mail again to me. We will double check and make sure that we never got it, but we don't recall anything. We will bring that concern forward. We will have a look at it. One of the things we can consider, depending on the issue, and we have a look at it with the Member or the community, there is a possibility we have money in the Highway Safety Improvement Capital Fund that we can look at maybe doing something on that road. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As we have said, we are working with the Department of Education and Culture on how we can maximize the opportunities, using that fund to help complement the Community Access Program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes, that is correct. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2017-2018 Main Estimates for the proposed Department of Infrastructure. Overall, the department’s estimates, totalling $240.4 million, propose a decrease of $4.5 million or 1.9 per cent from the 2016-17 combined estimates of the Departments of Public Works and Services and Transportation.

These estimates continue to support the GNWT’s objective of ensuring a strong and sustainable future for the government and its programs by managing expenditures due to limited revenue growth.

The 2017-2018 Main Estimates include an increase of $2.9 million from...